Session 12 Flashcards
The most common type of headaches are?
tension headaches
migranes
What are the clinical features of a tension headache?
- Band/across forehead
- Last for several days
- Uncomfortable & tiring
- Do not usually disturb sleep
- most carry on working
- progressively worsen throughout the day
- Not usually made worse by physical activity
Clinical features of a migraine?
- One sided
- Throbbing
- Feel sick
- Bed to sleep of headache
- (Severe enough to be disabling)
Clinical features of cluster headaches?
- Occur everyday for a no. Of days or weeks (clusters)
- Then disappear for months
- Uncommon but common in ADULT MALE SMOKERS
- Severe
- One sided
- Prevent regular activity
Affected side:
• red watery eye
• Stuffy nose
• Droopy eyelid
Clinical features of chronic tension headaches
- muscle tension back of neck
- F > M
- Chronic
- Cause: neck injuries, tiredness
- Aggregating factors: medication overuse
- 3 months =>
Briefly describe what a medication overuse headache is
Medication overuse headaches
• Long lasting
• Cause: taking pain killing medication
• Body makes more pain sensors
Most common cause of secondary headache
Clinical features of exertional headaches
What are exertional headaches?
- Running, coughing, intercourse (orgasm, back of head behind ear, all over, 20 min -> occasionally leaky blood vessel on surfac of brain -> marked & repeated) , straining with bowel movement
- Patients normally effected with migraines
Features of primary stabbing headaches?
- Idiopathic
- Short, stabbing, sudden, severe
- 5-30 seconds
- Often behind / in the ear
- Common in people who have migranes
What is Hemicrania continua
- primary chronic daily
- Continuously fluctuating one sided pain
- Severe pain -> watering/ redness of the eye runny/blocked nose, drooping of the eyelid same side of headache
- Maybe: sensitivity to light, feeling/being sick
- May be periods when you don’t have any headaches
- Medication: INDOMETACIN
What is trigeminal neuralgia?
- facial pain
- Short busts of electric shock like sensation in the face e.g. eyes, nose, scalp, forehead, jaws, lips
- Usually one sided
- Common in >50s
- Trigger: touch, breeze
Headache causes?
- chemicals, drugs & substance withdrawal (CO, dehydration, alcohol -> day after)
- referred pain (tooth, ear, jaw, neck, sinusitis (worse when sneezing/ head forward), glaucoma (sudden headache behind the eye)
dangerous, severe worsening, elderly:
- subarachnoid haemorrhage
- meningitis (photophobia, vomit, hot, sweaty, ill, stiff neck)
- giant cell arteritis (> 50, swelling or arteries in temples and behind eye, pain combing hair/ chewing, tendor forehead arteries , untreated: loss of eyesight. Treatment: steroids_
- brain tumour (chroni, present when waking up, worse sitting up, worse when sneezing/coughing, progressive)
Your headache might need further investigation if:
Remember headaches are less likely to occur those who:
