头痛:A paininthe head with thepainbeing above the eyes or the ears, behind the head (occipital), or in the back of the upperneck.Headache, like chest pain or backache, has many causes.
All headaches are consideredprimaryheadachesor secondaryheadaches. Primary headaches are not associated with other diseases. Examples of primary headaches are migraine headaches,tensionheadaches, and cluster headaches. Secondary headaches are caused by other diseases. The associateddiseasemay beminorormajor.
Tension headaches are the most common type of primaryheadache. As many as 90% of adults have tension headaches. Tension headaches are more common among women than men.
Migraineheadaches are the second most common type of primary headache. An estimated 28 million people in the US have migraine headaches. Migraine headachesaffectchildren as well as adults. Before puberty, boys and girls are affected equally by migraine headaches, but after puberty more women than men have them. Migraine often goes undiagnosed or is misdiagnosed as tension orsinusheadaches.
Clusterheadaches are a rare but important type of primary headache, affecting mainly men. The average age of cluster headache sufferers is 28-30 years, although headaches may begin inchildhood.
Secondary headaches may result from innumerable conditions, ranging from life threatening ones such as brain tumors, strokes,meningitis, andsubarachnoidhemorrhages to less serious but common conditions such as withdrawal from caffeine and discontinuation of analgesics (pain killingmedication). Many people suffer from "mixed" headache disorders in which tension headaches or secondary headaches maytriggermigraine.
The treatment of the headache depends on the type and severity of the headache and on other factors such as the age of thepatient.
Headache is also referred to ascephalgia.
