Frequent headaches? check out the symptoms and causes!

Everyone must have felt headaches. Yes, headaches are a common symptom that can occur due to various conditions, for example, when you don't drink or eat enough. However, what if you experience frequent headaches? Find out the various causes of headaches every day, their symptoms, and how to deal with them below!

Is it normal to have frequent headaches?

Headache is a fairly mild pain complaint. However, if you have frequent headaches, this is of course not normal.

Quoted from the Mayo Clinic, if you feel a headache every day or at least 15 consecutive days or more a month, you can be considered to have a chronic headache. This condition can even last for months, at least 3 months.

This type of daily headache can take any form, whether it's a one-sided headache or an all-over headache. In addition, the intensity level also varies every day, it could be that today your head hurts very much and the next day the pain is reduced. However, those headaches are always there, every day.

In one day, the duration of the headache that you feel also varies. It can last for quite a long time or even briefly - less than four hours. This type of headache is called a primary headache.

What causes headaches every day?

Types of primary headaches for which the cause is unknown. Even some experts claim that this condition can occur suddenly in people who do not have a history of any disease.

Meanwhile, if you do not experience a primary headache disorder, then the cause of these headaches every day could be due to the following conditions:

• Changes in pressure or volume of fluid in the spine. This usually occurs when a person takes spinal fluid withdrawal.
• Meningitis, which is a viral infection that attacks the lining of the brain and spine, causing symptoms of daily headaches.
• Injury to the head. Headaches every day can occur if you have a history of head injuries.
• Blood clots in the brain, including strokes.
• Brain tumor, one of the symptoms is characterized by headaches.

Usually these medical conditions also cause several symptoms besides headaches, such as fatigue or decreased cognitive function.

Symptoms are frequent headaches according to the cause

You often experience headaches, pain can last for 15 days, a month, or even more. The symptoms of daily headaches or primary headaches also differ according to each group.

1. Chronic migraine

When you have frequent headaches, this may be a sign of chronic migraines. Migraines can make you feel a throbbing sensation, affect one side or both sides of your head, and have moderate to severe pain. Not only that. You can also feel nauseous, vomiting, and are sensitive to sound and light.

2. Chronic tension type headache

Tension headaches usually show symptoms such as:

• Affects both sides of the head.
• Causes mild to moderate aches or pains.
• Causes pain that feels like pressing on the head, tightens, but does not feel throbbing.

3. Daily persistent headaches

This one headache comes suddenly even though you don't have a history of headaches every day. The symptom you feel is constant pain within three days from the first day. Not only that, you can also feel:

• Affects both sides of your head.
• Causes pain that feels like pressing, tightening, but not throbbing.
• The pain will be mild to moderate.
• There may be symptoms of chronic migraine or a chronic type of tension.

4. Hemicrania continua

This type of headache affects only one side of your head. Not only that, you can also experience frequent headaches that are continuous without a definite period. The symptoms are:

• A pain that feels moderate and is like being pricked by a thorn
• It gets worse if there are other symptoms such as migraines.
• Redness in the eye area.
• The nose becomes blocked and you have a cold.
• Feeling restless.

How to deal with frequent headaches?

If you experience frequent headaches, your doctor will give you several medications aimed at reducing the pain you feel.

However, doctors usually try several types of drugs first until they find the right one to deal with the daily headaches you experience.

Some of the drugs that are given to people who experience daily headaches are:

• Antidepressant drugs, including fluoxetine (Prozac), fluvoxamine (Luvox), paroxetine (Paxil), and sertraline (Zoloft).
• Migraine medicine, triptans. For example almotriptan (Axert), frovatriptan (Frova), sumatriptan (Imitrex), and zolmitriptan (Zomig).
• Painkillers, NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). For example aspirin, celecoxib (Celebrex), diclofenac (Voltaren), ibuprofen, and naproxennaproxen.

To find out whether you are experiencing primary daily headaches or headaches due to other conditions, you should immediately consult a doctor.

Prevent frequent headaches

There are times when you can't avoid the causes of headaches every day. However, to minimize the annoying pain, try to take some precautions starting from taking care of yourself, such as:

• Avoid taking excessive headache medication. Even if you have frequent headaches, taking the medication twice a week can increase the frequency and severity. Consult your doctor first to prevent side effects that can occur.
• Avoid headache triggers. Try to keep a log of every day the headache occurs. This makes it easier for you to determine what the triggers are such as when the headache started, what activities were doing, and how long the headache lasted.
• Get enough rest. The average adult needs at least 8 hours of sleep at night. If you have sleep disorders or problems, you should consult your doctor.
• Avoid things that stress you out. Stress is a common cause of headaches. When your activities are too busy, don't forget to take a break.
• Do sports that relax your mind and body to get blood to your brain and deal with stress. The sports you can do are yoga, walking, tai chi, swimming, and so on.