Headache is one of the most common and most annoying disorders that affects millions of people worldwide and affects their quality of life

The reasons why are not yet fully known, but depending on the symptoms with which it occurs, it is possible to distinguish the three main types of headache.

Headache symptoms

Headache is not a condition that is triggered in the same way for everyone.

The signs that characterise a headache attack are many and vary from person to person.

They can generate oppression and constriction in the head up to the upper part of the neck, but also deep pain spread over the whole head or limited typically to the temples, sometimes pulsating other times fixed, accompanied in some cases by other symptoms such as vomiting, fever, dizziness and photosensitivity.

This unpleasant state may last from a few minutes to several hours, recurring at regular intervals or only sporadically, even a long time apart.

Headache is almost never caused by a single factor

There are genetic, anatomical, hormonal, social and environmental elements that can trigger alterations in pain mechanisms.

Types of headache

Depending on the duration, the intensity of the pain and the region of the head affected, different types of headache can be distinguished:

• Muscle-tensive headache: This is the most common and widespread form of headache and is caused by localised contraction of the neck muscles. This can occur episodically for about 20 minutes, with constant, non-pulsating pain localised on both sides of the head, distributed like a band or like a helmet, of mild to moderate intensity, which is aggravated if pressure is applied to the tense muscles. On the other hand, we speak of chronic tension headache when it recurs almost daily, causing the sufferer a feeling of heaviness and disturbed sleep. The reasons that trigger tension headache are usually stress, tension or anxiousness, bad posture. It generally affects students, office workers and people who do sedentary activities and can therefore be improved by taking better care of the working environment and the bedroom: it may help to adopt a more correct position at the desk and to change the pillow and mattress. It generally improves with light physical activity.
• Migraine: it is a type of headache that affects only one part of the skull, generally the frontal, temporal or orbital lobe, presenting itself with a throbbing pain that increases with sudden movements. The predisposition to migraine is hereditary, and it is a disorder that mainly affects women. Diarrhea, nausea, paleness and vomiting often accompany migraine, together with the so-called “aura”: vision dysfunction, tingling in the limbs and other neurological disorders. Migraines, with or without aura, generally have a variable duration of 3-7 hours but can also persist for whole days. It is believed that this type of headache is caused by the contraction and then dilation of the blood vessels surrounding the brain, a movement that can irritate the nerve endings. The triggering factors generally include environmental factors (weather changes, seasonal changes, strong smells), food (alcohol, cured meats, potato chips, coffee), hormonal factors (menstrual cycle, birth control pills, menopause) and emotional factors (stress, insomnia, travel).
• Cluster headache: so called due to the intensity of the attacks – which are repeated over time with considerable frequency (even several times a day) – this headache mainly affects men, is rarer and seems to have a lower hereditary component. It causes sudden, severe, continuous and burning pain, but shorter than migraine (from 15 minutes to 3 hours maximum), located on one side of the head in the orbital area, and is accompanied by tearing, sensitivity to light and nasal congestion. Sometimes cluster headache occurs during night sleep in the form of intense pain capable of inducing awakening, also because those who suffer from it experience stronger discomfort if they are in a lying position.
• Other headaches: headaches can be triggered either by secondary causes such as infections, neuralgia, head or neck trauma, vascular and psychiatric disorders, cerebral hemorrhages and tumors, or by some factors such as stress, pregnancy, drug abuse and even the end week (weekend headache).

Headache prevention and treatment

By respecting some rules and sticking to simple and healthy lifestyle habits, it is possible to prevent headache attacks.

For example, avoid:

• making excessive physical efforts and exposing yourself to repeated emotional stress;
• fast;
• sleeping too much or too little compared to one’s physiological needs;
• altitude, climate change, pollution, excessive exposure to the sun;
• taking oral contraceptives or hormone replacement therapies (especially in menopause);
• ingesting certain foods and drinks (too much red wine, chocolate, sausages, aged cheeses, dried fruit, ice cream, coffee, tea);
• expose yourself to dazzling lights, too intense perfumes and too loud noises;
• use pillows or mattresses that are too hard or too soft in bed;
• assume an incorrect posture at the desk (rather keep the back straight with forearms resting on the table and elbows at right angles);
• use heels that are too high.

Furthermore, rest is of fundamental importance, especially for people who perceive an increase in headache attacks after strenuous activity, or for those who also associate photophobia or phonophobia with headaches.

In this case, it is recommended to retire to a dark, quiet room to find some relief.

It is also recommended that you keep a ‘headache diary’ in which you note down the symptoms that occur during attacks, their frequency, duration and intensity, to be shared with your doctor.

If you are unable to curb your headache by paying attention to your daily habits, you will need to resort to medication.

Generally, over-the-counter analgesics are effective in eliminating the pain of minor headache attacks, as they act as painkillers and anti-inflammatories.

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