The blog below lays out the three major causes of headaches. Moreover, grab a clinical practice book by Dr. Benson Sergiles to learn more about medicine and medical professionals.
1. Dissection of Carotid or Vertebral Arteries
The carotid and vertebral arteries are important blood veins that carry oxygen-rich blood from the neck to the brain.
An abrupt tear in the arterial wall that enables blood flow to split the wall layers is referred to as a dissection. The genuine artery channel may get compressed due to blood flow into this "false" channel, leading to a complete blockage, or occlusion, of the artery.
Dissection can occur suddenly (spontaneous carotid artery dissection) or as a result of trauma (e.g., motor vehicle accident, sports injury, surgery, chiropractic neck manipulation).
The carotid or vertebral artery dissection headache frequently radiates to the neck and face. The discomfort could be ongoing, sudden, progressive, throbbing, or acute.
A stroke can develop from pieces of the clot breaking off and obstructing the smaller arteries in the brain. As a result, the patient may have speech difficulties, facial drooping, weakness on one side of the body, and vision disturbances.
2. Medication-Overuse Headache
Medication-overuse headache (MOH) is a persistent daily headache brought on by excessive painkillers.
When the drug's impact wears off, the pain returns, prompting the patient to take more. Eventually, the medication loses effectiveness and might worsen the disorder. Both over-the-counter and prescription painkillers have the potential to cause MOH.
It is not advised to use codeine or opioids to treat tension headaches or migraines. Despite this, a lot of MOH patients use these medications.
In many nations, analgesics with codeine and caffeine are sold without a prescription.
Given that codeine, opioids, and caffeine are known psychotropic medications, misuse and reliance on painkillers may be an issue.
MOH patients can typically receive effective care. The initial stage is weaning them off of the drug.
3. Acute Herpes Zoster