The most serious causes of headache pain include: Hemorrhagic (bleeding) stroke. A hemorrhagic stroke happens when a blood vessel in your brain breaks and bleeds.
Headaches that get steadily worse. Changes in personality or mental function. Headaches that are accompanied by fever, stiff neck, confusion, decreased alertness or memory, or neurological symptoms such as visual disturbances, slurred speech, weakness, numbness, or seizures.
If your headache persists for longer than 72 hours, you should see a doctor as soon as possible. The same is true for headaches that come and go but continuously occur in the same spot.
Stress and muscle tension are often factors in these headaches. Tension headaches typically don't cause nausea, vomiting, or sensitivity to light. They do cause a steady ache, rather than a throbbing one, and tend to affect both sides of the head. Tension headaches may be chronic, occurring often, or every day.
A cluster headache is brief, but it comes on fast and strong. It's sometimes described as “explosive.” The pain may peak within 10 to 15 minutes and vanish within 15 minutes to 2 hours. It may last longer, but that's uncommon. Migraines tend to build up slowly and last a long time.
The Difference Between Headaches and Migraines
Unlike headaches, which range from dull to acute pain, migraines are often so debilitating that the acronym POUND is sometimes used to summarize key migraine signs and symptoms.
A severe headache could be a primary symptom of a brain aneurysm that is rupturing, or about to. A brain or cerebral aneurysm is a thin, weak spot in the wall of an artery, where blood pools, eventually forcing the artery to bulge. Like a stretching balloon, an aneurysm weakens as it enlarges.
However, brain tumors cause a specific type of headache that is different than migraine or tension-type headaches. Headaches due to a brain tumor have the following characteristics: unusually severe or persistent, especially in people with no history of severe or chronic headaches. more painful or intense in the ...
Going to sleep with an untreated migraine is commonly a mistake as it may worsen during the night and become difficult to treat in the morning. If a migraineur is sleep deprived, he or she can expect more migraines, while those who oversleep may wake with attacks that are very resistant to therapy.
A migraine is a headache that can cause severe throbbing pain or a pulsing sensation, usually on one side of the head. It's often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound.
The causes of many chronic daily headaches aren't well-understood. True (primary) chronic daily headaches don't have an identifiable underlying cause. Conditions that might cause nonprimary chronic daily headaches include: Inflammation or other problems with the blood vessels in and around the brain, including stroke.
A migraine is usually an intense pounding headache that can last for hours or even days. The pounding or pulsing pain usually begins in the forehead, the side of the head, or around the eyes. The headache gradually gets worse. Just about any movement, activity, bright light, or loud noise seems to make it hurt more.
Tension headaches usually cause pain behind both eyes and a feeling of pressure around the forehead. They can occur at any time and can last from 30 minutes to several hours.
Silent migraines, also called acephalgic migraines or migraine without headaches, are the types of migraines that do not involve the typical head pain. Instead, people with silent migraines experience other symptoms such as aura (visual disturbances), dizziness, nausea, and sensitivity to light and sound.
Generally, a lack of sleep is known to trigger headaches and migraines in some people. In a large study of migraine sufferers, half said sleep disturbances contributed to their headaches. And those who slept only six hours a night on average had more frequent and more severe headaches than those who slept longer.
Tension headaches, which typically occur with anxiety and depression, can cause mild to intense pain in your neck, behind your eyes, and around your head. While they can impair your quality of life, aren't always disruptive to your daily routine and may improve fairly quickly.
Tension headaches
They feel like a constant ache that affects both sides of the head, as though a tight band is stretched around it. Normally, tension headaches are not severe enough to prevent you doing everyday activities. They usually last for 30 minutes to several hours, but can last for several days.
What causes a persistent headache? A persistent headache can result from an injury or a structural problem in the spine, such as arthritis. It can also affect people who have migraine or have had a stroke. The overuse of pain relief drugs can also cause an ongoing headache.
Have you ever experienced a headache that lasted for several days? If so, this is not normal. Although this isn't a sign of a serious or life-threatening health problem, it is a sign that you may have a headache disorder or an underlying problem such as TMJ disorder.
Seek emergency care if:
Headache medication does not relieve chronic or excruciating pain. Head pain prevents eating or drinking, making one susceptible to dehydration or malnutrition. You experience major side effects to medication, such as severe drowsiness, sedation or nausea and vomiting.