Learn more about headache

Everyone gets affected with headache at some point in his or her life. However, if headache occurs quite frequently it may be a cause of concern and person must seek treatment immediately. This article discusses various types of headaches, causes, common symptoms associated with headache and also offers information on herbal remedies for headache. By making yourself informed about headache, you'll be able to treat it better.

How is headache classified?

The International Headache Society has classified various types of headaches based on the cause of headache. The classification is made to help health practitioners' treat headaches in a better way. The 3 major categories of headaches are:

1. Primary headaches - These headaches include migraine, tension and cluster headaches besides a variety of other less common types of headache.

2. Secondary headaches - These headaches are due to an underlying structural problem in the head or neck. Some of the common causes of secondary headache include bleeding in the brain, tumour, meningitis and encephalitis.

3. Cranial neuralgias, facial pain and other headaches - Such type of headaches are those that occur because of an inflammation of nerves in the head and upper neck. Facial pain and a variety of other causes for headache are included in this group of headaches.

Common causes of headache

Headache may result from a wide variety of causes. Some of the common causes of headache include inflammation of the sinuses, eyestrain, hunger, dehydration and reactions to certain foods including chocolate, cheese and monosodium glutamate (MSG). Headache may also be caused by life-threatening conditions such as encephalitis, brain cancer and cerebral aneurysms. Head injury may also cause headache. According to the traditional theory, tension-type headaches are caused due to muscle contraction while migraine and cluster headaches are caused due to blood vessel dilation.

Other serious symptoms associated with headache

Sometimes headache may be accompanied with nausea and vomiting, visual impairment such as blurred vision, hearing impairment, loss of memory, irritability, confusion, malaise or a general feeling of discomfort. Medical help should be taken in such situations.

According to experts, a severe headache that appears suddenly, or one that continues for more than a week following a head injury, or one that worsens instead of getting better with time, should not be taken lightly and must be reported to a doctor. In the case, headache is accompanied by fever and a stiff neck one should immediately consult a physician to rule out meningitis or another serious infection.

Herbal remedies for headache

If you are hit by headache, you may try some of the following tested and tried herbal remedies:

1. Eat a ripe apple with little salt in morning on an empty stomach continuously for a week
2. If you suffer from sinus headache, boil fresh ginger or dried ginger powder in water and inhale it
3. For headache caused by heat, pound lemon crusts into a fine paste and apply it as plaster on the forehead
4. If you suffer from chronic headache then keep your legs in a bucket filled with hot water for 15 minutes every night before sleeping. Continue it for 2 to 3 weeks
5. If you have migraine headache, prepare a juice by adding 200ml of spinach juice with 300ml of carrot juice. Drink it regularly