THE heat brings in different health and bodily discomforts one of which are headaches.
The brain itself cannot feel pain.
Experts now think surrounding tissues, brain chemicals, blood vessels, and nerves produce the pain signals. This week we take a close look at some of the headache types and their causes.
Rebound headaches
There are chronic headaches caused by medication overuse.
Regularly taking any pain reliever like, aspirin, or ibuprofen more than twice a week, or taking migraine drugs for more than 10 days a month can put you at risk for rebound headaches in just a few months.
Tension Headaches
This is the most common type of headache, which usually feels like a constant aching or pressure rather than throbbing on both sides of the head or at the back of the head and neck.
Triggers can include stress, anxiety, bad posture, and clenching your jaw, and these headaches can become chronic, although they usually aren’t severe.
Experts are not sure of exact cause, although it may be due to altered brain chemicals or mixed signals in the nerves leading to the brain.
Dental headaches
There are dental-related conditions that can trigger headaches or face pain, such as bruxism and temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ).
Bruxism is grinding your teeth at night, while TMJ affects the joints, located just in front of your ear, which connect the jaw to the skull.
A dentist can help diagnose these types of headaches, and treatment includes stretching the jaw, hot or cold packs, stress reduction, and bite guards.
Migraines
Migraines are severe headaches that are three times common in women than men.
The cause is not clear, but genes do play a role, and brain cell activity may affect blood vessel and nerve cell function.
One common migraine trigger is change, including hormones, stress, and sleeping or eating patterns.
Caffeine headaches
This is caused by excessive drinking of coffee or caffeinated drinks.
One can end up with a caffeine withdrawal headache if they miss their daily scheduled intake.
Ice cold drink headache
It is known as a brain freeze.
Most people have experienced the shooting head pain that can occur while enjoying an icy cold drink or treat on a hot day.
People with migraines may be especially prone to them.
Experts think a cold sensation on the roof of the mouth can cause an increase in blood flow to one of the brain’s arteries.
Menstrual headaches
The sudden drop in estrogen right before a menstrual cycle can sometimes trigger migraines.
These usually occur between three days before and two days after the cycle has started.
Other women may have menstrual-related headaches that are not migraines.
These arrive about six days or so before your period, at the same time as any moodiness, cramping, or other menstrual symptoms.
Weekend headaches
Some people may experience headaches that mainly show up on the weekend.
These are thought to be caused by oversleeping on weekend mornings, going to bed later at night, or caffeine withdrawal.
Also, if one has high stress levels all week, the weekend release may trigger a headache.
Emergency headaches
Most headaches are not an emergency, but there are a few symptoms that warrant rapid attention. One is a sudden onset headache that is quickly ‘explosive’.
Another is when a headache comes with a fever or extreme rise in blood pressure, or if it occurs after a blow to the head or exertion.
Other problematic symptoms include vision or speech change, neck stiffness, dizziness, loss of sensation, or muscle weakness on one side of the body.
— www.thepatriot.co.zw/www.healthyliving.msn.com