Chances are you’ve heard of some types of headaches
related to eye strains and those that are tensioned or
clustered. You also most have heard about migraine
headaches, caffeine-withdrawal headaches, and sinus
headaches.
A lot of folks have also experienced hangover
headaches and it is estimated that over 450 million of
the world’s population suffer from headaches. A small
group of people however suffer from a rare and unusual
forms of headache.
Over a hundred types of headaches have been
categorised by the International Headache Association.
These different types of headaches can be differentiated
by doctors with symptoms, the severity of occurrence
and patient history.
Every type of headache has its own history which can
help determine the specific types of tests to aid in
confirming the diagnosis. The more you’re able to
determine the specific features of a headache, the easier
it will be for your doctor to evaluate it.
Here are four types of headaches you probably never
knew existed.
Trigeminal neuralgia Headache
This pain is characterised by pain around the jaws and
in the temples and is age related. The pain is very sharp
and seems like an electric shock. It is triggered by
certain actions such as brushing the teeth or touching
the face. It is common for people with this type of
headache to experience several “shock” episodes a day
because of an artery pressing down on a nerve.
Doctors recommend the use of muscle relaxants to ease
the pain. If a patient is however younger than 55, it
could be that the headache is caused by a neurological
condition such as multiple sclerosis.
Exertion Headaches
These type of headaches usually accompany any type
of physical exertion such as sneezing, sex, exercise,
laughing or pooping. The pressure on the spinal fluid
increases briefly in the head as you bear down to do
these activities and this may cause pain.
The spinal fluid pressure build up is usually no cause for
concern as it takes between a few minutes to an hour to
pass.
In rare cases however, it could be as a result of a blood
vessel problem causing the pain especially if the
headache is severe as soon as you’re done with exerting
yourself physically.
Giant cell arteritis Headaches
The specific cause of this type of headache has not been
identified. It is characterised by a boring, jabbing or
burning pain in the head and is usually very serious.
What is known about this headache is that it is linked to
inflammation and is particularly common in people that
are over the age of 60. The jabbing pain in the head is
also accompanied with pain around the ears, especially
when chewing.
It is estimated that about 30 percent of people who have
giant cell arteritis will go blind, and it is as such
considered an emergency. Treatment usually consists
of steroids to improve pain and prevent blindness.
Hypertension headaches
The name of this type of headache says it all. The pain
has to do with an increase in your blood pressure but
strangely, high blood pressure has nothing to do with
this type of headache.
It is only severely high blood pressure of systolic and
diastolic range 200/110 or higher that can cause this
type of headache. An increase in your blood pressure
also causes an elevation of the blood pressure in the
brain because there is usually a restriction of blood flow
to the brain.
A hypertension headache is similar to the type of pain
felt when you wear a tight cap and is usually worse in
the morning than any other time of the day. This type of
pain can be alleviated by keeping your blood pressure
under control.
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