Are headaches hereditary?

Headaches have a tendency to run in families, especially migraines. Children who have migraines usually have at least one parent who also suffers from them.

What is a thunderclap headache?

Thunderclap headache is a type of headache whose intensity increases suddenly within a minute. Subarachnoid hemorrhage or stroke is the most common cause of this type of headache.

How can I treat a headache that spreads to behind the eyes?

Some cases of headaches and pain behind the eyes are symptoms of uncorrected vision issues. Eye strain can commonly occur from staring at a television or computer screen — or even undiagnosed nearsightedness. This causes the brain and eye to make up for vision impairment, often resulting in a headache. Other eye conditions that could cause headache and pain behind the eye include optic neuritis, or inflammation of the optic nerve, glaucoma, an eye disease affecting the optic nerve, intermittent angle closure glaucoma, idiopathic intracranial hypertension, and giant cell arteritis. For headache and pain behind the eyes, it is suggested to get your vision checked and get vision correction, if needed.

How to get relief from a headache in winter?

Sinus headaches are common in winters that may occur from wet hair and not wearing a hat. To cure headache in winter, you can keep the neck and scalp warm when out in the cold using scarves and hats. Keep the shoulder muscles loose by carrying out stretches or shoulder circle movements regularly throughout the day. Use heat packs to keep the muscles around the neck and shoulder warm after being out in the cold. Try to keep your stress levels down as stress is known to increase the tension in these muscles. Treat yourself with regular neck and shoulder massages.

What to do if a headache is accompanied with lightheadedness?

Headache with dizziness could occur due to plenty of reasons ranging from dehydration to anxiety. Migraines are also a common cause of dizziness accompanied with headache. Although rare, a headache with dizziness can sometimes indicate a medical emergency, requiring immediate treatment. These emergency situations include brain aneurysm, stroke, head injuries, or bacterial and viral infections. It is best to seek advice from your doctor if your headache is often accompanied by dizziness.

What to do if a headache is causing sleeplessness?

Lack of sleep has been linked with mainly two types of headaches including migraine headache and tension headache. Here are a few things you can do to manage your headaches and sleep at home such as reduce your stress levels through exercise, relaxation techniques, or therapy. Apply a hot or cold compress to your head for 5 to 10 minutes at a time. This can help ease the pain. You can even try acupuncture or massage.

When to see a doctor for your headache?

You must visit your doctor if your headache keeps coming back or painkillers do not help and your headache gets worse. You have a bad throbbing pain at the front or side of your head – this could be a migraine, or in rare cases indicate cluster headache. You feel sick, vomit, and find light or noise painful or get other symptoms such as numbness in your arms and feet.

Headache

Written By Dr. Subita AlaghBDS

Reviewed By Dr. Rajeev Sharma

MBA, MBBS

Last updated on: 27 Sep 2022 | 06:23 PM (IST)

Overview

We all have headaches every now and then. Most of us usually tend to ignore them until they start interfering with our daily activities. Although, headache is a symptom itself, the other symptoms of headache are not just restricted to dull or sharp pain in the forehead region, but differ depending on the type of headache. There can be a lot of reasons you might be having a headache such as sinus infections, colds, stress, dehydration, vision problems, hormonal issues, migraine, head injury, and central nervous system (CNS) infections.

The actual cause of headache can be diagnosed with methods like CT scan, MRI, or certain blood tests. Your doctor will start the medication depending on the cause, type, and severity of your headaches. However, it is also important to bring some lifestyle changes such as proper diet, sleep, and relaxation techniques, if you suffer from recurrent headaches.

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Overview

Key Facts

Symptoms

Types

Causes

Risk factors

Diagnosis

Celebs affected

Prevention

Specialist to visit

Treatment

Home-care

Complications

Alternatives therapies

Living with

FAQs

References