Is there a singular person in the world who has never had a headache? I get really pissed at my headaches, especially when I cannot get a hold of what might have caused it.
I had a really bad experience few days ago (I will share in a bit) that heightened my curiosity and stimulated this post. As you read this article, 50% of all adults are experiencing a headache.
What actually is a headache? Why do headaches frequently occur? Is every headache a migraine? When should I be alarmed by a headache?
These and many more would be the focus of this piece.
DEFINING THE TERM "HEADACHE"
Headache is a pain in any region of the head.This means that the pain can be in front of the head, by the sides of the head or even behind the head. Headaches are of different intensity, ranging from mild, to moderate and severe.
It can occur in more than one region of the head at the same time and can radiate from one part of the head to another.
The description of the pain can be sharp, throbbing or dull.
Here comes my experience I promised to share.
Few nights ago, I retired early to bed because I had a really bad headache which I believed was stress induced. It was a persistent, sharp pain located at the font of my head. I laid to sleep as I believed that the headache would be gone by the time I woke up.
At about 2:00am, I was painfully woken up by the same ache I had slept with. Infact, the severity seemed to have increased. I grabbed some water and took little whilst I begged that God would help me. I had never had a headache so severe before.
I took some painkillers and before long, I laid back to sleep but the headache just stayed there tormenting me. I felt utterly helpless but couldn't even cry. Somehow, at a time I honestly cannot tell, I slept off but then I woke up again.
I woke up and the headache was gone No! was still there! I willed myself out of bed to have a warm bath and allowed the water to run constantly over my face. The ache worsens when I try standing from a stooped position or stooping from a standing position.
It was perhaps the most traumatic night of my life.
According to World Health Organization (W.H.O), Half to three quarters of adults aged 18–65 years in the world have had headache in the last year and, among those individuals, 30% or more have reported migraine. Headache on 15 or more days every month affects 1.7–4% of the world's adult population.
The statistics above significantly proves that you're not alone in the headache business. There are a massive lot of us and some people have headaches half of a full month! That's really alarming.
WHY ARE HEADACHES SO COMMON?
Chemical activity in your brain, the nerves or blood vessels surrounding your skull, or the muscles of your head and neck (or some combination of these factors) can play a role in primary headaches. Some people may also carry genes that make them more likely to develop such headaches.
I would think it beneficial at this point for us to dive into the different types of headache
TYPES OF HEADACHE
There are majorly two types of headache:
Primary and secondary Headaches.
PRIMARY HEADACHES
A headache is said to be primary when its cause is not due to an underlying disease. There are types of primary headaches and these includes: Migraine,Tension headache Cluster headache and Other Primary Headaches.
Migraine
It is common for people to say "I'm having a migraine" whenever they are having any headache. Let's demystify that.
Migraine is a complex disorder, twice more common in females than males and recurrent in nature.It usually affects one side of the head (unilateral)but can spread to affect other parts of the head. Migraines are worsened by movement (just like I had said about my experience!!!) and other symptoms that occur alongside may include nausea (in 80% of people),vomiting (in 50% of people) and sensitivity to sound and light. Migraines can occur with or without aura. Aura is a subjective sensation (as of voices or colored lights or crawling and numbness) experienced at the onset of a neurological condition which in this context is a migraine.
Since Migraine is talked about often, let's take a close look at twelve triggers of migraine
- Stress and relaxation after stress.
- Lack or unaccustomed excess of sleep.
- Flickering lights, glare.
- Certain perfumes (oh yeah).
- Trauma.
- Missing a meal.
- Certain foods like cheese, chocolate, red wine.
- Food additives like monosodium, glutamate.
- Exercise.
- Excess heat and dehydration.
- Drugs like Nitroglycerin.
- Changes in barometric pressure, e.g thunderstorm.
There are some strongly held believes about migraines which are myths and not facts.
Myth 1. MIGRAINE ATTACKS ARE JUST REALLY BAD HEADACHES.
Myth 2. IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD.
Myth 3. IT'S NOT A TRUE MIGRAINE IF IT DOESN'T START WITH AN AURA.
Myth 4. A MIGRAINE ATTACK ONLY LASTS A COUPLE OF HOURS.
Myth 5. ANY DOCTOR CAN RECOGNIZE AND TREAT MIGRAINE.
Myth 6. MIGRAINE ONLY AFFECTS WOMEN.
Myth 7. A SPECIAL DIET CAN CURE MIGRAINE.
Myth 8.MORE MIGRAINE MEDICATIONS WILL PROVIDE BETTER RELIEF.
I guess we've had our fill of migraine, let's take a brief look at the other types of primary headaches.
For starters, tension headache is commoner in females than males and can be episodic or chronic. When episodic, it is usualy associated with a stressful event, of moderate intensity and self limiting. The chronic type is usually recurrent.
Tension headache is sometimes called 'a headache without features' and thankfully, it does not interfere with activity.
The third type of Primary headache is cluster headache. It is just as the name implies and involves a cluster of headache, terrible right? yeah! Cluster headache is three times commoner in males than females and that's a twist as the other two types we have discussed are commoner in females. usually seen from greater than 30 years and generally occurs at night. During the attack, a person becomes restless and often smokes, paces or showers during attack (oh my God!!! I had a bath!). The weird thing is that a peron may bang his head during attack. Pretty dramatic right? but then pain has the ability to make one do unthinkable things.
OTHER PRIMARY HEADACHES
Primary cough headache.
Primary exertional headache.
Primary coital headache.
Primary stabbing headache (ice packs, jabs-and jolts)
Primary thunderclap headache.
Hypnic headache (headache that occurs during sleep and wakes the person up, which is why they've earned the nickname “alarm-clock headaches“)
New persistent daily headaches.
SECONDARY HEADACHES
These are headaches that occur due to an underlying disease conditions.
Perhaps we could work on these in another article.
YOU SHOULD BE ALARMED IF YOUR HEADACHES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH OR ACCOMPANIED BY THE FOLLOWING
You really should see a doctor as soon as you can if you have, or have had any of the red flags listed above.
TREATMENT
Some people leisurely take non - prescription medications and are alright. But I think you should see a doctor so you can be properly diagnosed as the treatment for the different types of headaches isn't exactly the same.
With all these knowledge base, wouldn't it be a good idea to talk about how to avoid headaches or reduce its frequency?
Some things you must do to help prevent or reduce the frequency of headache:
Avoid headache triggers. Keeping a headache diary can help you determine what triggers your headaches so that you can avoid the triggers.
Avoid medication overuse.
Get enough sleep.
Don't skip meals.
Exercise regularly.
Reduce stress.
Reduce caffeine.
Thanks for reading through. Let's not get comfortable with headache as a life partner, go see a doctor!
References
WHO
Mayo Clinic
Medscape
Healthline
