A headache is a simple medical situation of having pain in the head. It is one of the most prevalent conditions many people deal with in their daily lives.

Who Can Get Headaches ?

Anyone can practically get a headache. From children to grown ups, young and old, anybody can experience a headache at any time any where.

Causes of Headaches

Headaches are mostly caused by several factors. The most common ones include migraine, tension, dehydration, eye strain, sinusitis and low blood sugar. Women also do have headaches when their estrogen during menstrual periods fluctuates.

Symptoms of Headaches

There are several types of headaches with their corresponding symptoms though the most common symptom in all of them is the pain. The symptoms for tension type headache includes constant pressure with the pain on both sides of the head. It is usually mild to moderate though it could get severe if not treated. The migraine type of headache is more common in women than in men. The symptoms for migraines are one sided in nature, vomiting, nausea, sensitivity to bright light and noise. The other headache with different symptoms is the vascular headache, also known as cluster headache is very painful with piercing tendencies lasting for 15 minutes to three hours. They are very rapid in nature though there are usually sensations in the general area of attack. Most of the time they are usually mistaken for brain tumors.

Over the Counter Treatments for Headaches

There are many remedies for all the different types of headaches that can be bought over the counter. Many of these headaches could be different but can be treated with simple painkillers such as paracetamol, acetaminophen, aspirins, or ibuprofen. Research has also shown that headaches can also be treated through brain stimulation with implanted electrodes.

Alternative Treatments for Headaches

Exercise prescriptions from medical practitioners have proved that they are capable of reducing headaches in combination with manual treatments. Massage therapy around the neck and shoulder region has also proved to be quite effective when it comes to curing headache frequencies and their duration too. In fact, massage has proved to be the best non-pharmacological treatment for chronic tension headache.

When is Medicinal Treatment Necessary?

Headaches with clinical symptoms such as sudden severe headache, fever, stiff neck or convulsions are not to be ignored, and the victim should seek medical attention right away. Though most of the headaches are not life threatening, they should not go untreated; especially those that arise from getting a blow to the head or associated with pain in the eye. People who have never had a history with headaches should also seek medical intervention to be on the safe side.

Medical Treatments for Headaches

Apart from the simple painkillers found over the counter, one should look for a healthcare professional for the recurrent unexplained headaches to get proper diagnosis and the eventual proper treatment. Doctors advise people to keep a headache diary that keeps track of the type, symptom, duration and any other factors of their headaches to assist them to get proper treatment.