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Having a
headache is a pain—literally and figuratively. Sometimes, they can be
harmless, fleeting, and disappear without a trace. Other times,
headaches may creep up and leave your noggin pulsing on the reg. And
while chronic headaches can be innocent, they can also signify a deeper
health issue is at play.
Experts don’t completely understand what’s happening in our skulls when
a headache hits, but the most likely explanation is that something
causes the blood vessels to swell, subsequently stretching the nerves
around them and firing off pain signals. There are three primary types
of headaches: migraines, tension, and cluster, Susan Hutchinson, M.D.,
director of Orange County Migraine & Headache Center, tells SELF. If
you’re experiencing headaches, chances are they’re either tension or
migraines. Cluster headaches—which occur usually on one side of the
head, cause one eye to tear, and leave you feeling extremely
agitated—are not very common and seem to run in families, Hutchinson
says. While experts believe migraines are primarily genetic, anyone can
get a tension headache. “Unlike migraines, which we think are
genetically predisposed, tension headaches are pretty universal,”
Hutchinson says. And they can be caused by everything from dehydration
and workplace stress to undiagnosed diabetes or an autoimmune disease. A
tension headache feels tight, like your head is in a vice, can occur on
both sides, and commonly hits later in the day as tension builds. “It’s
a tight, oppressing feeling,” Hutchinson explains.
Chronic headaches—whether tension or migraine—can be caused by a slew of
health problems, ranging from totally minor to pretty major. Here are
some things your headaches could reveal about your health.
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You’re stressed.
If you’re suffering from headaches, stop and think about what’s going on
in your life. How stressed are you? And are you just pushing your stress
under the rug instead of dealing with it? “Unresolved stress can really
contribute to headache,” Hutchinson adds. |
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You’re dehydrated.
“With any kind of headache, a person needs to look at their health
habits,” Hutchinson says. One important thing to look at is water
intake, as dehydration can cause headaches. The exact connection is
unknown, but experts believe it has to do with the way blood volume
drops when you’re not getting enough water. Lower blood volume means
less oxygen is getting to the brain. |
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You’re anemic.
“More severe anemia can cause headache,” Hutchinson says. Luckily, if
you suffer from iron-deficiency anemia, it’s reversible by upping iron
intake. |
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You have a chronic disease.
Headache is a common side effect of many chronic health conditions like
fibromyalgia, lupus, and diabetes. If you have chronic headaches, it’s
always worth talking to your doctor to figure out if an underlying
condition could be causing them. |
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Your body clock is off.
Ever wake up for a super early flight and notice a nagging pain in your
head? Disrupting your body’s schedule can trigger headaches, Hutchinson
says. Getting up at earlier (or later) than usual can throw off your
circadian rhythm. “Travel in general is a trigger,” she adds. The stress
of traveling, change in barometric pressure, change in time zones, and
just being at an airport can all spark a headache.
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You have a brain tumor.
Googling your headache symptoms may result in a self-diagnosis of brain
tumor. Rest assured: They’re rare, so chances are you don’t have one.
But it’s certainly a possibility, and something you don’t want to miss,
Hutchinson says. “If a patient’s had a regular headache pattern [for
months] and it hasn’t changed, it’s usually not a red flag,” Hutchinson
says. If headaches are a recently new thing for you, are the most severe
you’ve ever experienced, or are changing or worsening over time, these
are signs your doctor may order a brain scan. If you’re ever worried
about what’s causing your headaches, it’s worth discussing with your
doctor.
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You’re taking too many headache meds.
Headache treatments can potentially backfire. “Sometimes, the thing
you’re taking for headache starts working against you,” Hutchinson says.
Overdoing it on painkillers can actually make the pain worse—research
suggests popping these pills too frequently can alter the brain’s
ability to regulate pain—and the caffeine in Excedrin can cause
withdrawal headaches, compounding the effects. Overuse of any pain
medication to treat headaches can cause what’s called a rebound
headache. If you’ve been taking a lot of OTC medications, try stopping
for a day or drastically limiting your intake. “If you’re able to then
have a day without a headache and don’t need to take anything, then can
say you’re out of the rebound,” says Hutchinson.
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