Know about Low CSF Volume Headache
Low CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) volume headache is a type of secondary NDPH (New Daily Persistent Headache). Other secondary NDPH are high CSF pressure headache, post traumatic headache, headache due to chronic meningitis etc.
What are the symptoms of low CSF volume headache? The head pain in low CSF volume headache is generally positional (depends on the body position or posture) and begins upon standing upright or in sitting position and tend to resolve if reclined or on lying down. The head pain of low CSF volume headache is commonly dull aching in nature, although sometimes it may be throbbing type of pain and localized occipitofrontal (from and back of the head) area. The head pain of low CSF volume headache improves/resolve upon reclining within few minutes but may return again on resuming upright position within minutes to an hour. The typical clinical presentation of low CSF volume headache patient is history of absence of head pain on waking in the morning but worsen during day time and the next day same may be repeated. As the time passes the postural nature of low CSF volume headache becomes less evident.Categories: Headache Tags:
Hemicrania Continua Headache
Hemicrania continua are a type of headache which is of moderate intensity headache and the head pain is continuous and unilateral (only one side of the head like migraine headache). The unilateral and continuous head pain sometimes shows fluctuation of severe head pain. Hemicrania continua headache can occur in an individual from 11 to 58 years of age. For unknown reason hemicrania continua is more common (2 times commoner) in women in comparing to men.
How hemicrania continua can be diagnosed? Indomethacin is so effective in treatment of hemicrania continua, that it can be used for diagnosis of hemicrania continua. For diagnosis of hemicrania continua 100 mg of indomethacin intramuscularly and administration of placebo can be done. If the headache is due to hemicrania continua, the administration of indomethacin will cause complete resolution of headache.Categories: Headache Tags:
Primary Sex Headache
Primary sex headache as the name suggests is precipitated or aggravated by sexual excitement. The head pain of primary sex headache begins as dull aching headache which is bilateral and suddenly become intense headache at the time of orgasm. Primary sex headache is more common among men than women and it can occur any time during the sexually active years. In some individuals primary sex headache occurs in repeated succession and disappear once and for all and it does not trouble again even if there is no change in sexual activity. In half of the patients with primary sex headache, it subsides within 6 months without any explanation.
What are the types of primary sex headache?
There are 3 types of primary sex headache. (1) A dull aching type of pain in the head and neck that intensifies as sexual excitement increases, (2) an explosive, very severe type of headache that occurs at the time of orgasm, and (3) a postural headache that occurs after sexual intercourse and have resemblance to low CSF pressure headache, which is a type of low CSF pressure headache, that arises due to intense sexual excitement and sexual act.Categories: Headache Tags:
Primary Stabbing Headache
The main symptom of primary stabbing headache as the name suggests is stabbing type of pain generally in the head and rarely the stabbing pain may be on the face. The stabbing pain of primary stabbing headache lasts from only a second to several seconds to minutes. The stabbing pain may be only once or the pain may come in a series of several stabs. There is also an irregular pattern of recurrence in primary stabbing headache. Generally there is no abnormality in cranial autonomic features.
The pain of primary stabbing headache is described by different individuals (patients) in different terms such as “ice-pick pains”, “jabs and jolts” etc. The primary stabbing headache does not have triggering factor and comes without warning. Primary stabbing headache is commonly seen among individuals with other types of primary headaches such as migraine, hemicrania continua, trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias etc.Categories: Headache Tags:
Primary Thunderclap Headache
Thunderclap headache is generally presented as sudden and severe (sometimes explosive) type of headache in absence of any known cause or provocation. Approximately half of the patients with primary thunderclap headache develop migraine or TTH (tension type headache) later on.
What are the causes of primary thunderclap headache? There are several medical conditions which may cause primary thunderclap headache or many serious diseases have similar symptoms (differential diagnosis) of primary thunderclap headache which should always be excluded before starting treatment for primary thunderclap headache.Categories: Headache Tags:
Know about Primary Exertional Headache
Primary exertional headache has the features of migraine as well as that of primary cough headache. Primary exertional headache can have pulsatile nature of migraine headache (especially if the individual is susceptible to migraine) and it can be precipitated by any form of exercise, as the name suggests. The pain of primary exertional headache may be of short duration (5 minutes), or it may be long lasting (24 hours). Primary exertional headache starts as throbbing headache and it is commonly bilateral.
What are the causes of primary exertional headache?
How primary exertional headache develops is not clear. The sudden onset of primary exertional headache may be due to acute distension of veins. Primary exertional headache may be due to serious pathology e.g. pain due to angina may be referred to head and may cause primary exertional headache. As exercise is the reason of headache, the cause of the headache is most likely of cardiac origin. On rare occasions diseases such as Pheochromocytoma may be presented as primary exertional headache. Other probable causes of primary exertional headache include stenosis of the carotid arteries, space occupying lesion in brain etc.Categories: Headache Tags:
Primary Cough Headache
Primary cough headache, as the name suggest is precipitated (aggravated) by coughing. It starts suddenly and last for several minutes. Primary cough headache is generalized in nature. Other than cough, primary cough headache can also be precipitated by other factors such as sneezing, straining, laughing, and stooping. Primary cough headache can be prevented by avoiding coughing and other precipitating factors (sneezing, straining, laughing, and stooping). Benign primary cough headache has clinical similarity with exertional headache, but primary cough headache is generally seen among the older people.
What are the causes of primary cough headache?
Primary cough headache can be due to some serious underlying pathology and a benign nature of primary cough headache should only be diagnosed after excluding serious underlying pathology. The serious pathologies include any obstruction in the CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) pathway due to any lesion or any anatomical malformation can be a cause of primary cough headache. Other serious causes of primary cough headache are aneurysm in brain, vertebrobasilar disease, carotid stenosis, etc.Categories: Headache Tags:
Know about Hypnic Headache
Hypnic headache is a typical type of headache which starts few hours after the person suffering from; fall asleep (few hours after onset of sleep). The spell of hypnic headache lasts for 15 to 30 minutes and may recur again after few hours and patients is awakened again and up to 3 episodes of hypnic headache may occur in one night.
The severity of headache in hypnic headache is generally moderate in intensity and commonly the headache is generalized in nature or not located in a particular part of the head, unlike migraine headache which is typically unilateral in nature. But in some patients with hypnic headache the headache may be unilateral and throbbing type of headache. Hypnic headache is more commonly seen among females and men are affected uncommonly. The common age of onset is over 60 years. The symptoms are typically bilateral and only rarely unilateral.Categories: Headache Tags:
Treatment of Chronic Daily Headache
Treatment of chronic daily headache may pose problem. Preventive treatment is more important than curative treatment for chronic daily headache (because it is better to prevent than cure). Treatment of chronic daily headache: The first step of treatment of chronic daily headache (CDH) is, to try to identify the underlying secondary cause of chronic daily headache, if it can be found. But it is not always easy to diagnose the secondary cause of chronic daily headache.
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Chronic Daily Headache
“Chronic daily headache” (CDH) is the term used when patient experiences a headache for 15 days or more in a month. Chronic daily headache is a very broad term and has many causes. Chronic daily headache is not a single entity and it covers a number of different headache syndromes, including chronic TTH (tension type headache) as well as headache secondary to inflammation, infection, medication overuse, trauma and many other causes. Many studies suggest that about 4% of adult population have daily or near-daily headache (Chronic daily headache).
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