It was the first year of medical school. I was staying in the dorm with another 50 girls. Work everyday and then Saturday night we would all stay up late, forget all the stress and unwind because Monday morning, the drill was going to restart. And then it happened. One of my colleagues had a migraine attack. She howled in pain, cried, vomited and finally slept in a dark room. Her weekend was gone in pain and agony.
This is just one incident. Headaches are one of the most common aches encountered by everyone. It may not always be a migraine. Although, migraines are one of the most common headaches that drives us to the clinic. Do all headaches need treatment? What are the headaches that we need to be aware of? Are there different kinds of headaches? There are many such questions that we don't really look into. A headache is dealt with either a massage or having a cup of coffee or just sleeping it off and even more frequently popping a pill. Headaches are a common cause of loss of work and decreased quality of work.
There are different kinds of headaches. These range from tension headaches to cluster headaches to migraines to sinus headaches and so on. Every kind of headache has a pattern. Sometimes it is also possible to have two types of headaches simultaneously. Usually these headaches have a trigger factor. We have to look for the pattern. Migraines being very well known get type casted as well. We may assume that we may have a particular form but it may be something else. Something as simple as straining your eyes. What is interesting is that your over-counter-pill may be the reason for your headache.
“Analgesic induced headache”. This is seen when there is frequent use of medication to handle the headache. Also it is seen with over usage of caffeine. How can a treatment become a cause? This happens due to the masking effect of the medication. As a result the actual headache may be left untreated and lead to unresolved issues. So before you pop in a pill for your headache you may want to know what kind of headache it is.
A word of caution, headaches may also be a because of other underlying issues. There are criteria and guidelines for the same. So a frequent headache that changes pattern or causes any other neurological symptoms especially in the second half of your age bar may need proper evaluation. It is always advised to see your physician rather than self diagnosing and self medicating.
Headaches are mundane. They don't have any fancy names. A headache is “just” a headache. Probably not. Ask the person who suffers with it. So don't let pesky little things called headaches ruin your work or weekends. If they are troubling you go and get all the help you can.