Headache and nausea in women

A headache is, according to neurologists, any feeling of discomfort that is localized in the head area. Headache and nausea are two symptoms that often occur in patients who have suffered a traumatic brain injury, acute cerebrovascular accident, or those suffering from various diseases of the central nervous system.

Neurologists, oncologists, hematologists, and doctors of other specialties at the Yusupov Hospital make a collegial decision regarding patient management tactics. Complex cases of headache and nausea are discussed at an expert council meeting. Professors and associate professors, candidates and doctors of medical sciences take part in its work. Patients of the neurology clinic have the opportunity to undergo complex diagnostic procedures and neurosurgical interventions in partner clinics of the Yusupov Hospital located in Moscow.

Causes and characteristics of different types of headaches

Headache, nausea, weakness can occur under the influence of stress.
Headache, which is a consequence of anxiety, depression of various types, developing under the influence of everyday and work troubles, is quite common among patients at the Yusupov Hospital. It develops due to excessive tension in the muscles attached to the skull. This disease affects people of all ages, but especially from 25 to 60 years old. Typically, the intensity of the disease remains at the same level and does not increase with physical activity. Pain sensations are concentrated in the temporal, occipital or frontal areas. The pain is either compressive in nature; patients report that their head feels like they are being pulled in by a helmet.

Often headaches and nausea in both men and women occur in the presence of pathology of the central nervous system. This condition can occur due to traumatic brain injury when patients experience increased intracranial pressure. As a result of liquor hypertension, headache, nausea, and vomiting occur, which does not bring relief.

Headache and nausea may be a sign of meningitis. This is an infectious disease in which inflammation of the membranes of the spinal cord develops. In patients with meningitis, body temperature rises to high levels. They experience severe pain when trying to bring their head to their chest or straighten their knees. Infectious disease specialists and neurologists at the Yusupov Hospital carry out a comprehensive examination and adequate treatment of meningitis with the latest antibacterial drugs.

During a hypertensive crisis, women and men complain of headache, mainly in the occipital region, nausea, and dizziness. They vomit, which does not bring relief. During a hypertensive crisis, cardiologists at the Yusupov Hospital prescribe antihypertensive drugs to patients, drugs that improve brain nutrition and heart function. Stabilizing blood pressure helps prevent acute cerebrovascular accident - stroke.

Regardless of the patient's gender, nausea, vomiting and headache can be signs of food poisoning, a side effect of certain medications, anorexia and diabetes.

One of the most common causes of headaches and nausea is cerebrovascular disease. Headache associated with increased intracranial pressure may be an early sign of a brain tumor. It intensifies with sneezing, coughing, tilting the head, and is often accompanied by vomiting without previous nausea and transient visual impairment.

Headache, nausea, and dizziness often bother patients with cervical osteochondrosis, protrusion of intervertebral discs, and spinal hernias. The pain is usually localized in the cervical-occipital region. It often spreads to the temporal and frontal areas of the head, shoulder and upper limb. The headache intensity is moderate. The pain intensifies with prolonged stay in an uncomfortable position, sudden movement of the head, or pressure on the cervical-occipital muscles. Mobility of the cervical spine is limited.

After a traumatic brain injury, headaches may persist for several months. It is diffuse, dull, intensifies with physical activity and is accompanied by the following symptoms:

• Memory impairment;
• Decreased attention;
• Impaired sleep quality;
• Emotional disorders (low mood, tearfulness);
• Increased fatigue;
• Dizziness.

Doctors at the Yusupov Hospital identify the cause of headaches and dizziness using modern laboratory and instrumental research methods.
After analyzing the research results, complex therapy is carried out with the latest drugs, which are effective and have a minimal range of side effects. Make an appointment

Pain in the temple area

Arthritis

8345 October 28

IMPORTANT!

The information in this section cannot be used for self-diagnosis and self-treatment.
In case of pain or other exacerbation of the disease, diagnostic tests should be prescribed only by the attending physician. To make a diagnosis and properly prescribe treatment, you should contact your doctor. Pain in the temple area: causes of occurrence, what diseases it occurs with, diagnosis and treatment methods.

Definition _

Pain in the temple area is one of the most common complaints that brings patients to the doctor.

In the bone structures of the skull and brain tissues, pain sensitivity is insignificant, so the main sources of pain are blood vessels, meninges and cranial nerves.
Types of pain in the temple area
According to the International Classification of Headaches 3 (2013), all headaches are divided into:

• for primary pain not associated with diseases of the brain and other structures of the head and neck;
• secondary pain associated with other diseases;
• painful cranial neuropathies, other facial and headaches.

Possible causes of pain in the temple area
Arterial hypertension

is one of the common causes of headaches in the back of the head and temples. When pressure increases, attacks of headaches occur, which may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and “spots” before the eyes.

Tension headache

– one of the common reasons for visiting a neurologist and therapist. Patients characterize it as squeezing, pressing.

Tension headaches interfere with quality of life and performance, despite the fact that they are considered benign and do not carry serious consequences.
Migraine
is the most common form of attack-like headache.

Migraine is characterized by localization of pain in the temporo-frontal-orbital region and a paroxysmal nature of the course.

If the pain is not paroxysmal, then it is not a migraine. Seizures can occur on one side of the head or on both sides, and can also change their location (right-left).

A headache attack can occur at any time of the day, more often during a night's sleep in the morning or after waking up. The pain is pulsating, bursting, with a gradual increase in intensity over several hours. Before the onset of an attack, a so-called aura is possible (harbingers of pain, they vary from person to person, but are often described as disturbances in vision, speech, or dizziness). The pain intensifies in bright light, from loud sounds and other irritants, including changes in head position. The attack can last up to several days.

Harris' periodic migraine neuralgia

- characterized by the sudden onset of pain in the eye area on one side and spreading to the temporal, frontal and zygomatic areas, and sometimes even to the neck.

Unlike migraines, there are no warning signs of pain.

The pain is burning, cutting, bursting, accompanied by redness of the eye and lacrimation on the painful side. Some patients experience a sensation of the eye “bulging out of its socket.” All these attacks are characterized by a certain seasonality or periodicity. The duration of the attack ranges from 6–8 weeks to 3 months.

Pain in the temple area may occur immediately after drinking cold water

or ice cream due to arterial spasm. In this case, the pain is aching, squeezing, sometimes throbbing.

Cold pain occurs in individuals with increased sensitivity to cold stimuli and high reactivity of the body.
“Sausage” headache
(in English-speaking authors -
hot dogs headache
) occurs when eating foods containing food additives such as sodium nitrate. During a chemical reaction in the body, nitrate is converted into nitrite, which has a vasomotor effect (controlling the process of contraction and relaxation of the muscular lining of the walls of blood vessels, and, consequently, the lumen of blood vessels), and sensitive people may feel pain in the frontotemporal region.

A similar effect sometimes occurs when eating Chinese dishes (“Chinese restaurant headache”), where monosodium glutamate is often used.
Giant cell arteritis
is the most common systemic vasculitis in the world, affecting large vessels. The favorite localization of this disease is the temporal artery. Most often, the pain is intense, accompanied by limited function of the corresponding temporomandibular joint, blurred vision with its gradual decrease, and a hardened artery in the temple area is detected.

Without treatment, it can lead to permanent blindness of the eye on the affected side.
With inflammatory diseases of the ear,
pain in the temporal and parotid region is possible, which is accompanied by fever, redness, swelling in the ear area, and purulent discharge from the ear.
Meningitis
develops when an infectious agent enters the membranes of the brain, followed by an inflammatory process.

The headache is sudden, sharp, diffuse, predominant in the frontotemporal areas, sometimes accompanied by vomiting.

Neuralgia of the auriculotemporal nerve
often occurs after an inflammatory process or traumatic lesion of the parotid gland. It is characterized by burning, throbbing pain in the area of ​​the external auditory canal, temple, temporomandibular joint, radiating to the lower jaw. The pain is accompanied by increased salivation and redness of the skin over the affected area. Attacks are triggered by eating and smoking.

Neuralgia of the ear ganglion

manifests itself as attacks of burning pain in the temporal region lasting from several minutes to an hour. May be accompanied by ear congestion and increased salivation.

For altitude sickness

There is a change in arterial tone due to reduced oxygen pressure and changes in barometric pressure. Headache is accompanied by shortness of breath, palpitations, and blurred vision.

The severity of symptoms depends on the speed of ascent to altitude.

The pain is relieved by applying cold to the temples and drinking cool water.

Traumatic lesion of the temporal region

may be the cause of pain. This includes a wide group of pathologies: fracture of the temporal bone, dislocation of the temporomandibular joint, soft tissue contusion.

Subarachnoid hemorrhage

occurs for various reasons, for example, as a result of a rupture of a cerebral aneurysm, a person feels like a strong blow to the head, hot liquid pouring into the head, strong contraction, and then bursting. The pain may initially be localized in the corresponding part of the head - in the temporal region when an aneurysm of the internal carotid artery ruptures.

Damage to the temporomandibular joint

(both inflammatory - arthritis, and non-inflammatory - arthrosis, malocclusion) may be accompanied by pain in the parotid and temporal region. When moving the lower jaw, crunching and clicking may occur in the joint; the pain intensifies when chewing and during conversation.

Which doctors should I contact if I have pain in my temples?

If you experience intense and recurring pain in your temples, you should consult a specialist.

If pain persists after taking painkillers or other symptomatic treatment previously prescribed by your doctor (for example, to lower blood pressure), and there are no signs of injury, you should contact or. Depending on the accompanying symptoms, you may need to consult a neurologist, rheumatologist, otolaryngologist, or ophthalmologist. In case of previous injury, it is necessary to contact a traumatologist or to exclude severe injury.

Diagnostics and examinations for pain in the temples

The list of examinations is prescribed by the doctor depending on the indications. An approximate list of studies that may be prescribed:

• computed tomography of the head;

Headache in women

Migraines are often the cause of severe headaches and nausea.
Patients experience periodically recurring attacks of intense, pulsating headaches that last up to three days. Usually, unpleasant sensations appear in one half of the head, mainly in the forehead, eyes or one of the temples. Migraine headaches are aggravated by physical activity. It may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, drowsiness and lethargy. Patients cannot tolerate bright lights and loud sounds. Young women are most often affected by migraines. This is facilitated by the rich hormonal background of the body, characteristic of the age of 25-30 years. An attack is the result of an increase in functional activity in specific centers of the brain.

In women, headaches and nausea occur more often for the following reasons:

• Severe fatigue or stress;
• Anemia (anemia);
• Hormonal changes;
• Brain tumors;
• Meningitis;
• Encephalitis.

Headache in men

Short-term pain that occurs during physical effort in men is not a sign of disease.
This category also includes headaches that occur in men during sexual intercourse and last for several minutes. If an intense headache occurs during orgasm and persists for several hours, you should consult a doctor. If headaches and nausea are regular, neurologists at the Yusupov Hospital conduct an examination using modern neuroimaging methods. They make it possible to detect a brain tumor at the initial stage of development. For timely treatment of a dangerous disease, doctors recommend that patients who are worried about nausea, dizziness, or headache in the morning immediately contact a neurology clinic.

Possible reasons

There are a large number of factors that can cause an unpleasant sensation in the head and gastrointestinal tract at the same time. Among them there are both safe conditions and serious pathologies that can lead to serious consequences. The most common causes of pain are the following clinical or life situations:

• overwork; lack of sleep; food poisoning;
• sensitivity to weather; overheat; stressful situations;
• thermoneurosis (vasoconstriction as a result of emotional shock);
• vegetative-vascular dystonia; hormonal disorders in the body;
• migraine; transferable cold, ARVI; osteochondrosis;
• dental problems; pinched nerve canal;
• tumors in the skull; high pressure;
• previous injuries; hypothyroidism; Lyme disease;
• vision problems; gastroenteritis; meningitis, encephalitis.

Many of the listed conditions require external intervention: a review of diet, sleep, work/rest, and getting out of the stressful rhythm of life. But in serious clinical cases this may not be enough. To determine whether there are serious illnesses in the initial stages of their development, you cannot ignore a headache with nausea; it is better to get checked and undergo an examination.

Diagnostics

Neurologists at the Yusupov Hospital determine the cause of headaches and nausea using the following modern research methods:

• Electroencephalography;
• Echoencephalography;
• Rheoencephalography;
• Doppler ultrasound of head and neck vessels;
• Magnetic resonance and computed tomography of the brain;
• X-rays of the skull;
• Fundus examinations.

Patients receive consultation from related specialists (vertebrologist, otolaryngologist, oncologist, cardiologist, ophthalmologist).

Identifying the causes of headaches

The causes of headaches are determined after patients at the Yusupov Hospital undergo a comprehensive neurological examination:

• ECHO - encephalography;
• electroencephalography;
• Doppler ultrasound of head and neck vessels;
• rheoencephalography;
• radiography of the skull;
• magnetic resonance and computed tomography of the brain;
• fundus examinations.

Patients receive consultation from the necessary specialists (otolaryngologist, vertebrologist, cardiologist, oncologist). If indicated, they are consulted by leading specialists from partner clinics.

Pharmacological therapy

Doctors at the Yusupov Hospital take an individual approach to relieving headache attacks with nausea in each patient. For migraines, the following medications are prescribed:

• Antidepressants (lerivone, amitriptyline);
• Beta-blockers (anaprilin, propranolol, obzidan);
• Calcium channel blockers (nimodipine);
• Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (indomethacin, piroxicam, naprosyn);
• Serotonin antagonists (pizotifen, cyproheptadine);
• Anticonvulsants (apilepsin, carbamazepine);
• Muscle relaxants (mydocalm, sirdalud).

Complex medications taken during an aura help prevent a migraine attack. If the cause of headaches and dizziness in women is menstruation, doctors prescribe non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. You can prevent a migraine attack by following the following recommendations from doctors:

• Limit the consumption of foods that contain tyramine (red wine, dark chocolate, nuts, cheese, citrus fruits);
• Perform therapeutic exercises with an emphasis on the cervical spine;
• Massage the collar area;
• Take a course of acupuncture.

Professors, doctors of medical sciences, who work at the neurology clinic of the Yusupov Hospital, use their own methods of psychotherapy and biofeedback to treat headaches and nausea. Neurologists prescribe the following medications to patients:

• Non-narcotic and narcotic analgesics;
• Ergot alkaloid derivatives;
• Triptans;
• Antiepileptic drugs;
• Antihypertensive drugs;
• Botulinum toxin preparations.

All medications that neurologists use for headaches and nausea are divided into two groups: drugs for relieving headache attacks and prophylactic agents.
The first group of pharmacological drugs includes non-narcotic analgesics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (ketonal, naproxen, paracetamol, ibuprofen). Patients suffering from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract are advised by a gastroenterologist before starting therapy with these drugs. To prevent complications, doctors prescribe proton pump inhibitors. Preventive therapy is carried out for those patients who often experience severe attacks of headaches. In most cases, medications are prescribed in courses lasting from several months to several years. To prevent headaches and nausea, neurologists prescribe beta blockers, antiepileptic drugs, calcium channel blockers, and antidepressants to patients.

Some patients are given monotherapy (treatment with one drug), while in other cases combination therapy is preferred. Each drug is initially prescribed at the minimum effective dose, and then, if indicated, the dose is increased. This allows you to reduce the severity of side effects of the therapy.

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Treatment of nausea and headache

Headache and nausea in women are symptoms that require an individually selected treatment regimen. In most cases, it is enough to take certain groups of drugs that eliminate not only the symptoms, but also the cause of deterioration in well-being. The following treatment methods may be prescribed:

• taking painkillers that temporarily alleviate the patient’s condition and relieve headaches;
• antibiotic therapy to eliminate bacterial infections, prevent purulent complications of inflammatory processes;
• physical therapy, massage, swimming, physiotherapy - methods of treating osteochondrosis of the cervical spine;
• specific drugs that regulate the level of hormones in the blood.

Doctors at the Clinical Brain Institute are specialists with many years of experience who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of headaches. They will help you choose the optimal regimen that will relieve nausea, attacks of pain and other symptoms. It is important not to self-medicate and seek a full examination in a timely manner.

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Prevention

What to do if you have a severe headache and nausea? A few tips can help reduce the frequency of migraine attacks:

• you should reduce the consumption of foods and drinks that provoke attacks;
• avoid long breaks in meals;
• sleep at least 8 hours a day;
• avoid stressful loads;
• quit smoking;
• increase physical activity, especially swimming;
• spend more time in the fresh air;
• avoid long trips by car, bus, boat;
• Do not stay in a room with strong unpleasant odors.

Treatment

For a pressing headache, treatment primarily involves eliminating the provoking factors. It is important to give up bad habits, take walks in the fresh air more often and not neglect dosed physical activity (morning exercises, fitness, yoga, etc.). It is recommended to master the technique of self-massage to relieve muscle tension and improve blood flow to the head.

It is necessary to observe a sleep and rest schedule; To fully restore the nervous system after daytime stress, you need to sleep at least 7-8 hours.

It is advisable to periodically measure blood pressure; If your blood pressure increases frequently, you should consult a doctor.

The living room or work space should be ventilated more often.

Decoctions of medicinal plants - mint, valerian, sage, primrose and meadowsweet - will help cope with an attack.

Your doctor may prescribe the following medications for the symptomatic treatment of a pressing headache:

• Aspirin;
• Paracetamol;
• Spazmolgon;
• Nimesil;
• Ketoprofen.

You should not overuse analgesics, since frequent use of medications over time can provoke the development of “rebound” headaches.

The text was checked by expert doctors: Head of the socio-psychological service of the Alkoklinik MC, psychologist Yu.P. Baranova, L.A. Serova, a psychiatrist-narcologist.

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Non-drug therapy

Frequent headaches occur when the neck muscles are tense.
The initiator of the cascade of events that ultimately lead to physical or biochemical changes that provoke headaches is the “sticking together” of soft tissues (muscle, connective tissue, tendons and ligaments) and pinching of peripheral nerves. In this case, rehabilitation specialists at the Yusupov Hospital carry out therapy aimed at removing mechanical restrictions in the entire kinetic chain of the body: in the jaw, neck, and shoulder girdle. When a nerve is pinched, in addition to the tension headache itself, the following symptoms occur:

• Nausea,
• Numbness;
• Tingling;
• Burning;
• Increased sensitivity.

Doctors at the Yusupov Hospital Neurology Clinic have extensive clinical experience in treating headaches and nausea.
They reduce the severity of these symptoms or neutralize them through a combination of drug treatment methods with a properly selected set of gymnastic exercises. Specialists at the rehabilitation clinic perform acupuncture, various types of massage, and physiotherapeutic procedures for headaches and nausea. Rehabilitators are fluent in various types of massage, osteopathic and soft manual techniques, and kinesiotaping. They use innovative methods of non-drug therapy for headaches and nausea:

• Biofeedback;
• Kinesiotherapy;
• Laser therapy.

In order to undergo an effective course of treatment for headaches and nausea, make an appointment with a neurologist at the Yusupov Hospital online or by calling the call center at any time of the day.
Make an appointment