Understanding the Causes of Headache

Is there anybody who has never experienced a headache in life? Headache is a very common ailment that almost 75% of people have at least once in a year. While many have headaches occasionally, several people experience headache quite regularly. While many of you have experienced headaches, how many of you have really delved deeper to know the causes of headache?

Before we go into the causes of headache, it is better if we first understand the types of headache. The types of headache can be broadly classified into two, primary headaches and secondary headache. While there is no underlying cause for primary headaches, secondary headaches occur due to some underlying cause, either minor or life threatening. Primary headaches are further divided into types that include tension headache, migraine headache and cluster headaches.

Causes of headache

Tension headache occurs spontaneously and the exact cause for this is not exactly known. Many experts believe that this form of headache occurs due to the increased stress levels a person undergoes during the day. They also believe it is due to the spasm of the muscles of the neck region.

Migraine headache is caused due to the engorgement of blood vessels in the temple region and due to the release of certain chemicals into these blood vessels by nerves surrounding it. The engorgement of blood vessels also called as vasodilatation brings in more blood to the area. The chemicals released induce pain and inflammation. There is also increased action of the sympathetic nervous system leading to other symptoms like nausea and vomiting, decreased blood circulation to other parts of the body thereby causing reduced temperature in the extremities like palms and soles.

The exact cause of Cluster headaches has not been clearly understood. It is however thought that habits like smoking and alcohol consumption may initiate the symptoms of headache.

Secondary headaches are caused due to some other underlying problem in the body. Some causes for secondary headaches include brain tumors, trauma to the head area leading to rupture of blood vessels in the brain and pooling of blood, strokes caused by clots within the blood vessels or due to spontaneous rupture of arteries in the brain, aneurysm, angina, meningitis, severe hypertension, etc. These causes for secondary headache are considered serious and often carry a threat to life if not diagnosed quickly and treated.

Secondary headache can also be caused due to some other underlying problems that are not considered life threatening. Some of the examples of this type include glaucoma, vasculitis of the temporal artery, sinus infections, hypothyroidism, etc. It can also be caused due to the intake of certain medications, excess of non-prescription pain killers and from other causes like caffeine withdrawal.

Whatever be the cause of headache, it is best to see a doctor immediately rather than just resort to taking some over-the-counter products to try and relieve pain as it is important to diagnose the type of headache and give appropriate treatment. The causative factor for secondary headache should be identified as quickly as possible to provide treatment as the cause might be life threatening. Also, different types of primary headache require different medications to provide relief.