Headaches are a very common type of condition where pain occurs in areas of the head such as above the eyes or the ears and behind the head or upper neck. In addition, headaches are not generally considered a disease, but rather a an indication of another disease. Causes for headaches are many and these causes could vary from one person to the other. Moreover, as in certain cases the treatment is quite tough, it is vital to rightly diagnose the reason for the headache.
Before any treatment, the headache should be first categorized. There are there are numerous ways to categorize headaches although the most well known method was introduced by the International Headache Society. There are three main types of headaches according to this categorization and each specific type tends to have a separate cause.
Primary headaches are one of the main types of headaches and could be further classified as tension headaches, migraine headaches and cluster headaches. The major culprit in the case of tension headaches tend to be either physical or mental stress. It is stated that nearly 90% of all adults would experience tension headaches during their lives. Compared to men women appear to be more prone to experience tension headaches. Migraine headaches are also a frequent kind of headache with nearly 12% of the US population (around 28 million people) experiences this kind of headache. Cluster headaches which affects only 0.1% of the people are somewhat uncommon though both these types tend to be experienced fairly frequently by most people. The exact cause of headache in both migraine related and cluster headaches has not yet been identified. However, none of the above three headaches are life threatening.
Although the cause of headache in primary headaches might not be life threatening, secondary headaches might indicate a far more dangerous condition. Secondary headaches normally occur due to underlying diseases such as brain tumors, meningitis, encephalitis and stroke. Therefore, it抯 vital that you seek medical attention when your headaches are accompanied with symptoms such as seizures, continuing nausea and vomiting, and vision, speech and behavior changes. Another serious type of a headache is referred to as cranial neuralgia where swollen nerves in the head and neck tends to the reason for the headache. In addition to this, facial pains and other different headaches are also incorporated into this category.
It抯 very important that the you visit your physician if the headache persists in a severe manner though you might be able to get some relief in the short term through painkilling drugs like asprin or paracetamol. In addition, the painkilling drugs including paracetamol should be used in the recommended doses as an overdose might have adverse consequences like heavy liver damage which would at times prove to be fatal.

