Headaches
7 common headaches and their causes
Headaches can often be more than a pain, making it hard to concentrate on anything but the pounding, throbbing, or dull ache inside your head. What kind of headaches do you suffer from and what causes them?
We asked Dr. Elizabeth Loder, chief of the Division of Headache and Pain in the Department of Neurology at Brigham and Women's Hospital, to dissect seven common headache scenarios and their triggers...
Hangover headache
"The cause of these headaches is not entirely clear," Loder said. "The pain may come from inflammation or the effects of alcohol on blood vessels, but the specific cause is not very clear. Dehydration may also play a role in these headaches, while behaviors such as staying up later than usual or a lack of caffeine add to the circumstances triggering this headache."
Behind-the-eyeball headache
"If you have a mild headache behind both eyes, that's most likely to be tension-type headache or an 'everyday' headache, and it will usually respond well to over-the-counter medications," Loder said. "But if the headache is behind just one eye, and is more severe, it could be a migraine or cluster headache. Cluster headaches are a rare type of headache that is more common in men." Cluster headaches, Loder said, are also characterized by redness or tearing of the eye on that size or a drooping of the eyelid on that side. In most cases of headache, location, Loder said, is not all that helpful in determining the cause of the headache. Many people who are susceptible to migraines will also report eye strain, bad lighting, or flicker from a computer as triggers for these headaches
Brain freeze
"Ice cream headaches are a recognized type of headache," Loder said. "We call it a cold-stimulus headache. They happen most commonly if someone rapidly ingests a large amount of something cold, and may be more likely to occur in people who have migraine headaches." Loder said these headaches, which luckily don't last
Headaches can often be more than a pain, making it hard to concentrate on anything but the pounding, throbbing, or dull ache inside your head. What kind of headaches do you suffer from and what causes them?
We asked Dr. Elizabeth Loder, chief of the Division of Headache and Pain in the Department of Neurology at Brigham and Women's Hospital, to dissect seven common headache scenarios and their triggers...
Hangover headache
"The cause of these headaches is not entirely clear," Loder said. "The pain may come from inflammation or the effects of alcohol on blood vessels, but the specific cause is not very clear. Dehydration may also play a role in these headaches, while behaviors such as staying up later than usual or a lack of caffeine add to the circumstances triggering this headache."
Behind-the-eyeball headache
"If you have a mild headache behind both eyes, that's most likely to be tension-type headache or an 'everyday' headache, and it will usually respond well to over-the-counter medications," Loder said. "But if the headache is behind just one eye, and is more severe, it could be a migraine or cluster headache. Cluster headaches are a rare type of headache that is more common in men." Cluster headaches, Loder said, are also characterized by redness or tearing of the eye on that size or a drooping of the eyelid on that side. In most cases of headache, location, Loder said, is not all that helpful in determining the cause of the headache. Many people who are susceptible to migraines will also report eye strain, bad lighting, or flicker from a computer as triggers for these headaches
Brain freeze
"Ice cream headaches are a recognized type of headache," Loder said. "We call it a cold-stimulus headache. They happen most commonly if someone rapidly ingests a large amount of something cold, and may be more likely to occur in people who have migraine headaches." Loder said these headaches, which luckily don't last