Headache
On this page:
When a person
has a headache, several areas of the head can hurt, including a
network of nerves that extends over the scalp and certain nerves in
the face, mouth, and throat. The muscles of the head and the blood
vessels found along the surface and at the base of the brain are
also sensitive to pain because they contain delicate nerve fibers.
The bones of the skull and tissues of the brain itself never hurt
because they lack pain-sensitive nerve fibers. The ends of these
pain-sensitive nerves, called nociceptors, can be stimulated by
stress, muscular tension, dilated blood vessels, and others triggers
of headache. Vascular headaches (migraines are a kind of vascular
headache) are thought to involve abnormal function of the brain's
blood vessels or vascular system; muscle contraction headaches
appear to involve the tightening or tensing of facial and neck
muscles; and traction and inflammatory headaches are symptoms of
other disorders, ranging from brain tumor to stroke to sinus
infection. Some types of headache are signals of more serious
disorders: sudden, severe headache; headache associated with
convulsions; headache accompanied by confusion or loss of
consciousness; headache following a blow on the head; headache
associated with pain in the eye or ear; persistent headache in a
person who was previously headache free; recurring headache in
children; headache associated with fever; headache that interferes
with normal life. Physicians will obtain a full medical history and
may order a blood test to screen for thyroid disease, anemia, or
infections or x-rays to rule out a brain tumor or blood clots. CTs,
MRIs, and EEGs may be recommended. An eye exam is usually performed
to check for weakness in the eye muscle or unequal pupil size. Some
scientists believe that fatigue, glaring or flickering lights, the
weather, and certain foods may trigger migraine headaches.
Return to top 
Not all headaches require medical attention. Some
result from missed meals or occasional muscle tension and are easily
remedied. If the problem is not relieved by standard treatments, a
headache sufferer may be referred to an internist, a neurologist, or
a psychologist. Drug therapy, biofeedback training, stress
reduction, and elimination of certain foods from the diet are the
most common methods of preventing and controlling migraine and other
vascular headaches. Regular exercise can also reduce the frequency
and severity of migraine headaches. Temporary relief can sometimes
be obtained by using cold pack or by pressing on the bulging artery
found in front of the ear on the painful side of the head.
Return to top
About 90 percent of chronic headache patients can
be helped.
Return to top
One theory of headaches is that people who suffer from
severe headache and other types of chronic pain have lower levels of
endorphins than people who are generally pain free. Thermography is
an experimental technique for diagnosing headache. In thermography,
an infrared camera converts skin temperature into a color picture,
or thermogram, with different degrees of heat appearing as different
colors. Researchers have found that thermograms of headache patients
show strikingly different heat patterns from those of people who
never or rarely get headaches.
Return to top
American Council for Headache Education
National Headache Foundation
Return to top
Anxiety Disorders
