Headaches seriously affect an individual's life. Headaches may hinder a person from performing daily tasks, even simple ones. Therefore, many people search for ways to treat headaches and how to prevent them, and this is what we will shed light on in this article. 

Types of chronic headaches

Chronic headache is described as persistent pain in the head that recurs over the course of days. Headaches are usually classified as chronic when they recur about 15 days a month. 

There are two main types of headaches, each with different subtypes depending on the cause. The types of headaches can be summarized as follows:

Primary headache

Headaches that occur due to excessive activity in a specific area of ​​the brain, muscles in the head and neck, blood vessels, or a disturbance of chemicals in the brain, and they include several types, including: 

• Migraine: When pain is concentrated Migraines On one side of the head, it occurs in the form of seizures of varying severity and duration, and is more common in women than men.
• Tension headache: It is one of the most common types of headaches. It occurs as a result of  muscle tension in the neck and scalp area due to incorrect position of the head and neck. 
• Cluster headache: It may occur as a result of the hypothalamus gland, which is located at the bottom of the brain, suddenly producing histamine and serotonin. It occurs in the form of attacks of headache pain that are repeated on a daily basis and last for weeks and then stop for a long period that may reach years. 

Secondary headache

It is head pain associated with a specific health condition, that is, it is a symptom of a disease, and it is divided into several types based on the medical condition causing it, for example:

• Sinus headache. 
• Sudden thunder headache: This type indicates a serious problem such as a cerebral hemorrhage.
• Spinal headache. 
• Brain tumor headache. 
• Meningitis headache. 
• Headache caused by head or neck trauma. 
• Rebound headache. 
• Hormonal headaches. 

What are the causes of chronic headaches?

There are many possible causes of chronic headaches, so they vary Methods of treating headaches Depending on the cause, the causes of chronic headaches can be divided as follows:

Lifestyle-related causes of headaches

Such as headaches due to tension and psychological stress, lack of sleep, strenuous exercise, consuming alcohol, consuming caffeine, and consuming types of food additives. 

Causes of headaches resulting from changes in the external environment

It includes the following: exposure to bright light, exposure to direct sunlight, and hearing loud and annoying sounds for a long time.

Causes of headaches resulting from a health problem

While the causes of headaches resulting from a health problem include the following:

• Jaw and teeth problems: tooth decay, tooth abscesses, or infection after the extraction of a tooth or molars.
• Sinus diseases. 
• The infection is labyrinthitis, which occurs inside the inner ear.
• tonsillitis.
• Eye diseases. 
• Hormonal disorders such as pregnancy, menopause, and use of hormonal birth control pills. 
• High blood pressure. 
• Dehydration.
• Allergies.
• Nervous system disorders.
• Temporal arteritis.
• Meningitis.
• Brain and nervous system tumors.
• stroke.

Causes of headaches resulting from taking some medications

Headaches may result as a side effect of taking certain medications, such as:

• Hormonal birth control pills.
• Hormone replacement therapy used by post-menopausal women.
• Some types of diabetes medications.
• Excessive use of painkillers. 
• Suddenly stop taking certain medications. 

How are chronic headaches diagnosed?

The doctor diagnoses a headache after going through several steps, including the following:

• Asking about symptoms and medical history: The doctor asks the patient to describe his condition, the type of pain, the pattern and severity of seizures, and finds any other symptoms. 
• Comprehensive physical examination of the patient and blood pressure measurement. 
• Blood tests to detect anemia or the presence of any infection or organ dysfunction. 
• Imaging tests such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging of the head to look for any problem in the brain, such as a tumor, bleeding, or clots. 
• Lumbar puncture, which is taking a sample of the cerebrospinal fluid in the spine and analyzing it to detect any infections or brain bleeding. 

Can chronic headaches be treated permanently?

In fact, most cases of chronic headaches do not respond to treatment. This is due to the different causes of headaches, the difficulty of determining a specific treatment, and the nature of headaches that they are chronic, which means they continue for a long time. 

However, adhering to the doctor’s instructions, taking auxiliary medications, and changing lifestyle will help significantly reduce the severity and frequency of headaches. 

Book your consultation now at Neuroscience Center At Al Mousa Specialist Hospital.

What are effective treatment options for chronic headaches? 

There are many treatment options available to treat chronic headaches, and most people resort to using more than one method at the same time to ensure effectiveness in relieving headache attacks. Methods of treating headaches include the following:

Treating chronic headaches with medication

 Headache treatment medications aim to relieve headache symptoms and severity and vary depending on the nature of the headache, and are as follows:

• Pain relievers, such as paracetamol or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen, or aspirin. 
• Migraine medications, such as triptans, which work to reduce inflammation in the brain, and ergot. 
• Headache preventive medications, such as tricyclic antidepressants, and some epilepsy medications such as topiramate and gabapentin. 
• Medications or biological treatments are medications designed to modify the functioning of the immune system to prevent the main causes of chronic headaches. They work to modify the inflammatory response, and also affect neurotransmitters that have a role in regulating pain, or inhibiting antibodies. Among the most famous biological treatments for chronic headaches are monoclonal antibodies and TNF inhibitors. 

Use alternative therapy to treat headaches 

In cases where medications do not succeed in relieving chronic headache attacks, some may resort to alternative treatments, which are as follows:

• Biofeedback, a relaxation technique that helps control muscle response to stress.
• Acupuncture, which is useful in treating tension headaches and migraines by placing fine needles on specific areas of the body, but it requires a skilled person in this field. 
• Relaxation, meditation and stress management techniques such as yoga and deep breathing. 
• Behavioral therapy, which is very useful if headaches are related to tension and stress. This treatment focuses on changing the patterns of behavior and thinking that cause headaches to appear and worsen, as well as training in pain management. 
• Natural treatments, such as using essential oils such as peppermint or lavender, using cold compresses, and using herbs such as ginger and turmeric to reduce inflammation and relieve pain.

FAQ:

What are the ways to prevent and reduce the incidence of headache attacks?

Headache prevention techniques depend on avoiding the causes and triggers of headaches to prevent new attacks through several steps that include the following:

• Do not drink excessive amounts of caffeine.
• Get enough rest and sleep.
• Quit smoking and alcohol and avoid being with smokers while smoking.
• Do exercise regularly.
• Practice relaxation and meditation techniques. 

What is the effect of diet and sleep on chronic headaches?

Eating some types of foods and poor sleeping habits affect headaches in some cases, and the treatment may lie in changing the diet and sleeping habits in order to treat and recover from headaches, as food affects headaches in the following:

• Blood sugar levels, such as malnutrition that leads to low blood sugar, which causes the secretion of hunger hormones, which narrow the capillaries in the head and the rest of the body, causing the person to feel a headache.
• Excessive intake of caffeine daily. When one stops consuming more than usual, the person suffers from headaches. 
• Eating tyromine, which is found in some foods such as cheese or animal liver, is one of the causes of headaches.
• Eating foods containing histamine  such as red wine or red grapes, which is one of the compounds that causes headaches in people who are allergic to it.
• Eating headache-inducing monosodium glutamate, which is found in soy sauce. 
• Foods high in salt cause headaches by causing dehydration.
• In some people and children, food allergies trigger migraines. 
• Additives found in canned food as preservatives, such as nitrites, cause headaches, as well as nitrazine and coloring materials added to change the color or flavors of foods. 

Are there lifestyle changes that help reduce headaches?

Changing lifestyle is one of the most important pillars of treating headaches, and mild and moderate headaches can be treated by changing some daily habits, for example:

• Do light and moderate exercise regularly to promote overall health and reduce stress.
• Use hot or cold compresses to relieve the severity of the headache.
• Eat healthy, regular meals and be careful to maintain stable blood sugar levels.
• Regulate the number of hours of sleep and follow a regular sleep routine.
• Quit smoking and drinking alcohol. 
• Drink plenty of water.
• Practice stress, tension, relaxation and stress management techniques. 
• Avoid your headache triggers, whether environmental or psychological factors. 
• Stay away from the mobile phone screen before sleeping. 

In conclusion, if you suffer from one of the types of headaches and are looking for the appropriate migraine treatment for your condition, you can contact us at Al Mousa Specialist Hospital and visit the Headache Treatment Center on our numbers listed on the website for reservations and inquiries. 

Sources and references:

National Headache Foundation – Prevention

Harvard Health Publishing – Headache and Diet

American Migraine Foundation – Treatment Options