Head Aches and Head Issues #5: What Caused It?
Now that we’ve covered when not to image the head in case of aches, and what we do to image the head in case of aches… let’s talk about what causes those aches.
The biggest fear people have with overwhelming cranial pain is the dreaded T-word. In the vast majority of cases, relax – it’s not a tumor!
Instead, the list of causes can be quite long, which means there are many ways of handling pain before jumping into fear-mode. Which of the following common issues can cause headaches?
- migraines
- tension headaches
- stress
- exercise/sex
- sinusitis
- dehydration
- infections – ear or brain (meningitis)
- dental problems/TMJ issues
- blood in the brain (from aneurysm or other bleed, or from trauma)
- post-concussion
Answer?
All of the above. So before you let your mind wander to a scary place, relax and know that your doctor can help you narrow down the cause of your headache. The treatment may be as simple as hydration by drinking some water, taking allergy medicine to open your sinuses, or perhaps a little deep breathing or meditation to manage stress. You might be surprised to find a little relief is just around the corner from all that racket in your skull. Talk to your healthcare provider about your headache and they can help guide you to potential treatments.
To learn more about the long list of potential causes of headaches and what can be done about them, check out great information from the Mayo Clinic, here.
Image credit: Ice Cream Headache? by Citizen 4474 via Flickr Copyright Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
Originally published 9/3/14 on diagnosticimagingcenterskc.com.
