Chronic Headache: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention
Chronic headaches are headaches that occur at least 15 days per month for at least three months. Chronic headaches can interfere with your daily activities and affect your quality of life. Chronic headaches include tension headaches, migraine headaches, cluster headaches, and medication-overuse headaches. We will explore the causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of chronic headaches in this post.
Causes of Chronic Headache
The exact causes of chronic headaches are not fully understood, but some possible factors include:
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Genetics: Some people may inherit a tendency to develop chronic headaches from their parents.
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Stress: Emotional or physical stress can trigger or worsen chronic headaches.
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Hormones: Changes in hormone levels, such as during menstruation, pregnancy, or menopause, can affect chronic headaches.
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Medications: Overusing painkillers or other medications can lead to rebound headaches, which are a type of chronic headache.
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Lifestyle: Poor sleep, dehydration, caffeine, alcohol, smoking, and skipping meals can contribute to chronic headaches.
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Medical conditions: Some chronic headaches may be associated with underlying medical conditions, such as infections, sinus problems, head injuries, brain tumors, or stroke.
Symptoms of Chronic Headache
The symptoms of chronic headaches vary depending on the type and severity of the headache. Some common symptoms include:
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Pain: The pain can be dull, throbbing, stabbing, or pulsating, and can affect one or both sides of the head, the forehead, the temples, the back of the head, or the neck.
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Sensitivity: The pain can be worsened by light, sound, smell, or movement.
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Nausea: The pain can cause nausea or vomiting, especially in migraines.
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Aura: Some people may experience visual disturbances, such as flashes of light, blind spots, or zigzag lines, before or during a migraine headache. This is called an aura.
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Other symptoms: Depending on the type of headache, other symptoms may include redness, tearing, or swelling of the eyes, nasal congestion or runny nose, facial sweating, drooping eyelid, or muscle weakness.
Diagnosis of Chronic Headache
It is important for your doctor to know your medical history, your headache frequency, duration, intensity, location, triggers, and medications to diagnose chronic headaches. To rule out any underlying medical conditions that may cause or contribute to your headaches, your doctor will perform a physical examination and order some tests, such as blood tests, urine tests, or imaging tests.
Treatment of Chronic Headache
The treatment of chronic headaches depends on the type and cause of the headache, as well as your personal preferences and response to medications. Some common treatment options include:
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Chronic headaches can be treated with two types of medications: acute and preventive. Acute medications are taken during a headache to relieve pain and other symptoms. Acute medications are those taken regularly to reduce headache frequency and severity. Examples include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), acetaminophen, triptans, ergots, and opioids. Beta-blockers, antidepressants, anticonvulsants, and botulinum toxin injections are examples of preventive medications.
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Biofeedback, cognitive-behavioral therapy, relaxation techniques, acupuncture, massage, or physical therapy are some non-drug therapies that can help with chronic headaches.
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Changes in your lifestyle can also help prevent or reduce chronic headaches, such as avoiding stress, getting enough sleep, staying hydrated, limiting caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco, eating regular meals, and exercising regularly.
Prevention of Chronic Headache
It is best to identify and avoid your headache triggers, such as certain foods, drinks, smells, or activities, so as to prevent chronic headaches. In order to find the best treatment plan for your headache, you can also keep a headache diary to track your headache patterns, symptoms, and triggers. Aside from following your doctor's advice, do not overuse or misuse your medications, since this can cause rebound headaches or other side effects. Finally, you should seek medical attention if your headaches are severe, frequent, or interfere with your daily life, or if you experience any new or unusual symptoms, such as fever, stiff neck, confusion, or weakness, as these may indicate a serious medical condition.
