Headache is a common and frequently recurrent disorder that can seriously disrupt a person's life. Headache pain may be generalized all over the head or localized in one area and may range from mild to severe. Some headaches have a known cause while others, like migraine headaches, do not. Postural changes, prolonged coughing, sneezing or exposure to sunlight may contribute to headache. Sometimes a headache may be a symptom of a serious underlying problem such as stroke or brain tumor and may call for prompt medical care.
Serious headaches include those that are sudden and severe, associated with convulsions or seizures, accompanied by confusion or loss of consciousness, associated with a blow on the head or pain in the eye or ear, or persistent in a person who was previously headache-free. Recurring headaches in children, those associated with fever, or those that interfere with normal life should be checked by a doctor.
Most Common Types of Headaches
- Migraines produce throbbing pain on one or both sides of the head. Symptoms, besides pain, may include nausea, vomiting, light and noise sensitivity, fever, chills, flu-like achiness and sweating. Some sufferers have warnings before a migraine, such as visual disturbances. Migraine attacks may last from a few hours to days and may recur several times a week or once every few years.
- Cluster headaches, which mainly occur in men, occur as a series of one-sided headaches that are sudden and extremely painful and may continue for 15 minutes to four hours. Symptoms on the painful side may include nasal congestion, drooping eyelid and irritated, watery eye.
- Tension-type headaches, which are the most common headache type, produce a dull, achy pain that feels like pressure is being applied to the head or neck. These headaches may be associated with muscle tenderness and increased electromyogram (EMG) activity.
An estimated 45 million Americans experience chronic headaches. For at least half of these people, the problem is severe and sometimes disabling. It can also be costly: headache sufferers make over eight million visits a year to doctor's offices. Migraine victims alone lose over 157 million workdays because of headache pain.
