Headache is a pain of a different nature, which every person periodically faces.
Sometimes a headache is an independent phenomenon that goes away by itself or is eliminated with the help of medicines.
Often a headache is a symptom of a more serious illness, especially if the pain is accompanied by nausea and gagging.
What is headache and nausea? The symptom mechanism
Headache - specific pain in the head and neck. Severe pain can also occur in the chest and back, causing nausea. Pain is manifested in different ways: throbbing, squeezing, sharp, intermittent headaches. Occasionally they seize only a part of the head (the back of the head, the front, the left or right side of the head). Often a headache appears along with nausea, sometimes vomiting. These are serious symptoms that should be paid attention to and do not allow for gravity. Nausea is a consequence of severe headaches. Pain is intermittent and permanent. With constant pain, the quality of life deteriorates. A person is not able to work normally and be a full-fledged member of society, because in this state you want peace and solitude. This lowers the level of physical and psychological activity.
Sometimes a headache passes by itself, if a person creates favorable conditions for this: silence, calmness, rest. But sometimes even such methods do not help, the pain does not go away, and medication drugs are put into effect: pills, medicines, etc.
Is it possible to take medication without determining the nature of the pain and its cause? It is possible, but not necessary! If pain and nausea occur frequently, then you should not self-medicate, but you need to consult a specialist.
Headache and nauseous: is it dangerous?
Not everyone thinks about the danger of such symptoms and is very vain. After all, the reasons may be as the most innocuous, but also insidious and dangerous. If a person has headaches with nausea, then no need to hope for a miracle, you must act. But what can a sick person do? First of all, he needs to contact a specialist to find out the reason, if it is not obvious to the owner of headaches. If you do not attach importance to these symptoms, the likelihood of severe consequences. The patient is examined, the nature of the pain is established, after which the cause of the disease and possible methods of control are determined.
Causes of headache and nausea
There are a number of diseases and causes that provoke headaches and nausea. Let's see what can cause pain and nausea:
1. Headache and nausea as an independent phenomenon. It is likely that signs such as pain and nausea may not be symptoms of another disease, but are an independent disease. Hard work, quarrels, frustrations in the family provoke stressful states. Stress, in turn, has a very negative effect on the nervous system, as a result of which a headache occurs. If stress and irritation are frequent guests in your life, then headaches will definitely appear. During stress, there is a strong nerve tension and vasospasm, the blood circulates poorly, and this causes pain. If the pain becomes severe, nausea and sometimes vomiting occurs.
2. Pregnancy. Each woman has a different pregnancy. Some ladies do not feel any discomfort and inconvenience, while others spend the whole pregnancy in bad health. In the early stages of pregnancy, when a woman does not yet know about her interesting situation, the first signs, namely headache and nausea, can appear. In such cases, headaches are frequent, periodic, for example, every 4-5 hours. It all starts with a mild headache, after a short period of time it gets worse and there are bouts of nausea, vomiting. After a while, pain and nausea disappear.
3. Migraine - neurological disease of the cerebral vessels. This disease is characterized by severe recurrent headaches. Usually, pain covers only part of the head (left or right hemisphere). The attacks are very strong and are always accompanied by nausea. During migraine attacks, the patient is not able to tolerate bright colors, loud sounds and noise. Such a person needs solitude and rest until the symptoms recede. Migraine is usually easily recognized by the nature of the pain and seizures. But do not self-medicate. If you make a mistake with the diagnosis, then instead of the desired relief and health you can cause yourself more damage.
4. Head injuries Even minor head injuries can lead to serious consequences. If, after bruises, blows, falls and other mechanical effects, you notice headaches and nausea, then these are the first signs of a problem. With minor injuries, almost 100% of the victims do not seek qualified help. In case if nothing disturbs you it is normal. If, after the injury, you notice that headaches have started to appear along with nausea, then this is a dangerous signal. Most likely an internal head injury has occurred. In this case, the assistance of a specialist is extremely necessary, since the victim himself will not be able to eliminate both the headache itself and the reason it is caused.
5. Inflammatory diseases of the brain. Diseases such as meningitis, encephalitis and encephalopathy in the initial stages are almost not noticeable. The main and initial symptom of these diseases are headache and nausea. If the patient does not pay due attention to the symptoms, the disease can cause irreparable harm to health (mental retardation, impaired motor function, problems with speech, vision, etc.). Self-treatment or ignoring the symptoms of inflammation of the brain is very dangerous.
6. High blood pressure. Headache and nausea are not the main symptom of hypertension, but possible. Impaired blood supply and high blood pressure disrupt the normal functioning of the brain and, as a result, headache and nausea.
7. Infectious diseases. Very often, any infectious diseases begin with headaches and nausea. Infection of any origin (viral, microbial) provokes a severe headache, after which nausea appears. After these symptoms, others may appear. If you do not recognize an infectious disease, the health effects will be bad.
8. Mental illness, stress and depression. Nervous diseases are dangerous, because they are difficult to recognize. A person does not hurt anything, only sometimes there are headaches, nausea and weakness. Stress and depression are bad for the well-being and work of internal organs. Protection of the body and a signal for help - a headache. This pain is intermittent. Patients describe pain as squeezing, throbbing and compressing. To overcome such pain yourself is very difficult. Symptoms can be removed, but for a short period of time. After all, treatment is the elimination of the cause, not the symptom. In such cases, the reason is not so easy to remove. It requires an integrated approach of many specialists and the desire of the patient.
9. Disturbed metabolism and hormones in the body. With impaired metabolism, the endocrine system suffers and, as a result, headaches and nausea can occur. If the thyroid gland or adrenal glands malfunction, headaches and nausea can occur.
10. Poisoning and consumption of low-quality (unusual body) products. Prolonged use of low-quality products in small doses can provoke a gradual poisoning of the body. Such poisoning is very different from acute. With acute poisoning in the body, reactions immediately occur: vomiting, diarrhea, etc. With gradual poisoning, the first signs may be headache and nausea. Vomiting, diarrhea and other disorders may be absent. The same reaction of the body is observed in case of poisoning with chemicals and harmful substances.
Headache Diagnostic Techniques
Before starting treatment, it is necessary to diagnose and determine the cause of pain and nausea.
Diagnostic methods:
• MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) is one of the main diagnostic methods. The state of the cervical and thoracic regions and the brain is evaluated. With this technique it is possible to see minor injuries, tumors, the presence of lesions after a stroke.
• Angiography - a procedure that checks the condition of the blood vessels of the brain and neck. This test is prescribed to all people with headache and nausea, especially if the symptoms are aggravated by physical exertion.
• Blood pressure monitoring is also necessary for people who complain of a headache. This technique allows to determine the hypertension in a latent form.
• Blood test. A detailed blood test is carried out for all possible indicators. The results of the blood test provide a general picture of the patient's health and help identify hidden or chronic infections and inflammations.
• Ultrasound. An ultrasound examination of all organs is carried out. Disruption in the work of some organs, can give a characteristic headache and nausea.
• Ophthalmologist examination. The problem with the eyes necessarily affects the body in the form of headaches. An oculist with a special apparatus examines the patient's eye.
• Examination of an otolaryngologist and a dentist. Diseases of the teeth, ears, throat and nose can cause severe headache, therefore, consultation with these specialists is necessary.
• A psychiatric examination is necessary to determine if a patient’s mental health problems are present.
Headache and nausea treatment
If you experience frequent bouts of headache and nausea, many turn to a specialist, and some are treated on their own in both folk and medical methods. Is it correct?
For any ailments, the first step to recovery is to consult a competent specialist. If you yourself diagnose yourself and also prescribe a treatment yourself, you can harm your body and aggravate the initial situation even more. You are not an expert, you do not have special knowledge and devices with which you can conduct an inspection.
If you have a headache, you need to contact a neurologist. In turn, the doctor:
1. Collect history. These include: the nature of the headache, its frequency, localization, frequency of attacks, associated symptoms. Associated symptoms can be nausea, vomiting, pain in the neck and chest.
2. Examines the patient. Examination of the patient is carried out not only by a neurologist, but also by an oculist, a dentist, an otolaryngologist, a psychiatrist, an endocrinologist, and a therapist. A wide range of specialists is explained by various causes of pain.
3. Assign the necessary procedures for diagnosis. Procedures for examining the brain are assigned (all procedures that are specified in the diagnostic methods). These procedures are extremely necessary, as some causes of the disease can be seen only by technology, and not by the human eye.
4. Prescribe treatment. According to the results of all the necessary studies, the cause of the headache and nausea is found out. After establishing the cause, the neuropathologist may prescribe treatment to the patient. Treatment for each patient is individual.
If the headache is a consequence of stress, negative mood and depression, then the psychologist deals with such patients. He prescribes calming and relaxing preparations. All drugs must be taken strictly according to the instructions. The patient is offered to attend special seminars. It is advisable to change the situation and remove the irritant (for example, change jobs, improve family relations, etc.).
When identifying infectious diseases or inflammations in the body, the doctor prescribes the necessary medicines and procedures that will help the patient to get better. If necessary, hospitalization occurs. With proper treatment and compliance with all rules for patients, infection and inflammation disappear. As a result, pass and headache with nausea.
There are cases when headaches and nausea are caused by direct diseases of the brain and head injuries. Such diseases require long-term and proper treatment in order for pain to pass. Conducted additional examinations of the brain. Based on their results, the disease is determined. Further treatment is prescribed by a neuropathologist.
Do not self-medicate and treat with folk methods. In this way you can harm yourself.
Preventing headache and nausea
It is completely impossible to save oneself, but still one can be warned against some risk factors:
• Down with the stress. Try to save yourself from the negative effects of the environment. This is very important, because psychological health affects the physical. Even if something does not turn out the way you want, you should not despair. Bad mood provokes illnesses and diseases.
• We strengthen the immune system. Try to strengthen your immunity, it will help you get rid of various infections that can be the cause of headaches and nausea. To strengthen your immunity, you need to: improve nutrition (use more fresh fruits, vegetables, and greens, discard harmful foods), get rid of bad habits (smoking, alcohol), temper the body (pour cold water, a contrast shower).
• Sport helps normalize blood pressure and strengthens blood vessels. Sport also boosts immunity.
• Medical examinations. Every person needs to undergo a professional medical examination at least once a year. This is a way to protect yourself from serious diseases. Even if any changes in the body begin to occur and diseases occur, with a timely examination they will be eliminated at the initial level. Such an approach to health will protect a person from serious diseases.
Be attentive to your health. At the first sign of any disease, you should contact a specialist and follow his instructions.
