Headache Treatment Specialist Q&A
Headaches can be terrible to deal with and often cause some sort of pain, but they can also cause many worse issues or be an underlying cause of something more serious. Dr. Samir Abdelshaheed, MD, and his skilled team provide effective treatments that assist patients in finding long-term relief from persistent symptoms. For more information, please contact us today or simply book an appointment. We are conveniently located at 3925 Portsmouth Boulevard, Chesapeake, VA 23321.
Table of Contents:
What causes headaches?
What are some types of headaches?
When should I go to the doctor for my headaches?
How are headaches treated?
There are many reasons a headache could be caused. The signs associated with your headache will determine the treatment in which you will need to have. Headaches are classified into subcategories which are primary headaches and secondary headaches.
Primary headaches are due to over activity or even problems with the pain-sensitive structures within your head. Some of the most common primary headaches patients endure:
• Cluster headache
• Migraine
• Migraine with aura
• Tension headache
Many primary headaches often are triggered by similar lifestyle factors, which may include:
• Alcohol
• Particular food groups
• Sleep changes or lack of rest
• Poor posture
• Missing meals
• Stress
Secondary headaches are a symptom of a disease that sends signals to the pain-sensitive nerves within the head. A few causes of secondary headaches include:
• Acute sinusitis
• Arterial tears
• Blood clots
• Brain aneurysm
• Brain tumor
• Carbon monoxide poisoning
• Chiari malformation
• Concussion
• COVID-19
• Dehydration
• Dental issues
• Ear infections
• Hangovers
• High blood pressure
• Flu
• Meningitis
• Pain attacks
• Post-concussion syndrome
• Stroke
• Toxoplasmosis
• Trigeminal neuralgia
At least some point in your life, you have dealt with a headache, you may not know what may have caused it, but some of the most common types of headaches we often deal with include:
• Tension headache
• Cluster headache
• Migraine headache
• Hemicrania continua
• Ice pick headache
• Thunderclap headache
• Allergy headache
• Sinus headache
• Hormone headache
• Caffeine headache
• Exertion headache
• Hypertension headache
• Rebound headache
• Post-traumatic headache
• Spinal headache
However, it is quite serious if you have a headache and start noticing any one of these symptoms involved as well. If you do, you will need to seek immediate medical attention:
• Stiff neck
• Rash
• The worst headache you’ve ever felt
• Vomiting
• Confusion
• Slurred speech
• Fever of 100.4oF or higher
• Paralysis within any part of the body
• Vision loss
It is highly recommended to visit a medical physician for medical attention if you begin noticing the headache getting worse, you are losing your vision and/or consciousness, you cannot stop vomiting, or if the headache is moving long into the 72-hour timeframe with less than 4 hours of pain-free time.
The treatment for a headache will depend on the type of headache you are experiencing.
Tension-type headaches are some of the most common headaches to deal with, you should easily be able to handle these types of headaches with aspirin, ibuprofen, and acetaminophen. There are other alternative methods to treatment that do not involve medications including cognitive behavioral therapy, massage therapy, acupuncture, and biofeedback.
Migraines are another very common type of headache, these often affect men and women each year, they often cause pain that can be moderate to severe in nature, feel like it’s pulsing causing other symptoms like nausea, vomiting, or increased light sensitivities. The individual will need to follow quite strict treatment plans to help them which may include:
• Sleep or rest in a quiet and darkroom
• Cold or hot compresses applied to the neck or head
• Massage
• Over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen)
• Prescription medications
• Preventative medications
It is critical you recognize any severe symptoms that will require emergency care including:
• Severe and sudden headache
• Headache that occurs after a head injury or a fall
• Any fever, stiff neck, rash, seizure, double vision, weakened
If you are dealing with any type of headache that is severe in nature, contact us immediately to see what appointments we have available for you. We are conveniently located at 3925 Portsmouth Boulevard, Chesapeake, VA 23321. We serve patients from Chesapeake VA, Virginia Beach VA, Norfolk VA, Suffolk VA, Portsmouth VA, and Hampton VA.