Headache is defined as pain felt in the head or the upper neck. Most people suffer from it every once in a while and consider it as a normal occurrence. Because there are several categories for headaches, the question is whether you’re suffering from mere headache, or from a symptom of an underlying condition. For your information, there are a number of reasons why headaches occur and there are also several health conditions that are linked to it.
That’s why even though it’s the only symptom you are feeling, you still have to be cautious and have yourself properly diagnosed. Treatment for headache is still difficult for some medical practitioners even today, but hopefully, through intensive research, experts will be able to provide proper diagnosis and effective treatment for the condition.
One of the most common causes for headache is migraine attack. A migraine is a form of a vascular headache and is a result of the vasodilatation or the enlargement of the blood vessels in the head. When blood vessels are enlarged, it causes the nerve fibers in the brain to release chemicals, resulting to pain and inflammation. Aside from causing headache, a migraine attack also affects the intestine’s nervous activity, which results to vomiting, nausea, and sometimes diarrhea. This reaction in the digestive system usually delays the effect of painkillers, sometimes making the headache worse.
A person’s weight can also be a determining factor of headache and its severity. According to studies, people who are obese are more likely to suffer from chronic headache than those who have normal weight. In 2002, one scientist noted that obesity increases the amount of cytokines chemicals that promote inflammation, during migraine attacks. A recent study done in 2004 has also found out that people who are obese were more likely to have work absences due to headache. Chronic headaches are headaches that occur fifteen days a month. While experts have not proven yet whether losing weight can reduce the occurrence of chronic headaches or not, regular exercise is still a good option since it allows the body to release endorphins, the body’s natural painkiller.
Another condition linked to headaches is epilepsy. Studies say that a person who have epilepsy suffering from frequent headaches at the same time have a higher risk for developing degenerative brain diseases such as dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and even stroke. Because of the dramatic manifestation of seizures in epilepsy patients, headaches that are linked to it are often neglected. However, it should be noted that headaches can actually be a predominant symptom of epileptic seizure and should not be taken for granted.
Among the conditions that can be linked to headaches, stroke is perhaps the worst. It has been proven that individuals who experience regular chronic headaches and migraine attacks have an increased risk for stroke than those who do not. Research shows that up to 50% of individuals who have suffered from stroke report experiencing some sort of severe headache. Stroke occurs when the flow of blood to the brain is interrupted as a result of bleeding or clogging of blood vessels. This leads to severe headache that stroke victims report from experiencing. Headaches linked to stroke often occur without warning and can cause so much pain. It is accompanied by other symptoms such as numbness and weakness of the face, arms, and legs. It can also result to double vision, inability to speak and write, and vertigo or gait imbalance. It’s not easy to determine whether a headache is a consequence of stroke or not, but by taking note and being familiar with your usual headache symptoms, you might just be able to perform some self-diagnosis and seek medical help when an unusually severe headache occurs.
Experts cannot fully explain as to how headache affects conditions like migraine, epilepsy, or stroke, so the best thing to do is be aware of other symptoms that accompany them. Headaches can sometimes be just a result of stress and can be treated simply by getting enough rest. Finally, living a healthy lifestyle is also an excellent way to get rid of a number of medical conditions like headache, so make sure you engage yourself in daily physical activities and get enough nutrition from a well-balanced diet.
