There are a variety of reasons why we experience headaches. However, only a few headaches have their origin in genuine physical disease.
Coffee Headache
One of the most common headache causes is either as a result of painful nerve impulses from outside the brain or the pulling, stretching and dilation of the small blood vessels around the brain or inflammation of the membrane surrounding the brain (called the meninges). This constriction of blood vessels to the brain decreases blood flow to the sensory area of the brain, resulting in a throbbing pain. Such stretching or dilation of the brain arteries is caused by reflexes associated with fear, anxiety or resentment.
This is why it is often said to understand headache causes, you need to know a little about how the head is made up and how organs, blood vessels, muscles, sinuses, and nerves work inside it. With this information, it becomes easier for one to interpret and list the symptoms which will help your doctor determine what type of headache you have and therefore prescribe the right treatment.
Common headache causes that people tend to overlook are :
- Holding your head in the same position for any length of time
- Inadequate sleep posture
- Overexertion
- Grinding or clemching your teeth
In some cases preservatives, artificial sweeteners and additives contained within some foods can trigger a headache either by changing the amount of serotonin in the brain or by affecting the blood vessels in the head. Serotonin is a neurochemical in the central nervous system which plays an important role in the control of anger, aggressiveness, temperature of the body, moods, sleep patterns, sexuality, metabolism as well as vomitting.
Some medicines, in particular stress or anti-depressants such as Prozac, cause vaso-constriction which results in a fierce headache in the first few weeks of use. Some high blood pressure medication has been known to be cause headaches, probably due to vaso-dilation.
Ischaemia is another one of the common headache causes and this happens when oxygen levels become excessively low in your blood supply due to constricted blood vessels. This stimulates pain receptors in the artery walls. Signs include a face paler than usual, cold hands and an inability to warm up.
A number of chemicals such as alcohol and bacterial toxins can irritate pain receptors in arteries and nerves triggering a headache. Headaches can also be caused by overinhalation of many industrial chemicals. Usually they come with warning and hazard signs. Always be careful when handling any such chemicals. In instances where the headache keeps reoccurring or just won't go away, it is better to take a close look at just what could be the underlying headache causes. Usually it is because of a genuine physical disease. The more likely causes of acute headaches are common illnesses such as dental problems, shingles, viral infection, sinusitis, fatigue, other forms of tension and musculo-skeletal conditions (arthritis, osteoarthritis, etc).
Secondary or chronic headache causess, may be linked with critical illness such as meningitis, blood pressure, strokes or brain tumors (to a certain extent).
The above information thankfully comes from theheadacheinfosite.com at the following link.