Headache
Alternative names:
cephalalgia; pain in the head
Definition:
A pain in the head from any cause. See also benign
headache; classical migraine
headache; common migraine
headache; tension headache;
and cluster headaches.
Considerations:
Although painful and annoying, the vast majority of headaches
do not indicate a serious disorder. Tension
headache and migraine
headaches account for 90% of all headaches.
The different types of headaches are usually caused by muscle
contraction (tension
headaches), vascular problems (migraine headache or cluster
headache), or a combination.
A headache that signals a potentially serious problem is one
that:
Common causes:
Tension headache is
a common headache pattern that may or may not be associated
with psychosocial stressors. Tension headaches are characterized
by:
- pain usually felt in the back of the head and neck, and
usually not one-sided.
- pain that lasts for weeks or months with only brief periods
of relief, although it may fluctuate in severity.
- attacks that begin at any time of the day.
- Pain that is often described as a "tight band," pressing,
but rarely throbbing,
and never accompanied by fever.
Migraine headaches,
which are often preceded by fatigue,
depression, and visual
disturbance (light flash, loss of peripheral
vision, etc.), are characterized by:
- pain that is characteristically only on one side at a
time, but may involve the entire head.
- Pain that is throbbing in nature and usually develops
in the morning and gradually worsens after an hour or so.
- Attacks that may occur every few days or weeks, or not
for months. Migraines
often continue for hours, but rarely last longer than a
day or two.
- Pain that may be aggravated
by stress, alcohol,
or certain foods such as chocolate and are frequently accompanied
by nausea and vomiting
and relieved by sleep.
- having a family history of migraine headaches.
Cluster headaches, which
are a variation of the migraine, are characterized by:
- is often situated behind an eye and usually the same
eye.
- comes on very suddenly and without warning.
- peaks within 5 to 10 minutes and disappears in less than
an hour.
- is often triggered by alcohol.
- will awaken a person from sleep and occur several times
a day for weeks and then stop.
Inflamed sinuses (acute
sinusitis or chronic
sinusitis) are characterized by:
- pain that usually begins during or after a bad cold,
particularly if there is postnasal
drip.
- pain that is localized to one specific area of the face
or head, and comes on very quickly.
- pain that is worse in the morning before the mucus has
had an opportunity to drain.
- pain that it is made worse by coughing,
sneezing, or sudden
movements of the head.
- pain that it is aggravated by alcohol,
sudden temperature changes, and during cold seasons, going
from a warm room out into the cold.
- a history of hay fever
and allergies.
Temporal arteritis occurs
mostly in people over age 50 and is characterized by:
Other common causes include:
Rare causes include:
Note: There may be other causes of headaches. This list is
not all inclusive, and the causes are not presented in order
of likelihood. The causes of this symptom can include unlikely
diseases and medications. Furthermore, the causes may vary
based on age and gender of the affected person, as well as
on the specific characteristics of the symptom such as location,
quality, time course, aggravating factors, relieving factors,
and associated complaints.
Update Date: 02/09/00
Updated by: J. Gordon Lambert, MD, Associate Medical Director,
Utah Health Informatics and adam.com
editorial
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