Chronic headaches: symptoms, causes, drugs, etc. • hello healthy

Definition

What are chronic headaches?

Almost everyone must have felt a headache. If you have frequent headaches or have persistent headaches, it could be headaches that are experienced by chronic headaches. The term chronic refers to how often you experience headaches and how long they last for you.

Chronic headaches are headaches that occur for more than 15 days or more in a month. Chronic headaches will generally occur continuously, sometimes disappear but often recur, and occur over a long period of time.

When you have chronic headaches, you don't have just one type of headache. Chances are you have several different types of headaches.

Here are some types of headaches that have the potential to become chronic headaches that appear on a continuous basis:

• Tension headaches will make the sufferer feel a sensation like his head is being tied tightly.
• Migraine is characterized by a throbbing headache. This pain can be felt on both sides of your head.
• Cluster headaches can appear and then disappear for a while, and come back for weeks, up to months. This type of headache can also cause intense pain on one side of the sufferer's head.
• Hemicrania continua, a headache that may appear on one side of the head and feels almost similar to a migraine.

Chronic headaches are one of the most disturbing types of headaches, because they can make the sufferer unable to carry out normal activities. Chronic headaches can be experienced by both adults and children.

These recurring chronic headaches can only be relieved by aggressive and stable initial treatment, and long-term treatment can reduce the pain and the number of headaches.

How common are chronic headaches?

Chronic headaches are quite common. However, chronic headaches often affect more women than men. Chronic headaches can occur in patients of any age. To treat chronic headache conditions, you can try to reduce risk factors. Talk to your doctor for more information.

Signs & symptoms

What are the signs and symptoms of chronic headaches?

By definition chronic headaches occur 15 or more days a month, over a span of 3 months. Daily (primary) chronic headaches are not caused by other conditions.

There are chronic daily headaches that last for a long time. Chronic headaches that last for more than 4 hours include:

• Chronic migraine
• Tension type headaches (tension-type headache or TTH) chronic
• New and persistent daily headaches
• Hemicrania continua

Chronic migraine

This type of chronic headache generally occurs in people with a history of episodic migraines. Within eight or more days of the month and lasting for at least 3 months, migraine headaches that are classified as chronic tend to have the following symptoms:

• Strike one or both sides of the head
• Has a throbbing sensation
• Causes moderate to severe pain
• Exacerbated by routine physical activity

These chronic migraine headaches also cause at least one of the following conditions:

• Nausea, vomiting or both
• Sensitivity to light and sound

Chronic tension headaches

This chronic headache tends to have the following symptoms:

• Strike both sides of the head
• Causes mild to moderate pain
• Causes pain that feels pressing but not throbbing
• Not aggravated by routine physical activity
• Some people can experience pain in the skull.

New headaches daily and don't go away

These chronic headaches appear suddenly, usually in people without a history of headaches. This condition can be constant in the first three days, and has at least 2 of the following characteristics:

• Usually attacks both sides of the head
• Causes pain that feels pressing, but not throbbing
• Causes mild or moderate pain
• Not aggravated by routine physical activity

Hemicrania continua

This chronic headache has symptoms such as:

• Strike only one side of the head
• Happens every day and lasts without pause
• Suddenly causing moderate to serious pain
• Responds to the pain reliever indomethacin (Indocin)
• Sometimes it becomes worse with the development of migraine-like symptoms

Other than that, hemicrania continua is associated with at least one of the following:

• Tearing or redness of the eye on the side of the head that is affected
• Blocked or runny nose
• Drooping eyelids or narrowing of the pupils
• Feel tired

There may be signs and symptoms not listed above. If you have concerns about a particular symptom, consult your doctor.

When should I see a doctor?

Chronic headache pain may get worse. If you feel that your chronic headaches are getting more frequent and the pain cannot be treated with medication, it may be time to see a doctor.

There are several symptoms that can be used as a marker for you to go to the doctor when the headache is chronic, such as:

• You usually experience three or more chronic headaches within a week
• You are taking over-the-counter medicines that were not prescribed by your doctor to relieve headache pain.
• Chronic headaches that you feel don't get better or get worse if you take over-the-counter medications to relieve frequent headaches.
• You need a dose of medicine that is more than the recommended dose to relieve headaches
• Chronic headaches get in the way of your daily activities, such as disturbing you while sleeping, working, or while studying in class.
• Chronic headaches that you experience can be triggered by strenuous physical activity.

Sometimes, chronic headaches can also be a symptom of a serious condition, such as stroke and meningitis. You may need to watch out for dangerous headache signs and seek medical attention immediately if your headache is accompanied by conditions such as:

• Pain that suddenly strikes and feels severe.
• Chronic headache accompanied by fever, stiff neck, confusion, seizures, double vision, weakness, numbness, or difficulty speaking.
• Chronic headaches accompanied by neurological symptoms such as confusion, numbness, impaired coordination, walking or speech.
• Chronic headache pain occurs after you have injured your head
• The condition worsens even after you rest and take medication.

Cause

What causes chronic headaches?

The exact cause of chronic daily headaches is not known. Chronic daily (primary) headaches have no clearly identifiable cause. However, there are some conditions that are thought to be the cause of your chronic headaches.

• The muscles in the head and neck tighten, causing pressure and pain.
• Stimulation of the trigeminal nerve, which is the main nerve that plays a role in sending sensations from the skin of the anterior part of the head, oral cavity, nose, and teeth and meninges. When this nerve is active, there will be pain behind the eyes accompanied by a runny nose, red eyes, which are associated with certain types of headaches.
• Changes in certain hormones. For example, the hormones serotonin and estrogen. If these changes continue to occur, there is a chance that you will feel a headache.
• Genetic factors.

Meanwhile, conditions that can cause non-primary chronic headaches include:

• Inflammation or other problems with blood vessels in and around the brain, including stroke
• Infections, such as meningitis
• Pressure intracranial which is too high or too low
• Brain tumor
• Traumatic brain injury
• Chronic headaches due to excessive drug use.

Generally, chronic headaches appear in people who experience episodic headache disorders, usually migraines or other types of tension, and consume too many pain relievers. If you take pain relievers more than 2 days a week or 9 days a month, you are at risk for chronic, recurring headaches.

Risk factors

What increases my risk for chronic headache causes?

There are many risk factors for chronic headaches, including:

• Gender, where women have greater potential than men.
• Anxiety disorders
• Depression
• Sleep disturbance
• Obesity
• Snoring habit
• Consumption of excess caffeine
• Excess headache medicine
• Other chronic pain conditions

Drugs & Medicines

The information provided is not a substitute for medical advice. ALWAYS consult your doctor.

How are the causes of chronic headaches diagnosed?

To check for chronic headaches, the doctor will check for signs of disease, infection or neurological disorders. The doctor will also ask about your headache history.

If the cause of the headache is still not known for sure, the doctor can do it imaging tests, like CT scan or an MRI, to look at your medical condition and find out the cause of your chronic headaches.

How are the causes of chronic headaches treated?

Treatments for the underlying condition often stop the chronic headaches that come with them. If no other conditions are found, treatment will focus on preventing pain.

Prevention strategies vary, depending on the type of headache you have and whether overuse of medications is contributing to these headaches. If you use pain relievers more than 3 days a week, the first step is to avoid the medication as directed by your doctor.

When you are ready to start preventive therapy, your doctor may recommend:

• Antidepressants. Tricyclic antidepressants - such as nortriptyline (Pamelor) - can be used to treat chronic headaches. These medications can also treat the depression, anxiety and sleep disorders that often accompany the chronic headaches you experience.
• Other antidepressants, such as several types selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem, etc.), which are thought to help with depression and anxiety, but there is no evidence that these drugs are more effective than placebo for headaches.
• Beta blockers: These drugs are commonly used to treat high blood pressure, are also a mainstay for preventing episodic migraines. Some beta blockers including atenolol (Tenormin), metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol-XL) and propranolol (Inderal, Innopran XL).
• Anti-seizure drugs. Several anti-seizure medications appear to prevent migraines and can be used to prevent chronic daily headaches. Drug options include topiramate (Topamax, Qudexy XR, others), divalproex sodium (Depakote) and gabapentin (Neurontin, Gralise).
• NSAIDs. Prescription non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - such as naproxen sodium (Anaprox, Naprelan) - can be helpful, especially if you are stopping other pain relievers. NSAIDs can also be used periodically when the headache is worse.
• Botulinum toxin injections. Onabotulinumtoxina (Botox) provides relief for some people and may be an option for people who cannot tolerate daily medications well.

Unfortunately, some chronic daily headaches remain resistant to all medications.

Home remedies

What are some lifestyle changes or home remedies that can be taken to treat the causes of chronic headaches?

Here are healthy lifestyle and home remedies options that can help you deal with the chronic headaches that often arise:

• Acupuncture. This ancient technique uses thin needles that are inserted into various areas of the skin at specific points that are thought to be the energy source of the body. Acupuncture is believed to be quite effective in helping reduce the frequency and intensity of chronic headaches.
• Biofeedback. You can control your headaches more carefully and change certain body responses, such as muscle tension, heart rate and skin temperature.
• Massage. This method is believed to reduce stress, relieve pain and make your body more relaxed. Although the results of this treatment are not yet known, massage can be beneficial if you have tight muscles in the back of your head, neck and shoulders.
• Herbal medicines, vitamins and minerals. Some evidence suggests that feverfew and butterbur can prevent migraines or reduce their severity. High doses of riboflavin (vitamin B-2) can also reduce headaches.
• Coenzyme Q10 supplements can be useful for some individuals. Oral magnesium sulfate supplements can reduce the frequency of headaches in some people, although not all studies agree. Ask your doctor if this treatment is right for you. Do not use riboflavin (vitamin B-2), feverfew or butterbur if you are pregnant.
• Electrical stimulation of nerves occipital. The electrodes using a small battery are implanted near the occipital nerve, which is at the base of your neck. The electrodes send continuous energy pulses to the nerves to relieve pain. This step is considered investigational.

Before trying additional or alternative therapies, discuss the risks and benefits with your doctor. If you have any questions, consult your doctor for the best solution to your problem.