Cause Of Severe Headaches And Their Origins
Severe headaches have been a medical mystery for
centuries and the cause of severe headache varies. Ancient healers
treated severe headache with herbs like Feverfew and Chamomile. Today, a
huge amount of research time and dollars are poured into finding the
cause of severe headache and its treatment. This condition is so
prevalent, that “cures” come and go, yet millions of people are still
plagued with this mystifying and agonizing problem.
In the 1800’s, severe headaches regardless of what cause, were primarily
treated with laudanum, an extremely addictive opiate. The patient was
perhaps relieved of the pain but acquired an equally-devastating
addiction to the drug. Today, severe headaches are never treated with
opiate medication because doctors understand that such method is not
solving the cause of severe headache. Instead, it merely removes the
symptom of pain, at an expense of the risk of addiction.
Modern medicine suggests that severe headaches have many causes and that
their intensity and frequency is based solely upon the individual
physiology, gender, age, and heredity of the afflicted. Not every
treatment is right for every patient. Often it is a matter of “hit and
miss” for the physician or neurologist, trying one protocol and then
another until the patient is relieved of pain.
What are Some Causes of Severe Headaches?
One cause of severe headaches appear to be attributable to your
heredity; if a first-degree relative had this condition, you may be more
prone to develop it either in adolescence or early adulthood. This is
especially true for women, who tend to have more severe headaches in
general than men.
Once a pattern develops, it is likely to continue throughout your life.
Knowing this, your physician may suggest that you try a medication like
Inderal (a medication for hypertension) that may lessen the frequency
and severity of your pain. This treatment works for some causes of
severe headaches, but not for others.
Another cause of severe headache is due to serious medical conditions
such as stroke, hypertension, meningitis, and even a brain tumour. If
you experience a sudden-onset headache that is the most intense pain
you’ve ever felt, you need immediate medical attention! Call 911 and get
to the ER as soon as possible; this type of pain is not normal, even for
those prone to headaches.
The last cause of severe headache is stress-related muscle tension, poor
body posture, poor vision, sustained loud noise, a sinus infection, too
much sun, too much cold, pre-menstrual syndrome, hunger, consumption of
too much alcohol, some kinds of foods, menopause, medication
side-effects, or insomnia. These are severe headaches that respond well
to appropriate medications and changes in lifestyle behaviour.
How Can I Tell What Is The Cause Of My Severe Headaches?
On your own, it is quite hard to pinpoint your real cause of severe
headache. The real cause of severe headache needs to be evaluated by a
physician, usually a neurologist. Your physician will take a complete
history of your experience with severe headache such as time of initial
onset, frequency, severity, history of head injury, what makes them
worse, what makes them better, all medications you’re taking, your
eating and exercise habits, your occupational history, your current
interpersonal relationships, and other medical conditions for which
you’re being treated before they can tell you the cause of severe
headache. Your neurologist will probably order a brain scan to rule out
tumours that could be the cause of severe headache. The general rule is
“Look for the obvious, then for the hidden.”.
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