What diseases can a headache be a symptom of?

What causes headaches

The central nervous system is designed in such a way that it perceives pain signals from all parts of the body, including certain areas of the head. Along the nerve endings, information about the problem that has arisen passes to the deep parts of the brain, causing irritation in the receptors, and then pain. Such signals can come from the periosteum, nasal sinuses, subcutaneous tissue layers, mucous membranes, eyes, large nerve canals, vascular network, and muscular apparatus. Some areas are completely insensitive to external stimuli due to the lack of receptors, therefore they are not capable of causing pain: bones, the neural network of the brain, vascular plexuses.

Migraine in children

Children can experience the same types of migraines as adults. Children and teenagers, like adults, may also experience depression and anxiety disorders along with migraines.

Until they are adults, teenagers and children may have symptoms on both sides of the head. Children rarely have headaches in the back of the head. Their migraines typically last between 2 and 72 hours.

There are types that are most common in children. These include abdominal migraine, benign paroxysmal vertigo and cyclic vomiting.

Abdominal migraine

Children with abdominal pain experience abdominal pain instead of a headache. The pain may be moderate to severe. Typically the pain occurs in the middle of the abdomen, around the navel. However, the pain may not necessarily be located in this area. The stomach may simply “ache.”

Your child may also have a headache. Other symptoms include:

• lack of appetite
• nausea with or without vomiting
• sensitivity to light or sound

Children with abdominal migraines may also develop more typical symptoms seen in adults.

Benign paroxysmal vertigo

Benign paroxysmal vertigo can occur in babies who are just starting to walk, or simply in young children. This occurs when your child suddenly loses the ability to stand on his own feet and refuses to walk or walks with his legs wide apart, as if he is staggering. He may feel nauseous. He may also experience a headache.

Another symptom is rapid eye movements (nystagmus). The attack lasts from several minutes to several hours. Sleep often stops these symptoms.

Cyclic vomiting

Cyclic vomiting is common in school-age children. Forced vomiting may occur four to five times per hour for at least one hour. Your child may also suffer from:

• stomach ache
• Headache
• sensitivity to light or sound

Symptoms may last for 1 hour or up to 10 days.

Between episodes of vomiting, your child may act and feel completely normal. Attacks may occur once a week or less frequently. Symptoms may begin to appear in a pattern that is easily recognizable and predictable.

Symptoms of cyclic vomiting may be more noticeable than other migraine symptoms experienced by children and adolescents.

Description of attacks

When a patient wants to understand the cause of a pathological condition and consults a doctor, he must describe his feelings in as much detail as possible. Soreness with nausea is not an independent disease, but only a common symptom of a huge number of diseases that need to be distinguished from each other.

When a patient describes his feelings, he should talk about the following nuances:

• How often do attacks occur?
• The predominant time of day for the onset of discomfort.
• Approximate location of the lesion, intensity.
• What provokes it?
• Feelings after a long rest/sleep.
• Does vomiting provide relief from nausea?
• Are there other symptoms?

You need to prepare such a story for the doctor in advance so as not to forget the details during the consultation. This will help the specialist understand the situation as efficiently as possible.

What causes migraines?

Researchers have not determined the cause. They have found some contributing factors that may lead to this disease. These include changes in brain chemicals, such as a decrease in the amount of serotonin in the brain.

Other factors that can cause migraines include:

• bright lights
• extreme heat or other extreme weather conditions
• dehydration
• changes in atmospheric pressure
• hormonal changes in women, such as fluctuations in estrogen and progesterone during menstruation, pregnancy, or menopause
• excessive stress
• loud sounds
• intense physical activity
• skipping meals
• changes in sleep patterns
• using certain medications such as oral contraceptives or nitroglycerin
• unusual smells
• certain food
• smoking
• alcohol consumption
• trips

If you suffer, your doctor may ask you to keep a headache journal. Writing down everything you did, what food you ate, and what medications you took before your migraine started can help identify your triggers.

Foods that cause migraines

Some foods or food ingredients are more likely to cause it than others. They include:

• alcoholic or caffeinated drinks
• food additives such as nitrates (a preservative in cured meats), aspartame (an artificial sugar), or MSG
• tyramine, which is found in some natural foods

Tyramine also increases when foods begin to ferment or are aged. This includes foods such as some aged cheeses, sauerkraut and soy sauce. Ongoing research is looking more closely at the role of tyramine in migraines. For some people it may be a headache protector, but for others it may be a headache trigger.

Possible reasons

There are a large number of factors that can cause an unpleasant sensation in the head and gastrointestinal tract at the same time. Among them there are both safe conditions and serious pathologies that can lead to serious consequences. The most common causes of pain are the following clinical or life situations:

• overwork; lack of sleep; food poisoning;
• sensitivity to weather; overheat; stressful situations;
• thermoneurosis (vasoconstriction as a result of emotional shock);
• vegetative-vascular dystonia; hormonal disorders in the body;
• migraine; transferable cold, ARVI; osteochondrosis;
• dental problems; pinched nerve canal;
• tumors in the skull; high pressure;
• previous injuries; hypothyroidism; Lyme disease;
• vision problems; gastroenteritis; meningitis, encephalitis.

Many of the listed conditions require external intervention: a review of diet, sleep, work/rest, and getting out of the stressful rhythm of life. But in serious clinical cases this may not be enough. To determine whether there are serious illnesses in the initial stages of their development, you cannot ignore a headache with nausea; it is better to get checked and undergo an examination.

Treatment of nausea and headache

Headache and nausea in women are symptoms that require an individually selected treatment regimen. In most cases, it is enough to take certain groups of drugs that eliminate not only the symptoms, but also the cause of deterioration in well-being. The following treatment methods may be prescribed:

• taking painkillers that temporarily alleviate the patient’s condition and relieve headaches;
• antibiotic therapy to eliminate bacterial infections, prevent purulent complications of inflammatory processes;
• physical therapy, massage, swimming, physiotherapy - methods of treating osteochondrosis of the cervical spine;
• specific drugs that regulate the level of hormones in the blood.

Doctors at the Clinical Brain Institute are specialists with many years of experience who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of headaches. They will help you choose the optimal regimen that will relieve nausea, attacks of pain and other symptoms. It is important not to self-medicate and seek a full examination in a timely manner.

How to find the reason?

Depending on the description of the main manifestations, the therapist may involve other specialists in the work: an endocrinologist, a neurologist, a dentist, an oncologist. After making the first assumption about the disease, laboratory procedures are carried out designed to give a comprehensive picture of the person’s condition. The most common research methods are:

• Laboratory analysis of urine/blood.
• CT scan.
• Angiography.
• Magnetic resonance imaging.
• Blood pressure measurement.

Through tests, an inflammatory process can be detected in the body, but it does not always occur with headaches and nausea. Tomographic technologies are considered the best ways to detect even microscopic changes in the body. Only through MRI and CT can one find hidden, complex diseases, find out the causes of previously diagnosed disorders, plan treatment and safely monitor the course of the pathology.

Causes and types of food poisoning

In general, there are 2 main causes of food poisoning:

• The body's reaction to foods that differ from the daily diet2.
• pathogenic flora (bacteria, fungi), viruses and toxins that enter the body mainly with contaminated food.

Every corner of the world has its own infectious agents, and they are ready to instantly attack the human gastrointestinal tract, if you just gape.

During the hot season, the chance of getting poisoned increases many times over, because food is stored less and bacteria multiply much faster. Food poisoning is especially common when traveling, so there is a separate concept - “traveler's diarrhea.” Going south, to Asia, the Middle East, Africa, South America or hot islands, we endure a sharp change in climate zone, try unusual national cuisine and drink local water. All this, combined with bacteria and viruses new to our body, can cause food poisoning.

In the US, it has been estimated that out of 1,000 people who become ill after traveling, 1/3 always suffer from diarrhea and food poisoning. E. coli is becoming the most common cause of severe diarrhea abroad1.

A child's body is even more vulnerable. For a fragile body, the cause of poisoning can be anything, especially when traveling: unwashed hands, playing in the sand, unusual sweets or fruits. An accidental sip of water from a pool or sea can also affect a child's intestinal health.

Diagnostic features

Laboratory tests and physical examinations can be done at any local clinic, but CT scans require special equipment. Not all clinics have it. To find your nearest imaging centers, please visit our appointment portal. Here we collect data on all diagnostic centers, divided according to various parameters: ratings, reviews, prices, characteristics of tomographs, discounts, etc. Select the studies you need, call the site operators for consultation, sign up for any type of scanning under special conditions from the service.

Symptoms

Migraine symptoms may appear a day or two before the headaches begin.

This is called the prodrome stage. At this stage, symptoms may include:

• Food cravings
• Depression
• Fatigue or lack of energy
• Frequent yawning
• Hyperactivity
• Irritability
• Neck stiffness

The aura appears after the prodrome stage. During an aura, you may experience problems with vision, touch, movement and speech. Examples of such difficulties:

• Difficulty speaking clearly
• Tingling sensation on the face, arms and legs
• You see flashes of light or bright spots
• Temporary loss of vision

The next stage is an attack. This is the most acute and severe stage when migraine occurs directly. In some people it may replace or occur during the aura. The attack can last from several hours to several days. Symptoms may appear differently in different people. Some of them may be as follows:

• Increased sensitivity to light and sound
• Nausea
• Pain on one side of the head, or on the left, on the right, or in the front, or behind, or in the temples
• Throbbing headache
• Vomit

After an attack, the postdrome stage usually begins. At this stage, changes in feelings and moods occur. They “jump” from feelings of euphoria and happiness to feelings of fatigue and apathy. A mild, dull headache will persist.

The duration and intensity of these stages occur to different degrees in different people. Sometimes one of the stages may be completely absent and can pass without headaches.

Treatment

As first aid, it is necessary to exclude all possible external irritants, including unpleasant odors, loud sounds, and bright lights.

Take your usual painkiller, lie down and massage your head. You need to try to relax, before that open the window to freshen the air, drink a cup of weak tea. You cannot prescribe medications for yourself; this can only be done by a specialist. After consultation with him, a specialized examination and diagnosis, further treatment is planned.

The doctor can prescribe analgesics and adsorbents only for frequently recurring or unbearable attacks. The basis of therapy is the fight against the root cause; special drugs are prescribed, depending on the source of the disease. In particularly difficult cases, the issue of surgical intervention is decided. During the rehabilitation period, medications are also continued and physiotherapy is prescribed: massages, magnetic effects, gymnastics, cool compresses.

Migraine pain

People describe the pain as:

• pulsating
• Rhythmic
• Drilling
• Beating
• Exhausting

It can also be severe and dull, but long-lasting. The pain is mild at first, but without treatment it will increase from moderate to severe.

Migraine pain most often affects the forehead area. As a rule, on one side of the head, but maybe on both, or alternately. Most migraines last about 4 hours. If they are untreated or do not respond to treatment, they can last from 72 hours to a week. With an aura, pain is replaced by an aura or does not occur at all.

Migraine and pregnancy

For many women, migraines ease slightly during pregnancy. However, after childbirth it may become worse due to sudden hormonal changes. Headaches during pregnancy require special attention to properly understand the causes of their occurrence.

Research is ongoing, but a recent small study found that women who experience migraines during pregnancy are more likely to:

• premature or early birth
• preeclampsia
• giving birth to an underweight child

Some medications are not recommended to be taken during pregnancy. For example, aspirin. If you experience migraines during pregnancy, talk to your doctor to find treatment options that won't harm your baby.