What is the cause of headache

Headache is a common symptom, which brings great trouble to patients' daily life and work. Headache can make people very distressed and unable to live and work normally. There are many reasons for headache. It can be said that many diseases can cause pain. For example, if the cerebral blood vessels cause traction and displacement, it is easy to stimulate the brain nerves. In addition, irritation or lesions of nerve tissue are also important causes of headache. There are also bad habits, such as frequent drinking. Poor rest, lack of sleep, etc. are also important causes of headaches. Understanding the different causes of headaches can help with timely prevention and treatment.

1) When intracranial blood vessels are pulled

Stretching or shifting may cause headaches. Such factors as intracranial space-occupying lesions caused by brain tumors, hematomas, and abscesses, increased intracranial pressure caused by cerebral edema, venous sinus thrombosis, hydrocephalus, brain tumors, and reduced intracranial pressure caused by lumbar puncture or lumbar anesthesia can all cause traction and displacement of blood vessels.

2) Vasodilator factors.

Various reasons causing dilation of intracranial and extracranial arteries can cause headaches, such as acute intracranial and extracranial infections, toxins, hypoglycemia, hypoxia, carbon monoxide poisoning, alcohol poisoning, brain trauma, epilepsy, hypertensive crisis, hypertensive encephalopathy and other factors can lead to vasodilation. In addition, some drugs such as nitroglycerin can cause vasodilation, thereby causing headaches.

3) Irritation of the meninges.

There is pain-sensitive tissue on the meninges. When an infection occurs in the brain, inflammatory exudates (such as various meningitis) are produced, or blood from hemorrhagic diseases (such as subarachnoid hemorrhage) stimulates the meninges, or the above diseases produce cerebral edema and pull on the meninges, it can cause headaches.

4) Muscle contraction factors.

Tension and contraction of the head, face and neck muscles are the main causes of tension headaches. Muscle contraction compresses the surrounding small blood vessels and tissues, causing them to release chemicals that cause painful stimulation and cause headaches. Certain occupations, such as seamstresses, typists, and teachers, often require fixed working postures, which can easily cause tension and contraction of the neck muscles. Degenerative changes in the cervical spine are also an important cause of tension headaches.

5) Nerves are irritated or damaged.

When the cranial nerves and cervical nerves are compressed by tumors, or suffer from inflammation such as trigeminal neuritis and occipital neuritis, or suffer from irritation such as trigeminal neuralgia, it can cause pain in the head, neck, and face.

6) Neuropsychiatric factors

Headaches are caused by mental or emotional factors that cause the patient to worry and be anxious, and are common in neurosis, hysteria, depression, etc.