Worst Headache of Your Life
- Worst Headache of Your Life Overview
- Worst Headache of Your Life Causes
- Worst Headache of Your Life Symptoms
- When to Seek Medical Care
- Exams and Tests
- Worst Headache of Your Life Treatment
- Self-Care at Home
- Medical Treatment
- Next Steps
- Outlook
- Synonyms and Keywords
- Authors and Editors
Worst Headache of Your Life Overview
Headaches are a common reason for a visit to the doctor. Almost everyone gets headaches now and then. Some people have more serious types of headaches requiring specialized medical treatment. On rare occasions, a headache may be a symptom of a life-threatening problem.
Worst Headache of Your Life Causes
There are many types and causes of headaches. Some of them are as follows:
- Tension
- Migraine
- Meningitis, or an infection of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord
- Tumors
- Temporal or giant cell arteritis, an inflammation or swelling of blood vessels in the head
- Head injury with or without bleeding within the skull
- Exposure to certain toxic substances, such as carbon monoxide (This exposure tends to occur in the winter months because of defective heating systems and may affect an entire family.)
- A burst aneurysm in the brain
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Worst Headache of Your Life
Head Injury Overview
Head injury is a general term used to describe any trauma to the head, and most specifically to the brain itself.
Skull fracture: A skull fracture is a break in the bone surrounding the brain and other structures within the skull.
- Linear skull fracture: A common injury, especially in children. A linear skull fracture is a simple break in the skull that follows a relatively straight line. It can occur after seemingly minor head injuries (falls, blows such as being struck by a rock, stick, or other object; or from motor vehicle accidents). A linear skull fracture is not a serious injury unless there is an additional injury to the brain itself.
- Depressed skull fractures: These are common after forceful impact by blunt objects-most commonly, hammers, rocks, or other heavy but fairly small objects. These injuries cause "dents" in the skull bone. If the depth of a depressed fracture...
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Migraine Headache »
Although migraine is a term applied to certain headaches with a vascular quality, overwhelming evidence suggests that migraine is a dominantly inherited disorder characterized by varying degrees of recurrent vascular-quality headache, photophobia, sleep disruption, and depression.
