Diagnosing Different Types of Headaches and Their Treatments

Diagnosing Different Types of Headaches and Their Treatments

The headache is one of the most common ailments of adults in the United States. According to Dortch's article, Our Aching Heads, this is most likely due to the fact that stress, noise, and frustration of everyday life have increased rapidly in recent years (). Actually, headaches have become so common in the United States today that the word headache is taken out of its original context on a regular basis and used in out everyday language, such as "My brother can be such a headache!" The National Headache Foundation estimates that every year more than 45 million Americans are diagnosed with some type of head pain (Findley). There are several different activities, foods, or even emotions that can cause a headache. Although there are not many symptoms of the headache, when diagnosed properly, there are a number of treatments that will hopefully produce a positive outcome.

Throughout history, headaches have evolved into many different types of illnesses, producing several diagnosis and treatments. In ancient times, different ethnics of people found different ways to ease their head pain. For instance, the Stone Age people drilled holes into their skulls to try to find relief. The Ancient Greeks found that bloodletting worked to relieve their head pain (Gloeckner). Finish writing the historical information!!!!!!!!!

Although there are not many symptoms of the headache, there are a few that can be recognized at an early stage. Some symptoms of a headache are a dull-throbbing pain at the temples of the head, a stuffed up sinus pain around the eyes and nose, a vague neck discomfort that moves upward, or full-blown skull splitting migraine pain. A throbbing pain that is usually felt on one side of the head is classified as a vascular headache. The most popular vascular headache is the migraine. The symptoms of a vascular headache include nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to noises and bright lights. In fact, according to Norton's article, a study was conducted on 405 women ages 25 to 55 that have been diagnosed with numerous migraines. Eighty-seven percent reported having experienced vomiting or nausea with their attacks (). Sinus headaches are caused by an infected sinus (Diamond). The pain is typically limited to the eyes and nose area. The pain felt is a constant pressure. Tension headaches tend to cause a non-throbbing pain felt all over the head with more pressure around the face and neck. This type of headache is commonly caused by eyestrain and stress (Findley).

Catching the symptoms early will help accurately diagnosis the headache. The location and nature of the pain is very important in diagnosing what type of headache is occurring. Different types of headache produce different types of pain in several locations. Tension headaches are commonly referred to a "weight on top of the head." This is due to the tightening of the scalp that is felt while experiencing a tension headache. Because of the pain produced during a tension headache or migraine, these types of headaches are commonly misdiagnosed as sinus problems. Although sinus headaches affect the nose and eye area, migraines tend to produce sensitivity to the eyes. Migraines have been found to be hereditary. Providing a family history of headaches or migraines would be very helpful in correctly diagnosing the type of headache that is occurring. Headache can be caused by many different activities or emotions. Stressful situations, such as raising children, starting new careers or making ends meet, or a food allergy can cause a headache, but it is quiet difficult to exactly pinpoint the cause. Food allergy headaches will tend to occur four hours after indigestion. Some common foods that have been known to cause headaches are certain cheeses, wine, beer, chocolate, peanuts, processed foods, ham, hot dogs and caffeine. On the other hand, emotions such as anxiety, anger, depression and even sexual arousal can be common causes of headaches.

Over the years, a number of treatments have been developed, both standard medical treatments and old-fashion home remedies. Write on modern medical treatments!!!!!!! More than not, simple changes un habits can reduce the number of headaches that occur. Try not to carry heavy bags, slouch, or sit to long in one position. Also,