Welcome back, everybody. This is Food for Thought,
Thoughts If It Were You by NeoGentrics. Now,
if you haven't already, go ahead and check out
GloriaTP5's page. She has some amazing podcasts
on her channel, along with some amazing singing,
great prayers, and even better poetry. Now, we
have some topics here that were sent in from
a lot of the listeners to my podcast, and I was
going through the list. One of the things that
someone asked me to cover were the different
types of headaches, if there are different types
of headaches, and if so, how many. So what I'm
going to do is I'm going to cover the basics
of headaches today, and if I have any more information,
I will definitely cover them in another episode.
But we're going to cover the basics for right
now, and then we'll move into the rest of them
as we move forward, okay? So first things first.
Just to make sure everyone here has the same
understanding I do with headache basics. First,
headaches can be more complicated than most people
realize, okay? Different kinds can have their
own set of symptoms and happen for unique reasons
and even need different treatments. Now, once
you know the type of headache you have, you're
a doctor and you can also find a treatment that
will most likely either prevent it or at least
reduce the pain, okay? There are 150 different
types of headaches, the most common one being
tension type headaches. These are the most common
type among adults and teens. They cause mild
to moderate pain and come and go over time. They
usually have no other symptoms. It's basically
just a simple headache. That's all a headache
is. Next is the not as common, but they do happen.
For me, they're normal. Migraines. These intense
headaches are often described as pounding, throbbing
pain. They can last from four hours to three
days and usually happen one to four times a month.
Along with the pain, people have other symptoms
such as sensitivity to light, noise, smells,
nausea, or vomiting, loss of appetite, upset
stomach, or belly pains. When a child has a migraine,
they may look pale, feel dizzy, have blurred
vision, fever, and an upset stomach. Very few,
however, that have these migraines will have
digestive symptoms like vomiting. And if they
do, it only happens once a month. Next is something
that's a little more uncommon, but they do happen.
It's what we call cluster headaches. These headaches
are the most severe. You could have intense burning
or piercing pain behind or around one eye. It
can be throbbing or constant. The pain can be
so bad that the people with cluster headaches
can't sit still. and will often pace during the
attack. On the side of the pain, the eyelids
droop, the eyes red and the pupil gets smaller,
or the eye may tear up. The nostrils on that
side may also run or get stuffed up and you can't
breathe. These are called cluster headaches because
they tend to happen in groups. You might get
them one to three times per day during a cluster
period, which may last two weeks to three months.
Each headache attack lasts 15 minutes up to 3
hours, and they can wake you up from your sleep.
They may disappear completely. Doctors call this
remission for months or years, only to come back
later. Now, keep this in mind, though. This is
three to four more times likely to happen in
males than females, okay? Then you have what
they call chronic daily headaches, okay? longer
than three months. Some are short. Others last
more than four hours. It's usually one of the
four types of primary headaches, okay? And those
four are chronic migraine, chronic tension headache,
new daily persistent headache, or what they call,
one they call hemochrania continua. All right,
we're going to take a short break here. And then
I'll come back and talk about the next set. All
right. And we're back from that break. Okay.
So next would be sinus headaches. I'm pretty
sure everyone's familiar with this one. They've
heard this one before. With these, you feel a
deep, constant pain in your cheekbones, forehead,
or on the bridge of your nose. They happen when
cavities in your head called sinuses get inflamed.
The pain usually comes along with other sinus
symptoms like a runny nose, fullness in the ears,
a fever, a swollen face. That does happen. A
true sinus headache results from a sinus infection,
so the gunk that comes out of your nose will
be either yellow or green, unlike the clear discharge
in clusters or migraine headaches. So keep that
in mind. If it is colored, it's a severe sinus
infection, and you need to get yourself checked.
Another headache type is post -traumatic headaches.
I was about to sneeze at the same time I tried
to talk. These usually start two to three days
after a head injury. I've actually had this one
before, so I can honestly tell you about it.
When it happens, you'll feel a dull ache that
gets worse from time to time. You'll have an
issue with vertigo, lightheadedness, trouble
concentrating, slight memory problems, if not
worse memory problems, tiring very quickly, and...
Ironically enough, irritability. Headaches may
last for a few months, but it doesn't get better
within a couple of weeks. You need to call your
doctor. Less common headaches would be exercise
headaches. That's one of them. When you're active,
the muscles in your head, neck, and scalp need
more blood. Your blood vessels swell to supply
them. The result is a pulsing pain on both sides
of your head that can last anywhere from 5 minutes
to 48 hours. It usually hits while you're active
or just afterwards. Whether the activity is exercise,
and believe it or not, sex, that can also cause
this. Going back to one of the ones I mentioned
before, hemochrania continua. This chronic ongoing
headache almost always affects the same side
of your face and head. Other symptoms will include
pain that varies in severity, red or teary eyes,
runny or stuffy nose, droopy eyelids, contracted
irises when they shrink. Respond to the pain
medication. Tried my best to pronounce that.
It's the only one that can handle hemokranian
continua. Worse pain with physical activity.
The pain even worse is if you drink alcohol.
So please, if you ever are diagnosed with this
headache type, don't drink any alcohol whatsoever
or you'll find yourself in a hospital for more
than just being alcohol poisoned. Some people
will also notice that migraine symptoms will
also develop from this type as well, such as
nausea and vomiting and sensitivity to light
and sound. There are two types of this headache.
The chronic, you'll have daily headaches, and
the remitting, you'll have headaches for six
months, they'll go away for a period of weeks
or months, and then they come back. Next would
be hormone headaches. You can get headaches from
shifting hormone levels during your periods,
pregnancy, and menopause, okay? Hormone changes
from birth control pills, hormone replacement
therapy can also trigger these headaches when
they happen two days before your period or in
the first three days after it starts. They're
called menstrual migraines. That's actually a
thing, all right? We'll take a short break right
here, and then we'll move on to the next one,
okay? And we're back. All right, guys. Now I
want to talk about the one item I brought up
earlier, NDPH, which would be New Daily Persistent
Headaches, okay? These may not start suddenly.
I'm sorry, they may start suddenly. And they
can go on for like three months or longer. Many
people clearly remember the day their pain began.
Doctors aren't sure why this type of headache
starts. Some people find that it strikes after
an infection like a flu -like illness, surgery,
or even very stressful events. The pain tends
to be moderate but for some people it can be
severe like it's often hard to treat this one
This is why a lot of people are starting to bring
attention to it symptoms can widely vary some
are like Attention headaches others share symptoms
of migraines such as nausea and sensitivity to
light. So I mean How do I put this call your
basically call your doctor if your headache won't
go away or if it's really severe Don't think
you can handle this on your own. With that being
said, that brings me to rebound headaches. You
might hear these called medication overdose headaches
or overuse. If you use a prescription over -the
-counter pain reliever such more than 2 -3 times
a week or more than 10 days a month, you're setting
yourself up for more pain when the meds actually
wear off. The pain comes back. And you have to
take more of it to stop it. This can cause a
dull, constant headache that often worsens in
the morning. Okay? And with that, actually, none
of this said that, this brings me to rare headaches.
Okay? One being called ice pick headaches. Okay?
That's a thing. These short, stabbing, intense
headaches usually only last a few seconds. They
might happen a few times a day or most. If you
have one, see the doctor. Okay? I can't... I
can't... express that enough um ice pick headaches
can be a condition of on their own or they can
be a symptom of something else so keep this in
mind another one is spinal headaches okay talk
to your daughter doctor if you even if you get
a headache after you've had a a spinal tap or
um a spinal block or what they call epidural
um Your doctor might call it a puncture headache
because these procedures involve piercing the
membrane that surrounds your spinal cord. If
spinal fluid leaks through the puncture site,
it can cause a headache. Okay? So keep that in
mind. Next are what they call thunderclap headaches.
People often call this the worst headache of
your life. It comes suddenly out of nowhere,
peaks quickly, can cause... Causes of this type
of headache usually include a blood vessel tear,
rupture, or blockage, a head injury, a hemorrhagic
stroke from a ruptured blood vessel in your brain,
isochemic, I'm sorry, ischemic stroke. I think
I pronounced that wrong, but it's close enough.
From a blocked blood vessel in your brain. Narrow
blood vessels surrounding the brain. Inflamed
blood vessels. Blood pressure changes in late
pregnancy. Or taking a sudden new headache seriously.
I'm sorry, I said that wrong. Take a sudden new
headache seriously. No matter which one it is.
Okay? And with that last one, like I just said,
you can get this one from blood pressure changes
in late pregnancy. You need to take these seriously.
It's only, it's often that the only warning sign
you'll get of a serious problem. Anytime you
have a headache, it doesn't matter what it is.
Always have it at least checked. If it's something
minor and you barely feel it and it's okay, still
have yourself checked. Even if it may not be
as bad. Okay. We're going to take another break
here, and then we're going to go into what causes
headaches. All right, and we're back. Great.
So let's go on and talk about what causes headaches,
okay? So the pain you feel during a headache
comes from a mix of signals between your brain,
blood vessels, and nearby nerves. Specific nerves
in your blood vessels and head muscles switch
on and send pain signals to your brain. But it
isn't clear how these signals get turned on in
the first place, all right? People often get
headaches because of illness, okay? This can
cause infections, colds, and fevers. Are also
common with conditions like inflammation of the
sinuses. I think it's pronounced sinusitis. There's
a lot of these technological terms. Hey, cut
me some slack. I'm trying my best to pronounce
them. Throat infection and ear infection. In
some cases, headaches can result from a blow
to the head or rarely a sign of more serious
medical problems. Another one other than illness
would be stress. Emotional stress and depression
as well as alcohol use, skipping meals, changes
in your sleep patterns too randomly, taking too
much medication. Other causes can include neck
or back strain due to poor posture. So this is
why we tell you to sit up properly. Another one
will be your environment. Now, including secondhand
tobacco smoke, strong smells from your household,
chemicals or perfumes, allergens and certain
foods. Stress, pollution, noise, lighting, weather
changes can all possibly trigger headaches. Now,
headaches, especially migraine headaches, tend
to run in families also. Now, most children and
teens, 90 % of which who have migraines, have
other family members who get them as well. When
both parents have a history of migraines, there
is a 70 % chance that their children will also
have them. If only one parent... has a history
of these headaches, the risk drops to 25 to 50%.
Doctors don't exactly know what causes migraines.
A popular theory is that triggers cause unusual
brain activity, which leads to the change in
blood vessels there. Some forms of migraines
are linked to genetic problems in certain parts
of the brain. Too much physical activity can
also trigger a migraine in adults. So keep that
in mind. One thing you need to keep in mind is
getting a diagnosis when you have a really bad
headache. And I mean bad. Once you get your headache
diagnosed correctly, you can start the right
treatment plans for your symptoms. Now, first
step is obviously to talk to your doctor about
it. They'll give you a physical exam, ask you
about the symptoms you're having and how often
you've had them. It's important to be as complete...
as possible with these descriptions and give
your doctor a list of the things that cause your
headache as well if you know uh things that make
the uh worse uh what helps you make feel i'm
sorry what helps you feel better you can track
details in headaches uh which with your diary
so that your doctor can help diagnose your problem
better most people don't need special diagnostic
tests But sometimes doctors suggest a CT scan
or MRI to look for problems inside the brain
that might cause your headaches as well Skull
x -rays won't help. We'll just say that right
now. Okay an EEG. I'm not gonna say what that
means go look that up I can't pronounce the word
for the life of me is also unnecessary unless
you've passed out when you had a headache Been
there done that. Okay By the way, a CT scan,
MRI, and EEG are three things that I definitely
have had for various reasons that I take too
long to explain. But they do reveal a lot of
information about you as well, and your medical
history helps as well to diagnose any future
problems, or if you might have a possibility
of having bad headaches in the future, right?
If your headache symptoms get worse and happen
more often despite the treatment, you need to
ask your doctor to refer you to a headache specialist.
They do exist. All right? So with that, I have
a question for everybody. How are headaches treated?
Now, you can sit here and try to think about
this. I'm going to go ahead and take a short
break here. I'll let you think about that. When
we come back, I'll answer that question and what
happens after you start treatment. All right,
guys, and we're back. So with that, like I said
in the last piece, the question here is how are
headaches treated? Now, I asked you all this
just now. And I'd love to hear some of your responses.
So if you have an answer before you listen to
this piece, feel free to go ahead and send me
a message with what you think it is before you
continue. Now, your doctor may recommend different
types of treatment to try. They may also suggest
more testing or refer you to a headache specialist.
The treatment you need will depend on a lot of
things. including the type of headache you get,
how often it's caused. Some people don't even
need medical help at all, so those are the lucky
ones. But those who do might get medication,
electronic medical devices, counseling, stress
management, and biofeedback. Now, your doctor
will make a treatment plan to meet your specific
needs, okay? Because no two people are the same.
What happens after the treatment starts, okay?
One of the things you want to keep in mind is
once you start a treatment program, keep track
of how well it's working. A headache diary can
help you note any patterns or changes in how
you feel. Know that it may take time for you
and your doctor to find the best treatment plan,
so try to be patient. As a patient. Pun. Be honest
with them about what is and isn't working. You
have to be honest here. Even though you're getting
treatment, you should still steer clear of things
you know may trigger your headache, like foods
or smells or select actions. And it's important
to stick to healthy habits that will keep you
feeling good, like regular exercise, enough sleep,
a healthy diet. I'm going to back up here a second.
I just said enough sleep. Now, I did a podcast
on sleep already, but... I can't stress enough
that getting enough sleep, the required amount
of sleep or at least enough sleep, I'm not talking
about two or three hours or four hours. I mean
at least eight if you can help it. Six at the
minimum should help you at least prevent most
headaches. Not all, but most. Also, make your
schedule follow -up appointments so that your
doctor can see how you're doing and make changes
in your treatment plan if needed. That's all
I have on the basics of headaches. That's just
the basics. Next time, I'll go more in detail
into select types of headaches. Next time, we'll
cover sinus headaches a little more in depth.
But that's all I have for now. All right. I thank
you guys for listening. This has been Food for
Thought, Thoughts to Fit Where You by Neogentrics.
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for listening. Have a great rest of your day.