Headache Treatment: Medication and Emergency Calls

Headache is not an independent disease; there is always some deeper underlying cause. It can even arise from overuse of painkillers. It«s important to recognize the symptom of a dangerous illness in time. How to help in an emergency situation was explained by a neurologist.

Why Headaches Occur

Primary types of headache include migraine, tension headache, cluster headache. Most often, headache occurs due to excessive tension in the head muscles.

“The basis of primary types lies in functional disorders of the muscles, trigeminal nerve function, vascular tone, and in some cases hereditary factors play a role,” emphasized Yekaterina Demyanovskaya, a medical expert at the Gemotest laboratory.

Tension headache is caused by spasm of the head and neck muscles and feels like a “hoop” around the head. Such pain can be relieved with simple painkillers, and it goes away after rest, light exercise, or massage.

There is secondary headache — a symptom of injuries, other diseases and conditions. It arises due to post-traumatic, post-stroke changes, as a result of changes in cerebrospinal fluid pressure, inflammation (for example, infectious, as in meningitis).

“Much less frequently, headache signals conditions that require attention and even dangerous ones — increased intracranial pressure, space-occupying lesions, hemorrhages, infectious inflammation, traumatic brain injury,” noted the doctor.

What to Do for a Headache

For primary headache, to relieve an attack, a doctor may recommend remedies based on paracetamol, ibuprofen, acetylsalicylic acid. These drugs reduce inflammation, swelling, and pain. If headache is caused by overwork or mild ailment, one can limit to non-drug methods.

Any treatment should be prescribed by a doctor.

“Rest in a quiet dark room, light massage of the temples and neck, a warm compress on the neck and shoulder area, herbal tea with mint or chamomile, a walk in the fresh air can alleviate the condition,” listed the neurologist.

Medications should not be taken without consulting a doctor due to the risk of developing medication-overuse headache — a chronic condition from abusing painkillers.

“And self-treatment is especially unacceptable in case of allergies, gastrointestinal diseases, kidney, liver diseases. If headache bothers you severely and frequently, reduces quality of life, you should see a doctor and undergo examination to understand its cause,” emphasized Yekaterina Demyanovskaya, a medical expert at the Gemotest laboratory.

When to Call an Ambulance Urgently

If headache starts suddenly and very severely, constantly intensifies, is accompanied by nausea or vomiting, increased body temperature, seizures, motor impairments — it«s important to call an ambulance as soon as possible.

Such manifestations may indicate dangerous conditions — meningitis, stroke, subarachnoid hemorrhage, intracranial hematoma, aneurysm rupture.

“In this case, saving a person and preserving neurological functions is only possible with immediate hospitalization. The faster treatment is started (antibacterial or neurosurgical may be required), the higher the chances of recovery, but time is usually of the essence, counting in hours and minutes,” noted the doctor.

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