Understanding Headaches: Causes, Symptoms, Types and When to Consult a Doctor

People of all ages suffer from headaches. It is a common problem that causes severe pain and discomfort in the body and hampers the daily life of people. But it should be noted that not all headaches are the same. Headache can be caused due to several reasons. Different types of headaches show different symptoms. Here, in this blog, we will talk about the causes of headaches, their symptoms, types and when to consult a doctor. Reading this blog will help you find the right solution to treat your headache.

What is a headache?

The pain caused by headache can be felt in scalp, neck and head. You may feel like your head is hurting but the pain is caused by its surrounding areas such as blood vessels, muscles and nerves. The pain of headache lasts from few minutes to several minutes depending on its type and symptoms.

Causes of headaches

Headache is caused due to several reasons. In this section, we talk about the causes –

• Stress: Too much work pressure, constant tension due to personal or professional life can cause tension headache.
• Dehydration: If you don’t keep your body hydrated throughout the day, especially during summer time, headache causes.
• Lack of sleep: Irregular sleeping patterns or lack of sleep patterns cause severe headaches.
• Dietary problems: Skipping meals or eating such foods that trigger headaches such as caffeine, chocolate or processed meat leads to severe headaches.
• Strain on eyes: Spending a lot of screen time or problem related vision can cause severe headaches.
• Medical conditions: Several types of medical conditions such as migraines, sinus infection and high blood pressure cause headaches.

Symptoms of Headache

There can be different symptoms for different types of headaches. Understanding the symptoms will help you identify the type of headache you have.

Tension-type headache

This is said to be one of the most common types of headaches which is most often seen I all ages of people. The person suffering from tension headache may feel dull in everything. This type of headache lasts between 30 minutes to 7 days depending on the severity of the headache.

Migraine

Headaches due to migraines include a number of symptoms such as vomiting, nausea, changes in vision, speech problems and sensitivity to light. The pain due to migraines feels like throbbing and it appears on one side of the side, disrupting the daily life of the people to a great extent.

Cluster headache

It is a rare type of headache that causes intense pain and this is the main symptom of this type of headache. It generally appears in groups or clusters of attack. The pain appears behind one eye and feels like stabbing. The common symptoms of cluster headache include runny nose, watery discharge, swollen eyelid. The symptom of cluster headache lasts up to 3 hours.

Sinus headache

It can cause headaches in your cheekbones or forehead, on one side or both sides of the face. The symptoms of sinus infection include runny nose, sore teeth, cold & cough.

Alcohol headache

Headache due to drinking alcohol causes severe pain that gets worse with daily exercise.

Dehydration headache

Headache due to dehydration cause severe pain in head.

Altitude headache

This type of headache causes throbbing pain all over your head and forehead. This type of headache occurs due to changes of altitude like air travel, traveling to hill station etc.

When to consult with a doctor?

Generally, headaches are harmless and resolved with proper rest. But if your headache turns severe with passing days and lasts for a long time, it is better to consult with a neuro specialist. If you are a resident of Kolkata and experiencing weakness, loss of vision like problems due to severe headache, immediately consult with the best Neuropsychiatry doctor in Kolkata. Proper guidance regarding lifestyle, medication and avoiding such things that triggers headaches can help lead a normal life.