Primary cough headache. Garza I, et al. Overview of chronic daily headache. Friedman BW, et al. Headache emergencies: Diagnosis and management. Neurological Clinics. Headache hygiene tips. Accessed March 8, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cutrer FM, et al. Cough, exercise, and sex headaches. Neurologic Clinics. Bajwa ZH, et al. Evaluation of headache in adults. Evans RW, et al.
Postconcussion syndrome. Green MW. Secondary headaches. In: Continuum Lifelong Learning Neurology. Simon RA. Allergic and asthmatic reactions to food additives. External compression headache. International Headache Society. Seifert T. Headache in sports. Current Pain and Headache Reports. The elusive hangover cure. Headache: Hope through research. When to see a physician for your headache. National Headache Foundation. Mayo Clinic; Mao L, et al.
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An increased familial risk of these headaches suggests that there may be a genetic cause. Treatment options include non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation which uses a hand-held device to provide electrical stimulation to the vagus nerve through the skin , galcanezumab-gnlm injections, triptan drugs, and oxygen therapy in which pure oxygen is breathed through a mask to reduce blood flow to the brain. Certain antipsychotic drugs, calcium-channel blockers, and anticonvulsants can reduce pain severity and frequency of attacks.
In extreme cases, electrical stimulation of the occipital nerve to prevent nerve signaling or surgical procedures that destroy or cut certain facial nerves may provide relief. Paroxysmal hemicrania is a rare form of primary headache that usually begins in adulthood. Pain and related symptoms may be similar to those felt in cluster headaches, but with shorter duration. Attacks typically occur 5 to 40 times per day, with each attack lasting 2 to 45 minutes.
Severe throbbing, claw-like, or piercing pain is felt on one side of the face-in, around, or behind the eye and occasionally reaching to the back of the neck. Other symptoms may include red and watery eyes, a drooping or swollen eyelid on the affected side of the face, and nasal congestion. Individuals may also feel dull pain, soreness, or tenderness between attacks or increased sensitivity to light on the affected side of the face.
Paroxysmal hemicrania has two forms:. Certain movements of the head or neck, external pressure to the neck, and alcohol use may trigger these headaches.
Attacks occur more often in women than in men and have no familial pattern. The nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug indomethacin can quickly halt the pain and related symptoms of paroxysmal hemicrania, but symptoms recur once the drug treatment is stopped. Non-prescription analgesics and calcium-channel blockers can ease discomfort, particularly if taken when symptoms first appear. SUNCT Short-lasting, Unilateral, Neuralgiform headache attacks with Conjunctival injection and Tearing is a very rare type of headache with bursts of moderate to severe burning, piercing, or throbbing pain that is usually felt in the forehead, eye, or temple on one side of the head.
The pain usually peaks within seconds of onset and may follow a pattern of increasing and decreasing intensity. Attacks typically occur during the day and last from 5 seconds to 4 minutes per episode. Individuals generally have five to six attacks per hour and are pain-free between attacks. This primary headache is slightly more common in men than in women, with onset usually after age SUNCT may be episodic, occurring once or twice annually with headaches that remit and recur, or chronic, lasting more than 1year.
Symptoms include reddish or bloodshot eyes conjunctival injection , watery eyes, stuffy or runny nose, sweaty forehead, puffy eyelids, increased pressure within the eye on the affected side of the head, and increased blood pressure. SUNCT is very difficult to treat. Anticonvulsants may relieve some of the symptoms, while anesthetics and corticosteroid drugs can treat some of the severe pain felt during these headaches.
Surgery and glycerol injections to block nerve signaling along the trigeminal nerve have poor outcomes and provide only temporary relief in severe cases. Doctors are beginning to use deep brain stimulation involving a surgically implanted battery-powered electrode that emits pulses of energy to surrounding brain tissue to reduce the frequency of attacks in severely affected individuals. Miscellaneous Primary Headaches Other headaches that are not caused by other disorders include:.
Chronic daily headache refers to a group of headache disorders that occur at least 15 days a month during a 3-month period. In addition to chronic tension-type headache, chronic migraine, and medication overuse headache discussed above , these headaches include hemicrania continua and new daily persistent headache. Individuals feel constant, mostly moderate pain throughout the day on the sides or top of the head. They may also experience other types of headache. Adolescents and adults may experience chronic daily headaches.
In children, stress from school and family activities may contribute to these headaches. Primary stabbing headache , also known as "ice pick" or "jabs and jolts" headache, is characterized by intense piercing pain that strikes without warning and generally lasts 1 to 10 seconds.
The stabbing pain usually occurs around the eye but may be felt in multiple sites along the trigeminal nerve. Onset typically occurs between 45 and 50 years of age.
Some individuals may have only one headache per year while others may have multiple headaches daily. Most attacks are spontaneous, but headaches may be triggered by sudden movement, bright lights, or emotional stress. Primary stabbing headache occurs most often in people who have migraine, hemicrania continua, tension-type, or cluster headaches.
The disorder is hard to treat, because each attack is extremely short. Indomethacin and other headache preventive medications can relieve pain in people who have multiple episodes of primary stabbing headache. Primary exertional headache may be brought on by fits of coughing or sneezing or intense physical activity such as running, basketball, lifting weights, or sexual activity. The headache begins at the onset of activity. Pain rarely lasts more than several minutes but can last up to 2 days.
Symptoms may include nausea and vomiting. This type of headache is typically seen in individuals who have a family history of migraine. Warm-up exercises prior to the physical activity can help prevent the headache and indomethacin can relieve the pain. Hypnic headache , previously called "alarm-clock" headache, awakens people mostly at night.
Onset is usually after age Hypnic headache may occur 15 or more times per month, with no known trigger. Bouts of mild to moderate throbbing pain usually last from 15 minutes to 3 hours after waking and are most often felt on both sides of the head. Other symptoms include nausea or increased sensitivity to sound or light. Hypnic headache may be a disorder of rapid eye movement REM sleep as the attacks occur most often during dreaming. Both men and women are affected by this disorder, which is usually treated with caffeine, indomethacin, or lithium.
Local blood vessels constrict to reduce the loss of body heat and then relax and allow the blood flow to increase. The resulting burst of pain lasts for about 5 minutes. Ice cream headache is more common in individuals who have migraine. The pain stops once the body adapts to the temperature change. Secondary headaches are symptoms of another health disorder that causes pain-sensitive nerve endings to be pressed on or pulled or pushed out of place.
They result from underlying conditions that affect the brain. Some of the more serious causes of secondary headache include:. Brain tumor. A tumor that is growing in the brain can press against nerve tissue and pain-sensitive blood vessel walls, disrupting communication between the brain and the nerves or restricting the supply of blood to the brain.
Headaches may develop, worsen, become more frequent, or come and go, often at irregular periods. Headache pain may worsen when coughing, changing posture, or straining, and may be severe upon waking.
Treatment options include surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. However, most individuals with headache do not have brain tumors.
Disorders of blood vessels in the brain , including stroke. Several disorders associated with blood vessel formation and activity can cause headache. Most notable among these conditions is stroke. Headache itself can cause stroke or accompany a series of blood vessel disorders that can cause a stroke. There are two forms of stroke:. Hemorrhagic stroke is usually associated with disturbed brain function and an extremely painful headache that develops suddenly and may worsen with physical activity, coughing, or straining.
Headache conditions associated with hemorrhagic stroke include:. Ischemic stroke Headache that accompanies ischemic stroke can be caused by several problems with the brain's vascular system. Headache is prominent in individuals with clots in the brain's veins. Head pain occurs on the side of the brain in which the clot blocks blood flow and is often felt in the eyes or on the side of the head. Conditions of ischemic stroke that can cause headache include:. Exposure to a substance or its withdrawal.
Headaches may result from drinking alcohol, following carbon monoxide poisoning, or from exposure to toxic chemicals and metals, cleaning products or solvents, and pesticides. These headaches are usually treated by identifying and removing the cause of the toxic buildup. The withdrawal from certain medicines or caffeine after frequent or excessive use also can cause headaches. Head injury.
Headaches are often a symptom of a concussion or other head injury. The headache may develop either immediately or months after a blow to the head, with pain felt at the injury site or throughout the head. Emotional disturbances may worsen headache pain. In most cases, the cause of post-traumatic headache is unknown. Sometimes the cause is ruptured blood vessels, which result in an accumulation of blood called a hematoma. This mass of blood can displace brain tissue and cause headaches as well as:.
Hematomas can be drained surgically to produce rapid relief of symptoms. Bleeding between the dura the outermost layer of the protective covering of the brain and the skull, called epidural hematoma , usually occurs minutes to hours after a skull fracture and is especially dangerous.
Bleeding between the brain and the dura, called subdural hematoma , is frequently associated with a dull, persistent ache on one side of the head. Nausea, vomiting, and mild disturbance of brain function also occur. Subdural hematoma may occur after head trauma but also occurs spontaneously in elderly persons or in individuals taking anticoagulant medications. Increased intracranial pressure. A growing tumor, infection, or hydrocephalus an extensive buildup of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain can raise pressure in the brain and compress nerves and blood vessels, causing headaches.
Hydrocephalus is most often treated with the surgical placement of a shunt system that diverts the fluid to a site elsewhere in the body, where it can be absorbed as part of the circulatory process. Headache attributed to idiopathic intracranial hypertension, previously known as pseudotumor cerebri meaning "false brain tumor" , is associated with severe headache.
It can be caused by clotting in the major cerebral veins or certain medications some antibiotics, withdrawal of corticosteroids, human growth hormone replacement, and vitamin A and related compounds.
It is most commonly seen in young, overweight females. Diagnosis usually requires a spinal fluid examination to document the high pressure and the rapid resolution of headache after the spinal fluid is removed.
Although called benign, the condition may lead to visual loss if left untreated. Weight loss, ending the use of the drug suspected of causing the problem, and diuretic treatment can help relieve the pressure. Inflammation from infections. Inflammation from infections can harm or destroy nerve cells and cause dull to severe headache pain, brain damage, or stroke, among other conditions.
Inflammation of the brain and spinal cord meningitis and encephalitis requires urgent medical attention. Diagnosis and identification of the infection usually requires examination and culture of a sample of the cerebrospinal fluid. Treatment options include:. Headaches also may occur with a fever or a flu-like infection. The risk seems to be highest with aspirin, acetaminophen and caffeine combinations. Overuse headaches may also occur if you take aspirin or ibuprofen Advil, Motrin IB, others for more than 14 days a month or triptans, sumatriptan Imitrex, Tosymra or rizatriptan Maxalt, Maxalt-MLT for more than nine days a month.
Medication-overuse headaches occur when medications stop relieving pain and begin to cause headaches. You then use more pain medication, which continues the cycle. Migraine care at Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products.
Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. Overview A migraine is a headache that can cause severe throbbing pain or a pulsing sensation, usually on one side of the head.
Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic Minute Weathering migraines. Share on: Facebook Twitter. Show references Cutrer FM, et al. Pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, and diagnosis of migraine in adults. Accessed Jan. Migraine information page.
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