Headache: When to see a doctor?

This is an automatically translated article.

Post by Doctor of Department of Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Central Park International General Hospital

Headache is a common symptom caused by many different causes. There are pain that passes quickly without leaving any danger to the patient, but there are also pain that is a warning for other dangerous diseases.

1. What is a headache?

Headache is a common problem that every one of us has experienced at least once. Some causes of headaches are not dangerous (also called primary headaches) such as stress, stress, mental overwork, lack of sleep. But some other causes can cause dangerous headaches (also known as secondary headaches) such as cerebrovascular malformations, meningitis, brain tumors, ... and can affect life. patient. Knowing the warning signs of this condition will help patients minimize the risks and negatively affect their health.

2. Common types of headaches

Some common types of primary headache are:
2.1. Tension-type headaches This condition occurs most often. According to research, about 80% of the general population will experience this type of headache during their lifetime.
Patients often have unresolved emotional problems, anxiety, stress, prolonged stress, overwork, wrong working posture. Tension-type headache is characterized by: dull pain, feeling of squeezing in the head area, tight pressure, pain location is usually in the scalp, temples, shoulders and neck, and often pain on both sides.
2.2. Migraine headaches Migraine headaches are caused by abnormal activity of the nerve-vascular complex, which occurs in episodes. Pain usually occurs on one side of the head but sometimes both sides, feeling like a pulsating blood vessel in the head, accompanied by symptoms such as ringing in the ears, blurred vision, nausea, fear of noise and light ..
2.3. Chronic daily headache This condition occurs because primary headache diseases (migraine headache, tension-type headache,...) are not well treated, leading to long-lasting pain. If the pain of the headaches mentioned above occurs for 15 or more days in a month and lasts more than three months, it is called chronic daily headache.
When experiencing headaches, patients often self-medicate pain relievers, this is quite dangerous. Abuse of pain relievers as well as an overdose of painkillers can create a state of "drug resistance", drug poisoning or side effects on the liver and kidneys, in addition, the use of pain relievers can mask some dangerous warning signs, leading to late detection of the disease, directly affecting the health and life of the patient.

3. Risks from headaches

Headache can occur in the head, nape, neck, face and eye sockets, pain can be localized on one side or diffuse. There are many different pain locations such as left migraine, right migraine, orbital pain, back of the neck pain... Location of pain is one of the important information to help doctors diagnose the disease. is not the only factor from which to accurately determine the pathology.
For example, pain occurs on one side of the head, can be seen in many different diseases, such as:
Migraine headache: Usually pain on one side of the head but sometimes both sides of the head. A migraine headache is characterized by pulsating pain. The intensity of the pain varies from mild to very severe. Sometimes there is a right-sided migraine, or it can be a left-sided migraine, pain on both sides of the head, or side to side. Migraine headaches can last for hours or sometimes up to 2-3 days. The patients most commonly affected are women between the ages of 30 and 45.
V neuralgia: also known as trigeminal neuralgia, also causes pain on one side of the head. Nerve pain V often has a sudden onset, sharp pain like an electric shock, sometimes there is a very burning, stinging, numbing sensation... The pain is short-lived, lasting only a few days. seconds, but the pain may appear consecutively, making the patient very painful, uncomfortable and miserable. Nerve pain V can recur every day without a certain pattern. The severity of the disease is expressed by the frequency of the pain.
Occipital neuralgia: is a condition in which the occipital nerves - two pairs of nerves originating from the second and third cervical vertebrae (C2, C3) are inflamed or damaged, causing symptoms, causing symptoms. Patient has pain in the back of the neck. Occipital neuralgia can cause severe pain, feeling like an electric shock in the back of the neck and neck, often can cause pain on one side of the head, but in some cases pain on both sides of the head, ..
In addition, diseases of the eyes, ears, nose, throat, and teeth such as: glaucoma (glaucoma), temporomandibular joint inflammation, sinusitis, .. can also cause pain on one side of the head, if the position of Damaged organs occur only on one side
Therefore, in order to have an accurate diagnosis of the cause of the headache, besides the location of the headache, other characteristics of the pain such as how the pain originates (occurs come on suddenly or gradually?,...), in what situations does the pain usually appear? How long and short the duration of the pain is, how is the nature of the pain, .... together with the necessary examination and professional tests, it is possible to determine the exact cause of the pain and have accurate diagnosis and treatment.

4. Warning signs of a dangerous headache? When to visit?

Headache is a common problem. There are cases where the patient lives with the pain for months and years, but the patient also needs to pay attention to the warning signs of a dangerous headache such as:
New-onset headache: A recent headache Here, the patient has never experienced a similar headache before. This is suggestive of a recent acute condition that is also causing the headache. Therefore, a new-onset headache for the first time needs to be examined and screened for the cause. Sudden-onset headache: A pain that comes on suddenly and is intense. This may be a sign of a cerebrovascular disease such as a ruptured blood vessel in the brain causing an intracerebral hemorrhage or a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Pain changes in nature: in some cases, patients have headaches that persist for a long time over many years, the pain changes in nature such as location, nature of pain, pain level, duration of pain. ... is a warning sign.

Headache with other signs: some headaches with other signs such as headache with fever, headache with cognitive and consciousness disorders,... Headache in patients with underlying medical conditions: headache occurs in patients with a number of other systemic diseases such as cancer, HIV-infected patients, autoimmune diseases,... Headache with signs of nerve damage: patients with headaches have problems such as Weakness, paralysis, slurred speech, slurred speech, distorted mouth... Then the patient needs to go to a medical facility for accurate and timely diagnosis in order to effectively treat and limit the risks to health. strong.
With some cases of headaches that have been screened, dangerous causes have been excluded, and chronic in nature, patients may consider using pain relievers to help reduce pain, overcome the headache. pain. However, if you have used pain relievers but the pain has not subsided, affecting your quality of life, you need to see a doctor. The doctor will prescribe methods to diagnose the cause of the disease by magnetic resonance imaging. From there, give appropriate disease control and adjustment measures to improve quality of life, and ensure good health.
Vinmec International General Hospital put into use the magnetic resonance imaging machine 3.0 Tesla Silent technology. Magnetic resonance imaging machine 3.0 Tesla with Silent technology of GE Healthcare (USA).
Silent technology is especially beneficial for patients who are children, the elderly, weak health patients and patients undergoing surgery. Limiting noise, creating comfort and reducing stress for customers during the shooting process, helping to capture better quality images and shorten the shooting time. Magnetic resonance imaging technology is the technology applied in the most popular and safest imaging method today because of its accuracy, non-invasiveness and non-X-ray use. For direct consultation, you Please dial HOTLINE or register online HERE. Download the exclusive MyVinmec app for faster scheduling, more convenient calendar tracking!

Please dial HOTLINE for more information or register for an appointment HERE. Download MyVinmec app to make appointments faster and to manage your bookings easily.