Well, a headache is something that we do not really pay much attention to. We just consider it just another regular ailment, attribute it to some mundane factor such as hot weather, stress and perhaps any such minor reasons and resign. They can indeed be addressed by some minor over the counter medicine and go rid of.
What Causes Daily Headaches? The prime reasons can include varied range of factors such as lifestyle, too much of stress, changes in weather, issues with acclimatization, lack of sleep, overuse of medications and heavy use of caffeine.
There may be a few other reasons as well that we will be discussing here in detail.
- Tension Headaches
- Migraines
- Cluster Headaches
- Hemicrania Continua
But, wait.. what if your headache is it quite recurring? What if it keeps coming back frequently? What could be the cause of daily headaches? What if your headaches are constant and came back almost daily? That could be an indication of something serious and would need serious consideration.
What Could Cause Headaches?
A headache can be the result of a wide range of factors. Medical fraternity believes that a headache is a signal to indicate something not just right with your health or more so, your body.
However, there is no clear information available about the pain signals sent to your brain and how do they get transmitted. It has been assumed that there are a few specific nerves in your blood vessels and within the head muscles, and these send the pain signals to your brain. But, how do these nerves get turned on is something that has not been found out as yet.
However, a lot of studies has gone into the different types of headaches and what causes them.
A few major causes of headaches include
Having checked out all those possibilities, it should be noticed that the reports are not sure about what exactly could cause headaches. That would be more so when you think of migraines. Doctors do not have a clear explanation of what causes the migraines.
What could be the Cause of daily Headaches?
While whatever we know as of now about headaches can be a result of a detailed investigation of the individual cases, if you are facing frequent headaches that come almost daily, it could be a cause for concern and needs an immediate attention.
What is a Chronic headache? Well, if you tend to get a headache for most of the month, it is termed as a chronic headache in many cases. Broadly speaking if you get headaches for almost 15 days or more in a month, it can be considered a chronic headache in most probability. It can be quite a huge issue and can affect your daily activities to a considerable extent.
The chronic headaches are normally classified into four major categories –
Tension Headaches
These are quite common among teens and adults alike. You will feel as if a tightening band or a rubber band has been tightened around your head. These are generally caused due to stress and can come and go quite often. It is one of the most common types of headaches and does not necessarily need any additional treatment except for an attempt to change your lifestyle.
They may not be much chronic most of the time, but do note that they can tend to get to the chronic state in some severe cases. They may not be a cause for concern if you tend to get them once or twice a month. They do not tend to go chronic most of the times.
Migraines
Migraines manifest themselves as a pounding and throbbing pain in the head. They can get severely disturbing and can last for considerably longer periods of time. While most migraines subside within a span of four hours, a few of them can extend to up to 2 to three days – or even more. One of the major issues is that they can affect you quite frequently.
Like we already stated, migraines can also be a result of family history or heredity. Migraines are likely to affect you around once to four times a month. In addition t the severe pain, migraines can have several other symptoms as well. These additional symptoms would include extra sensitivity too light, sound or even smell. Other additional symptoms would include loss of appetite, nauseous feeling, vomiting, and upset stomach.
Cluster Headaches
The Cluster Headaches are the most severe types of recurring headaches. If you are wondering what could be the cause of daily headaches and suffering from cluster headaches, that should be the worst case ever. They can be quite severe and can recur quite frequently. They can either be throbbing or constant. When a cluster headache strikes you, there is a huge possibility that you would not be able to sit quietly and tend to pace often.
One of the most common signs of cluster headaches would be they tend to affect only one side of your head. These headaches affect in clusters. That means they affect you in groups, and you may experience them two to three times a day, and these bursts can last for two weeks to three months. Each of the attacks is likely to affect you for around 15 minutes or can even last up to three hours.
Hemicrania Continua
The Hemicrania Continua headaches are yet another type of chronic headaches that sound similar to migraines and cluster headaches, but are slightly different. In fact, the name Hemicrania Continua in Latin means “pain in half the head”. That should give you an idea into what causes this type of headache. It happens on only one side of your face and resembles Cluster headaches in general.
However, it does not happen in clusters. Most of the times, the headache and pain remain quite constant throughout the day. The pain can even spike for a period of time.
How to treat Headaches?
Well, there are several ways that a recurring headache can be treated effectively and efficiently. The treatment of the headache would be dependent on the symptoms and what could be the cause of the actual pain.
The treatment would ideally be dependent on the underlying cause of your health conditions and the status of your headache. If the physician is unable to determine the actual cause of the headache, you may be administered te medications that would ease you of the pain.
Medications
The medications can be dependent on the actual symptoms of the pain and disease.
- Antidepressants called tricyclics – These would be helpful in addressing the anxiety and depression associated with the pain. They would also be helpful in addressing the pain to some extent.
- Beta-Blockers – These are also referred to as beta-adrenergic blocking agents. They help you reduce the blood pressure levels and thus an experience of the pain is considerably reduced.
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) – These are pain relievers and help you numb the feeling of pain. Do note that these should be used rather sparingly. Overuse can cause rebound headaches.
- Anti-seizure medications – These are used in treating severe headaches that are likely to cause epilepsy or even seizures.
Please note that none of these drugs and medicines should be used without the consultation with the medical professional and subsequent prescription.
Non-Medication Therapy
This would include the behavioural therapies and other activities. These activities can be prescribed with or without medications. Acupuncture and acupressure are a few techniques that can help you relieve the pressure and help you get rid of headaches within a span of just around five minutes.
Massages can be yet another excellent option to help you get rid of the severe headaches. Experts also opt for a few surgical procedures such as Occipital nerve stimulation in some cases as part of the non-medication procedure to take care of the recurring headaches.
Lifestyle Changes
Given the fact that headaches can also be caused as a result of a faulty lifestyle, a few corrective measures can help you address the concern. Managing your sleep habits should be one of the best options in this direction. Avoiding the use of caffeine or quitting smoking can be yet another excellent option that can prove to be much handy.
The key is to check what can cause headaches and arrive at the right options to address the issues.
Well, before we sign off…
Constant and recurring headaches can be quite risky and can dearly affect your day to day life. In case you are suffering from a headache for more than 15 days in a month, it should ideally a cause for concern. You have multiple options to take care of the headaches, and we assume the idea that you gained with us in this discussion would have given you a good idea into how to handle recurring headaches.
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