Half / Full Headache Seriously
Headache Seriously
Headaches affect hundreds of people every day – but sometimes pain in the head can indicate a more serious condition.
he most common cause of headaches are tension headaches, migraines, cluster headaches and hormone headaches. (Reuters)
Headaches affect hundreds of people every day – but sometimes pain in the head can indicate a more serious condition. The most common cause of headaches are tension headaches, migraines, cluster headaches and hormone headaches.
They can also be caused by colds and flu, sleep apnoea or temporomandibular disorders, which affect the muscles and joints between the lower jaw and the skull. Dr Clare Morrison, GP at www.MedExpress.co.uk, has set out when people should be concerned about their headache and seek medical attention. “Headaches can vary in severity from harmless and fleeting to meaning something far more sinister.
“Common types of headaches often come paired with a cold or flu or they can be tension or stress related if you’re going through a particularly rough patch.
“Another common cause of headaches is sinusitis but in this case the pain will be over the forehead and it will usually be worse when bending down.”
However, some headaches, Dr Morrison warned, can be a sign of something more serious. She warned they should ‘not be taken lightly’.
“If you’ve recently endured a head injury or even just a slight knock to the head and you are experiencing a headache you could have a concussion.
Tension Headaches
Tension headaches are one of the more common types of headache. They can be caused by a tightening of the muscles of the neck and scalp. This muscle constriction may be triggered by physical or environmental factors, including stiffness or pain in the shoulder and neck muscles as a result of stress or poor posture.
Tension headaches can:
- Result in mild-to-moderate pain and feel like a tight band of pressure around the head
- Be felt equally on both sides of the head, and are normally short lived
- Be uncomfortable and annoying. However, they are generally not severe enough to prevent daily activities such as walking.
Cluster headaches can:
- Bring intense pain, which is usually described as excruciating and localised to one eye.
- Affect one side of the head, around and behind the eye, then worsen and may last from 15 minutes to three hours.
- Include symptoms such as eye swelling, tearing and redness and blocked or runny nose only on the side of the head that is affected.
Cluster Headaches
Cluster headaches are the least common type of headaches, but arguably the most intense, and men are more likely to suffer from them than women. The “cluster” in cluster headaches refers not to the location of the head pain, but rather to the grouping of the attacks over time. This is the main difference between cluster headaches and tension – cluster headaches regularly recur over a certain period of time.