Life & Style | Health
A pain in the head
Severe headache is one of the most common complaints that cause patients to seek medical help.
- By Dr Nazish Humayun
- Published: 23:25 July 3, 2009
Severe headache is one of the most common complaints that cause patients to seek medical help. It mostly occurs in people in their late teens up to age of 50.
Over 100,000 people in the UK alone miss school or work due to migraine nearly every day.
Migraines tend to last between 4 and 72 hours and are often associated with one-sided headaches that get worse upon moving and can include sensitivity to light or sounds and may make the sufferer nauseous.
Some 20 per cent of people who get migraine attacks also get what is called an aura before an attack.
The aura is the warning of an attack and may include seeing sudden flashing lights, ringing in the ears, slurred speech and a sensation of pins or needles in the limbs. The duration of all this is usually less than an hour.
Diagnosis of migraine (without an aura) includes five or more headaches lasting 4-72 hours with two or more associated symptoms.
Migraine triggers include chocolate, cheese, caffeine, anxiety, travel and exercise. Conversely, it is noted that migraine often improves during pregnancy.
A migraine diary might help you work out what things trigger an attack, so that you can avoid these things in future.
Combination painkillers containing paracetamol and small amounts of a stronger painkiller called codeine have proven to relieve migraine symptoms.
Some products also include metoclopramide, which will help prevent sickness symptoms. Most will achieve a reduced frequency of around 50 per cent. If one drug does not work after three months, then perhaps try another.
You should consult your doctor immediately if your headache symptoms suddenly change to include, for example, numbness in the limbs which didn't occur before.
A really, really strong headache, especially when you are over the age of 50, could also indicate a leaking blood vessel in the brain.
Headache with sickness and a rash could be a sign of meningitis. Remember, if in doubt, get it checked out!
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