One of the most common health problems people experience is a headache. Most headaches are mild and short-lived, making for a difficult day at work or a downer of a day off at the very worst.
Dr. Nicholas C. Bambakidis, a neurological surgeon, explains that the most common causes of various sorts of headaches aren’t related to anything important like major structures or blood arteries.
Dr. Bambakidis believes that headaches can indicate a more significant health issue, especially if they are sudden, intense, or intensify over time.
Common Causes
How can you identify the difference between a typical headache and a sign of a more serious illness?
Tension, cluster, and migraine headaches are the three most prevalent types.
A tight ring around the head is a common sensation with tension headaches, which are far less severe.
The pain associated with a cluster headache is frequently greater than the discomfort associated with a single headache. They tend to form clusters or patterns all over the head, usually on one side and close to the eye.
A migraine is the most severe of the three. It is common for these headaches to cause strong pulsating pain and nausea, and light sensitivity. Migraines can continue for hours or even days.
According to Dr. Bambakidis, “a range of drugs can be used to treat these headaches.” On the other hand, migraine headaches can be particularly intense and difficult.
If you suffer recurrent migraines, talk to your doctor about treatment options.
Primary and secondary tumors exist.
Inside the skull or the central spinal canal, brain tumors are growths. Balloon-like swelling of blood in the cerebral vessels or veins can lead to aneurysm ruptures, which can be fatal. In both cases, a visit to the doctor is necessary – and both of these can create headaches.
You should be aware of the symptoms of a brain tumor when you experience a new or atypical headache, says Dr. Bambakidis. “Numbness and tingling in the limbs may be signs of a brain tumor,” he says. Morning and late-day aches and pains are most common and typically accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
Some individuals with brain tumors do not have headaches.
“The worst headache of their lives,” he says, is what patients with bleeding aneurysms may experience. These severe headaches typically accompany a temporary loss of consciousness.
When Should You See a Doctor?
Dr. Bambakidis recommends seeking medical attention if you notice a gradual development of headaches that increase over time.
He says a thorough history and an office visit are usually enough to establish if more testing is necessary.
However, you should go to the emergency department if your headache is unbearable or if you experience nausea, vomiting, or a loss of consciousness.
They need to be checked up by a doctor who specializes in neurology.
Doctor Bambakidis believes that “patients with a brain tumor and aneurysms often require further tests to look at the blood arteries in the brain.”