Headache

Headache sometimes signifies disease within the head or brain. Much more commonly "the pain is the disease". In such a situation the condition is called a "Primary-headache" whereas those due to an underlying cause (infections,tumors,head trauma etc) are referred to as "secondary".

Any cause of "raised intracranial pressure" which is high pressure in the brain, is a medical emergency. Signs of this can be detected only by a good eye exam and if signs of high pressure are noted this should lead to immediate referral to the ER.

In order to maximize the efficiency of your trip to the neurologist we recommend filling-in a diary of your head pain like the one shown above on the right.

Download pain-tracking diary

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You can download an article about the
link between cellphone use and head pain here

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Main types of Primary H-ache

Cluster Headaches
Migraine Migraine Auras
Tension h-ache

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This is probably the commonest reason for referral to a neurologist in many countries, and is certainly one of the main reasons that people consult with the headache-specialists on our neurology advice forum .

Although usually not life-threatening or dangerous, they can be very disabling and result in many days of missed work or school

Some systemic conditions such as lupus are associated with various neurological features including pain in the head and face, however, given the very high frequency of head pain in the general population, it is unclear whether pain in the head in this and similar conditions are related to the disease or just co-incidental.

When a patient appears at the neurologist complaining of pain in the head, it is for one or both of the following reasons:-

1) To get reassurance that the pain is "just a pain" and not a sign of something worrying.

2) To get treated.In some cases reassurance alone is enough to make the symptoms improve as stress and worry make any type of pain harder to tolerate.

There are some issues specific to women with respect to pain management especially with respect to pseudotumor cerebri which is much commoner in women, and migraine which is often affected by hormonal changes. Furthermore, the choice of medications may be significantly reduced during pregnancy and breastfeeding .

New research publications are being published every week detailing advances in the treatment and prevention of migraine and other primary causes of head pain.

Medical professionals may find our program for helping in the pain type diagnosis useful.

Ask the neurologist homepage