Headache Information-credited to NIH Posted: 07-07-03 19:35pm
What is Headache?
When a person has a headache, several
areas of the head can hurt, including a
network of nerves that extends over the
scalp and certain nerves in the face,
mouth, and throat. The muscles of the head
and the blood vessels found along the
surface and at the base of the brain are
also sensitive to pain because they
contain delicate nerve fibers. The bones
of the skull and tissues of the brain
itself never hurt because they lack
pain-sensitive nerve fibers. The ends of
these pain-sensitive nerves, called
nociceptors, can be stimulated by stress,
muscular tension, dilated blood vessels,
and others triggers of headache. Vascular
headaches (migraines are a kind of
vascular headache) are thought to involve
abnormal function of the brain's blood
vessels or vascular system; muscle
contraction headaches appear to involve
the tightening or tensing of facial and
neck muscles; and traction and
inflammatory headaches are symptoms of
other disorders, ranging from brain tumor
to stroke to sinus infection. Some types
of headache are signals of more serious
disorders: sudden, severe headache;
headache associated with convulsions;
headache accompanied by confusion or loss
of consciousness; headache following a
blow on the head; headache associated with
pain in the eye or ear; persistent
headache in a person who was previously
headache free; recurring headache in
children; headache associated with fever;
headache that interferes with normal life.
Physicians will obtain a full medical
history and may order a blood test to
screen for thyroid disease, anemia, or
infections or x-rays to rule out a brain
tumor or blood clots. CTs, MRIs, and EEGs
may be recommended. An eye exam is usually
performed to check for weakness in the eye
muscle or unequal pupil size. Some
scientists believe that fatigue, glaring
or flickering lights, the weather, and
certain foods may trigger migraine
headaches.
Is there any treatment?
Not all headaches require medical
attention. Some result from missed meals
or occasional muscle tension and are
easily remedied. If the problem is not
relieved by standard treatments, a
headache sufferer may be referred to an
internist, a neurologist, or a
psychologist. Drug therapy, biofeedback
training, stress reduction, and
elimination of certain foods from the diet
are the most common methods of preventing
and controlling migraine and other
vascular headaches. Regular exercise can
also reduce the frequency and severity of
migraine headaches. Temporary relief can
sometimes be obtained by using cold pack
or by pressing on the bulging artery found
in front of the ear on the painful side of
the head.
What is the prognosis?
About 90 percent of chronic headache
patients can be helped.
What research is being done?
One theory of headaches is that people who
suffer from severe headache and other
types of chronic pain have lower levels of
endorphins than people who are generally
pain free. Thermography is an experimental
technique for diagnosing headache. In
thermography, an infrared camera converts
skin temperature into a color picture, or
thermogram, with different degrees of heat
appearing as different colors. Researchers
have found that thermograms of headache
patients show strikingly different heat
patterns from those of people who never or
rarely get headaches.
Select this link to view a list of studies
currently seeking patients.
Organizations
American Council for Headache Education
19 Mantua Road
Mt. Royal, NJ 08061
achehq@tal
ley.com http://www.achenet.org
Tel: 856-423-0258 800-255-ACHE (255-2243)
Fax: 856-423-0082
National Headache Foundation
820 N. Orleans
Suite 217
Chicago, IL 60610
info@head
aches.org http://www.headaches.org
Tel: 773-388-6399 888-NHF-5552 (643-5552)
Fax: 773-525-7357
Related NINDS Publications and
Information
21st Century Prevention and Management of
Migraine Headaches
Summary of a workshop on 21st Century
Prevention and Management of Migraine
Headaches, held June 8-9, 2000
Headache: Hope Through Research
Information booklet about headaches,
including migraines.
Chronic Pain
Chronic pain information page compiled by
the National Institute of Neurological
Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).
Pain: Hope Through Research
Information booklet on pain compiled by
the National Institute of Neurological
Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).
Migraine Update
A short update on migraines and migraine
research from the National Institute of
Neurological Disorders and Stroke
(NINDS).
Pseudotumor Cerebri
Pseudotumor Cerebri (Benign Intracranial
Hypertension) information sheet compiled
by the National Institute of Neurological
Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).
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Georgia59
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Joined: 11 Apr 2007 Posts: 5542 Location: Along the Mississippi, USA
