Scientists have explained why you get a headache and what to do about it

For some it is just a short-term inconvenience, but for others it is a serious and even debilitating problem that interferes with life for days and weeks. How to distinguish between ordinary tension and migraine? And what are the most effective treatments today?

The answers are given by experts of the National Institute of Health of the United States, reports the publication HealthDay.

Types of headaches: from stress to serious illnesses

The most common type is a tension headache. It is most often caused by stress, lack of sleep, dehydration or poor posture. This pain is usually felt on both sides of the head and is mild to moderate in intensity.

But a much more severe form is migraine. This is not just a headache, but a complex neurological disease in which there may be:

• severe throbbing pain on one or both sides of the head;

• nausea and vomiting;

• sensitivity to light, sounds and odours;

• fatigue and mood swings.

"With a migraine, it's as if the nervous system has the sensitivity control turned up to maximum," explains Dr C.S. Brennan of the University of Utah.

There are other forms of headaches:

• cluster - sudden and extremely painful, often occurring in a series;

• post-traumatic - develops after a concussion or head injury;

• secondary - caused by other conditions such as stroke, infection or hypertension.

What helps and what can hurt

For prevention, experts recommend simple steps:

• drink enough water;

• get enough sleep;

• manage stress;

• keep track of possible triggers.

Dr Michael Oshinsky of the NIH advises keeping a headache diary: "Write down for a month when and how long you had the pain, what helped or didn't help. This will give you and your doctor important information."

Painkillers can be effective, but frequent use (more than 3-4 times a week) risks a "kickback" effect: once the medication is stopped, the pain may come back stronger.

New approaches: from medication to psychotherapy

To treat chronic migraine, doctors prescribe preventive therapies, such as drugs that affect CGRP, a protein involved in the transmission of pain signals. Although such drugs do not help everyone, they are becoming increasingly popular.

Scientists are also studying how glutamate, a substance involved in neurofeedback, affects migraine. Understanding where and under what conditions its abnormal activity occurs will help create more precise treatments, Brennan said.

However, it's not just medication that can be effective. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), according to Hadas Nachman-Awebruch of Washington University in St. Louis, can change brain activity in a similar way to medication. Mindfulness and biofeedback also help.

Headaches in children and teens

Children suffer from headaches, too. In young children, migraine can manifest itself through stomach pain. Teenagers often have attacks during hormonal changes, especially in girls.

Nachman-Awebruch's team is researching the effect of hormones on pain and developing methods to predict which teens are most susceptible to migraine.

"If we can identify in advance who is at risk, we have a chance to prevent migraine development," she notes.