Causes of Headache
Triggers list for Headache: The list of triggers mentioned in source as possible causal factors for Headache includes:
- Anger
- Muscle tension
- Missed meals
- Vigorous exercise
- Sexual excitement
Cause details for Headache: What hurts when you have a headache? The bones of the skull and tissues of the brain itself never hurt, because they lack pain-sensitive nerve fibers. Several areas of the head can hurt, including a network of nerves which extends over the scalp and certain nerves in the face, mouth, and throat. Also sensitive to pain, because they contain delicate nerve fibers, are the muscles of the head and blood vessels found along the surface and at the base of the brain.
The ends of these pain-sensitive nerves, called nociceptors, can be stimulated by stress, muscular tension, dilated blood vessels, and other triggers of headache. Once stimulated, a nociceptor sends a message up the length of the nerve fiber to the nerve cells in the brain, signaling that a part of the body hurts. The message is determined by the location of the nociceptor. A person who suddenly realizes "My toe hurts," is responding to nociceptors in the foot that have been stimulated by the stubbing of a toe.
A number of chemicals help transmit pain-related information to the brain. Some of these chemicals are natural painkilling proteins called endorphins, Greek for "the morphine within." One theory suggests that people who suffer from severe headache and other types of chronic pain have lower levels of endorphins than people who are generally pain free.1
Underlying condition causes of Headache: The list of possible underlying conditions (see also Misdiagnosis of underlying causes of Headache) mentioned in various sources as possible causes of Headache includes:
- See also causes of symptom headache
- Infection
- Common cold
- Flu
- Fever - headaches are common with fever from any type of infection
- Ear infection
- Tooth infection (type of Dental conditions)
- Sinus infection
- Pneumonia
- Measles
- Mumps
- Tonsillitis
- Sinus blockage
- Coughing - too much coughing can cause a form of traction headache.
- Various possible types of headache:
- Lifestyle causes
- Hangover
- Excessive alcohol
- Stress
- Fatigue
- Tension
- Tiredness
- Excessive smoking
- Dyspepsia
- Eye conditions
- Glaucoma
- Eyestrain
- Medical procedures
- Spinal tap treatment
- Epidural - this anaesthetic procedure (common for childbirth) can occasionally cause damage to the spinal area and cause headache.
- Systemic or metabolic conditions
- Hypertension
- Thyroid disease
- Anemia
- Kidney failure
- Uremia
- Lead poisoning - or mild lead exposure from paint or car
- Various toxins - see toxin causes of headache
- Brain or head conditions
- Meningitis
- Encephalitis
- Head injury
- Brain injury
- Mild traumatic brain injury
- Concussion
- Temporal arteritis
- Heatstroke
- Sunstroke
- Blood clots (see Clotting symptoms) - in the brain, these can cause a stroke.
- Brain aneurysm
- Subdural hematoma
- Stroke
- Transient ischemic attacks
- Subarachnoid hemorrhage
- Brain tumor
- Benign intracranial hypertension
- Trigeminal neuralgia
- Psychogenic pain syndromes
- Congestion
- Hyperemia
- Dental conditions
- Ear conditions
- Nasal conditions
Headache as a complication: Other conditions that might have Headache as a complication might be potential underlying causes of Headache. The list of conditions listing Headache as a complication in our database includes:
Headache as a symptom: Conditions listing Headache as a symptom may also be potential underlying causes of Headache. The list of conditions listing Headache as a symptom in our database includes:
- Acromegaly
- Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis
- African Sleeping sickness
- Amnesic shellfish poisoning
- Arachnoiditis
- Barmah Forest virus
- Basilar artery migraine
- Behcet's Disease
- Bornholm disease
- Botulism food poisoning
- Bubonic plague
- Cat scratch disease
- Cerebral Arteriosclerosis
- Chemical pneumonia
- Chiari Malformation
- Chickenpox
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Ciguatera poisoning
- Cluster headache
- Common cold
- Concussion
- Cryptococcal Meningitis
- Cyclic vomiting syndrome
- Decompression sickness
- Dengue hemorrhagic fever
- Diabetic hypoglycemia
- Ebola
- Ehrlichiosis
- Encephalitis
- Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli
- Favism
- Flu
- Food poisoning
- Fungal meningitis
- Gastroenteritis
- Glanders
- Glomerulonephritis
- Hangover
- Head injury
- Heatstroke
- Hemophilus influenzae B
- Hepatitis
- HIV/AIDS
- Hydrocephalus
- Hypertension
- Hypoglycemia
- Hypoglycemic attack
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Japanese encephalitis
- Lassa fever
- Lead poisoning
- Legionnaires' disease
- Listeriosis
- Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis
- Malaria
- Marburg virus
- Mastoiditis
- Melioidosis
- Meningitis
- Meningococcal disease
- Mesenteric Adenitis
- Methahemoglobinemia
- Mitochondrial diseases
- Mononucleosis
- Motion sickness
- Mountain sickness
- Mumps
- Muscle contraction headache
- Naegleria
- Neurofibromatosis-2
- Nocardiosis
- Norwalk-like viruses
- Oligodendroglioma
- Paralytic shellfish poisoning
- Pharyngitis
- Plague
- Pneumococcal pneumonia
- Pneumonic plague
- Polio
- Polycythemia
- Post streptococcal glomerulonephritis
- Premenstrual syndrome
- Pseudotumor Cerebri
- Psittacosis
- Queensland tick typhus
- Rabies
- Rocky Mountain spotted fever
- Rubella
- Sandfly fever
- SARS
- Scarlet fever
- Schilder's Disease
- Scombrotoxic fish poisoning
- Shingles
- Slap-cheek syndrome
- Strep throat
- Stress
- Syphilis
- Temporal arteritis
- Tension headache
- Tetanus
- Toxic Shock Syndrome
- Toxoplasmosis
- Transverse myelitis
- Traumatic Brain Injury
- Trigeminal neuralgia
- Typhoid fever
- Upper Respiratory Infection
- Uremia
- Viral gastroenteritis
- Viral Hepatitis
- Viral meningitis
- Vitamin A overdose
- West Nile fever
- Whiplash
- Yellow fever
Causes of Headache: medical news summaries: The following medical news items are relevant to causes of Headache:
- Authorities mystified by cause of ‘sick building syndrome’
- CO poisoning may be fatally mistaken for the flu
- Drug company receives FDA approval for high dose GERD treatment
- Food allergies often confused with food intolerance
- Gulf War Veterans want more studies done to determine link between their symptoms and their service in the war
- Headache medications not very effective on migraines
- Headache was undiagnosed glaucoma
- How much is really known about the safety of statins
- Lupus treatment has improved over the years
- Men taking hypertension drugs can also safely use Viagra
- Novel migraine cure devised by dentist
- Single use anemia test available free of cost to people at risk of chronic kidney disease
Related information for causes of Headache:
Further relevant information on causes of Headache may be found
in the risk factors for Headache
and underlying causes of Headache.
Footnotes:
1. excerpt from Headache - Hope Through Research: NINDS
Last revision:
Nov 3, 2003
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