Headaches are a common condition that can become chronic. The causes are manifold and require clarification by a doctor. On average, women are more often affected by chronic headaches than men.
What are chronic headaches?
In Germany, several million people suffer from continuous headaches. In most cases, the pain occurs on both sides in the temporal region, is diffuse and cannot be clearly localized. The medical profession speaks of continuous headache in migraine or continuous headache. 2-5% of the population suffer from chronic headaches. By definition, this is the case when the complaints occur on average on more than 15 days per month and already for at least 3 months. In Germany, several million people suffer from continuous headaches. The symptoms can vary greatly. In most cases, the pain occurs on both sides in the temporal region, is diffuse and cannot be clearly localized. The affected person may perceive them as stabbing, throbbing, pressing or pulsating. In some cases, chronic headaches bring accompanying symptoms. These include sensitivity to noise and light, visual disturbances, and poor concentration. Circulatory problems may also occur. Often, the symptoms start as soon as the patient wakes up and continue throughout the day. This severely restricts the sufferer in his or her everyday life and can become a great burden. As a rule, therefore, medications are the first remedy of choice.
Causes
However, many sufferers are unaware of the risks of taking pain medication. Common painkillers such as ASA, paracetamol or ibuprofen contain analgesics and triptans, which in turn can cause pain in high doses. Around 8% of permanent headache sufferers tend to overdose on the drugs. In doing so, they trigger a vicious cycle. The pain occurs and the sufferer takes painkillers, which, however, intensify the symptoms. The medical profession refers to this as a drug-induced headache, which occurs in about 1-2% of sufferers. Another cause of chronic headaches is to be found in genetics. Thus, a genetic disposition may play a role in continuous headaches. This also means that chronic headaches can accumulate within the family. Stress and constant tension in everyday life are also risk factors and can exacerbate the problem. In many cases, however, the cause of the condition is not known. Accordingly, it is difficult for the doctor to make a reliable diagnosis and treat the pain.
Diseases with this symptom
- Meningitis
- Alcoholism
- Migraine
- Concussion
- Eye migraine
- Bronchial asthma
- Corneal inflammation
- Brain tumor
- Glutamate intolerance
- Chronic sinusitis
- Hypertension
- Tension headache
Diagnosis and course of the disease
If it is a drug-induced headache, it is hardly possible to end the cycle without medical help. The lack of knowledge of those affected is a problem here and can only be treated through education and with the right steps. In addition, it is difficult to distinguish continuous headaches from post-traumatic headaches. A reliable diagnosis is often only possible during therapy. In any case, a physician should be consulted if symptoms are present. If the physician can exclude other diseases, he will make a first exclusion diagnosis. In addition, a distinction must be made between different forms of continuous headache. Migraine, for example, is treated differently than chronic tension headache. At best, the symptoms can not only be alleviated with appropriate therapy measures, but disappear completely. The course of the disease is significantly influenced by the particular type of headache and the therapy.
When should you go to the doctor?
Migraine or tension headache is the most common type of continuous headache. Persistent headaches are usually so unpleasant that they always lead sufferers to the doctor. But 95% of headaches are harmless. Only in 5% the pain is a symptom of a serious disease. There are many causes of persistent headaches. Often they are caused by tension in the cervical spine. In this case, painkillers can exacerbate the problem.It is much more important to relieve the tension. Sometimes permanent headaches have a very simple cause, namely the wrong pillow. So it is understandable that the doctor can not always find out the reason for the pain. Sometimes just common sense helps to identify the problem. Even if most headache patients are afraid of it, only in 0.1% of all cases their complaints are caused by a tumor. In the case of chronic headaches, a visit to the doctor is nevertheless advisable. If headache occurs as a new phenomenon and daily, the visit to the doctor is advisable. It is just as important for headaches in combination with neurological deficits. For example, one-sided headaches lasting for weeks can be caused by changes in blood vessels. An inflammation in the jaw area can also be the reason. Various treatment concepts are possible for migraines. Relaxation often helps. If necessary, a pain clinic is the right place to go.
Treatment and therapy
So far, there are a few therapeutic approaches to treat the complaints. In this case, a different therapy is needed than for episodic pain. Whereas pain pills are the first choice for severe, occasional suffering, the usual medications should be avoided for continuous headache for the reasons mentioned above. However, therapeutic success is difficult to reproduce and is not uniform. Usually, the physician will resort to medications such as amitriptyline for chronic headaches. These are antidepressants that work in about half of the cases. A placeborate of 25% can be assumed. Another option is the administration of muscle relaxants. Doctors often recommend combination therapy, which consists of several different agents and usually achieves better results. For example, physicians use botulinum toxin against migraine. However, this is hardly successful in the case of tension headaches. It is used for migraine patients over a period of several weeks. Botulinum toxin is administered via injections in the head area. Improvement is usually seen after about 8 weeks of treatment. In addition, in any type of continuous headache, it is useful to ask about lifestyle habits. Stress management and relaxation training can improve symptoms in the long term. Exercise also has a positive effect on the general condition. If the symptoms are caused by increased use of analgesics and triptans, withdrawal treatment is useful. ASA, paracetamol or ibuprofen are discontinued and the body is weaned off. Meanwhile, concomitant administration of preventive medications is common to minimize discomfort during withdrawal.
Outlook and prognosis
It is extremely difficult to provide an outlook or prognosis with regard to continuous headaches, since there is usually an underlying disease for this clinical picture. In many cases, continuous headaches are caused, for example, by an excessive intake of painkillers. This results in permanent pain, which severely restricts the affected person in his or her life and daily routine. It can lead to immense concentration problems, which in turn lead to significant problem in life. This type of headache can occur in many different forms and types. They can make themselves felt, for example, by a constant throbbing in the head, or also by an intermittent stabbing. If the intake of the respective painkillers is continued, an improvement is definitely not to be expected. Only when the painkillers are completely discontinued, a noticeable improvement can be expected. However, various accompanying symptoms may still occur. These include fever or even chills. It is very difficult to give an exact prognosis regarding permanent headaches, because the cause can be very versatile and different. In many cases, in addition to painkillers, stress is also the reason why headaches persist for several days or weeks.
Prevention
Prevention of the recurrence of chronic headaches is possible only if the cause of the preceding pain is known. This is usually a lengthy process in which past medical history and psychological factors may also play a role. In some cases, the reasons for the complaints can be identified by excluding other diseases. Preventive measures are difficult to implement due to various possibilities and cannot be generalized.If a continuous headache has not occurred before, it is advisable to take painkillers with extreme caution and only in small doses. If the pain is bearable even without tablets, their use should be completely abandoned. In this way, a drug-induced continuous headache can be prevented.
What you can do yourself
Simple self-help strategies are often sufficient to relieve permanent headaches. For permanent tension headaches, dabbing the forehead, temples and back of the neck with diluted mint oil can be helpful. The oil relaxes and cools. Additional cooling is provided by a damp washcloth on the forehead. Mint oil is available at the pharmacy. People with constant headaches should eat regular, healthy meals. Fruit, fruit bars or fruit puree are ideal for on the go. Foods with a lot of magnesium, such as fish, whole grain products and legumes, are also recommended. Those affected should also drink enough fluids, at least 1.5 to 2 liters a day. A cup of espresso with lemon can also help with constant headaches. Caffeine somewhat constricts the blood vessels in the brain, which are dilated by the headache. Lemon’s vitamin C stimulates the body’s production of a neurotransmitter that reduces pain. Loose exercise can reduce continuous headaches. Light jogging and walking (or longer walks) are recommended. Three exercise sessions per week of 30 minutes each make sense. Relaxation techniques such as autogenic training, yoga and progressive muscle relaxation often help against continuous headaches. Everyday hectic can be better managed and permanent headaches can be reduced. A regular sleep-wake rhythm can alleviate permanent headaches. It makes sense to go to bed on time and always at the same time.
