Chances are you’ve heard of some types of headaches related to eye strains and those that are tensioned or clustered. You also most have heard about migraine headaches, caffeine-withdrawal headaches, and sinus headaches.
A lot of folks have also experienced hangover headaches and it is estimated that over 450 million of the world’s population suffer from headaches. A small group of people however suffer from a rare and unusual forms of headache.
Over a hundred types of headaches have been categorised by the International Headache Association. These different types of headaches can be differentiated by doctors with symptoms, the severity of occurrence and patient history.
Every type of headache has its own history which can help determine the specific types of tests to aid in confirming the diagnosis. The more you’re able to determine the specific features of a headache, the easier it will be for your doctor to evaluate it.
Here are four types of headaches you probably never knew existed.
Trigeminal neuralgia Headache
This pain is characterised by pain around the jaws and in the temples and is age related. The pain is very sharp and seems like an electric shock. It is triggered by certain actions such as brushing the teeth or touching the face. It is common for people with this type of headache to experience several “shock” episodes a day because of an artery pressing down on a nerve.
Doctors recommend the use of muscle relaxants to ease the pain. If a patient is however younger than 55, it could be that the headache is caused by a neurological condition such as multiple sclerosis.
These type of headaches usually accompany any type of physical exertion such as sneezing, sex, exercise, laughing or pooping. The pressure on the spinal fluid increases briefly in the head as you bear down to do these activities and this may cause pain.
The spinal fluid pressure build up is usually no cause for concern as it takes between a few minutes to an hour to pass.
In rare cases however, it could be as a result of a blood vessel problem causing the pain especially if the headache is severe as soon as you’re done with exerting yourself physically.
Giant cell arteritis Headaches
The specific cause of this type of headache has not been identified. It is characterised by a boring, jabbing or burning pain in the head and is usually very serious.
What is known about this headache is that it is linked to inflammation and is particularly common in people that are over the age of 60. The jabbing pain in the head is also accompanied with pain around the ears, especially when chewing.
It is estimated that about 30 percent of people who have giant cell arteritis will go blind, and it is as such considered an emergency. Treatment usually consists of steroids to improve pain and prevent blindness.
The name of this type of headache says it all. The pain has to do with an increase in your blood pressure but strangely, high blood pressure has nothing to do with this type of headache.
It is only severely high blood pressure of systolic and diastolic range 200/110 or higher that can cause this type of headache. An increase in your blood pressure also causes an elevation of the blood pressure in the brain because there is usually a restriction of blood flow to the brain.
A hypertension headache is similar to the type of pain felt when you wear a tight cap and is usually worse in the morning than any other time of the day. This type of pain can be alleviated by keeping your blood pressure under control.