The Nuisance Called the Headache
Typically a headache can be called a pain in the head or the upper part of the neck. This is one of the most common of pains that is suffered by a majority of people at some point in their lives. Moreover the head is the one part of the body that often suffers pain. Basically headaches can be categorized into three; namely the primary headaches, the secondary headaches and the cranial neuralgia, facial pain or various other headaches.
The primary category of headaches can be migraine headaches, tension headaches, cluster headaches etc. Of these the migraine headache is very widespread. Both sexes suffer migraines but after puberty it is said that women are more prone to migraines than men. A rarer kind of headache is the cluster headache which is a sharper kind of pain that seems to occur many times a day and goes on for many months. It is found more in men between 28 and 30 years of age.
The secondary headaches are usually attributed to some fundamental problems in the structure of the head or neck. These sorts of headaches can be caused by internal hemorrhaging in the head, tumors, brain fever or encephalitis.
In fact the brain on its own cannot sense a headache for the simple reason that it does not have nociceptors but the head consists of many pain sensitive receptors that are located both inside and outside the cranium and in fact the pain is caused when these receptors are disturbed.
Not all types of headaches need the attention of a doctor and invariably most of them disappear if the victim takes a painkiller like an acetaminophen, a paracetamol, an aspirin or an ibuprofen.
One treatment that seems to do wonders for many people who suffer headaches is acupuncture. It has been found very effective for chronic headache sufferers. Many people have started trying herbal remedies for headaches too.
The more serious and uncommon headaches can be caused by an aneurysm in the brain, or a tumor or hyper tension that results in a stroke. These require the attention of the doctor and ensure that you contact a medical practitioner if your headaches are sudden and violent, it impairs your sight or speech or you find that you have problems trying to move any of your limbs.
