What relieves a headache? Discover the symptoms, causes, diagnosis, and effective treatments for various types of headaches, including occipital neuralgia and hemiplegic migraines.

Occipital Neuralgia: Symptoms, Causes, and Diagnosis

Occipital neuralgia is a condition in which the nerves that run from the top of the spinal cord up through the scalp, called the occipital nerves, are inflamed or injured. This can cause intense pain that feels like a sharp, jabbing, electric shock in the back of the head and neck. Other symptoms include aching, burning, and throbbing pain that typically starts at the base of the head and goes to the scalp, pain on one or both sides of the head, pain behind the eye, sensitivity to light, and tender scalp.

Occipital neuralgia can happen when there’s pressure or irritation to the occipital nerves, maybe because of an injury, tight muscles that entrap the nerves, or inflammation. Many times, doctors can’t find a cause for it. Some medical conditions linked to occipital neuralgia include trauma to the back of the head, neck tension or tight neck muscles, osteoarthritis, tumors in the neck, cervical disc disease, infection, gout, diabetes, and blood vessel inflammation.

To diagnose occipital neuralgia, your doctor will ask about your medical history, any injuries you’ve had, and do a physical exam. They may also give you a shot to numb the nerve, called a nerve block, to see if it provides relief. Blood tests or an MRI scan may be ordered if the case is not typical.

Treating Occipital Neuralgia

The first step in treating occipital neuralgia is to relieve the pain. Over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs like naproxen or ibuprofen, applying heat to the neck, resting in a quiet room, and massaging tight and painful neck muscles can help. If those don’t work, your doctor may prescribe medications like muscle relaxants, antiseizure drugs, or antidepressants.

Nerve blocks and steroid shots may also be used as a short-term treatment, with a series of two to three shots over several weeks to get the pain under control. Surgery is rare but may be an option if the pain doesn’t improve with other treatments or keeps coming back. Procedures like microvascular decompression or occipital nerve stimulation may be considered.

Hemiplegic Migraines: Symptoms and Causes

Hemiplegic migraine is a rare and serious type of migraine headache. Many of its symptoms mimic those common to stroke, such as muscle weakness that can cause temporary paralysis on one side of the body (hemiplegia). Early symptoms called auras may include trouble with muscle control and sensation, severe throbbing pain often on one side of the head, a pins-and-needles feeling moving up the arm, numbness on one side of the body, weakness or paralysis on one side, loss of balance and coordination, dizziness or vertigo, nausea and vomiting, and other vision and language difficulties.

The causes of hemiplegic migraines are not fully understood, but they are believed to involve genetic factors and abnormalities in brain function that lead to the temporary paralysis and other neurological symptoms.

Diagnosing Hemiplegic Migraines

Diagnosing hemiplegic migraines can be challenging, as the symptoms often mimic those of a stroke. Your doctor will likely ask about your medical history, conduct a physical exam, and may order tests like an MRI or CT scan to rule out other conditions. A neurologist specializing in headaches may be consulted to confirm the diagnosis.

Treating Hemiplegic Migraines

Treatment for hemiplegic migraines aims to manage the acute symptoms and prevent future attacks. Medications like triptans, anti-seizure drugs, and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) inhibitors may be prescribed. Lifestyle changes like avoiding migraine triggers, getting enough sleep, and managing stress can also help. In some cases, hospitalization may be necessary during severe attacks.

Preventing and Managing Headaches

Regardless of the type of headache, there are several strategies that can help prevent and manage the pain. These include:

• Identifying and avoiding potential triggers like stress, lack of sleep, certain foods, hormonal changes, and weather changes
• Practicing stress management techniques like meditation, yoga, and deep breathing
• Staying hydrated and getting regular exercise
• Taking over-the-counter pain relievers as needed
• Seeking professional treatment if headaches persist or worsen

The key is working closely with your healthcare provider to determine the underlying cause of your headaches and develop a personalized treatment plan. With the right approach, you can find relief and better manage your headaches.

When to Seek Medical Attention

If you experience sudden, severe headaches, headaches that interfere with your daily life, or headaches accompanied by concerning symptoms like vision changes, weakness, or confusion, it’s important to seek medical attention right away. These could be signs of a more serious condition that requires prompt diagnosis and treatment.

Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatments, and More

Written by Hedy Marks

• Symptoms
• Causes
• How It’s Diagnosed
• Treatments

Occipital neuralgia is a condition in which the nerves that run from the top of the spinal cord up through the scalp, called the occipital nerves, are inflamed or injured. You might feel pain in the back of your head or the base of your skull.

People can confuse it with a migraine or other types of headache, because the symptoms can be similar. But treatments for those conditions are very different, so it’s important to see your doctor to get the right diagnosis.

Occipital neuralgia can cause intense pain that feels like a sharp, jabbing, electric shock in the back of the head and neck. Other symptoms include:

• Aching, burning, and throbbing pain that typically starts at the base of the head and goes to the scalp
• Pain on one or both sides of the head
• Pain behind the eye
• Sensitivity to light
• Tender scalp
• Pain when you move your neck

Occipital neuralgia happens when there’s pressure or irritation to your occipital nerves, maybe because of an injury, tight muscles that entrap the nerves, or inflammation. Many times, doctors can’t find a cause for it.

Some medical conditions are linked to it, including:

• Trauma to the back of the head
• Neck tension or tight neck muscles
• Osteoarthritis
• Tumors in the neck
• Cervical disc disease
• Infection
• Gout
• Diabetes
• Blood vessel inflammation

Your doctor will ask you questions about your medical history and about any injuries you’ve had. They’ll do a physical exam, too. They’ll press firmly around the back of your head to see if they can reproduce your pain.

They may also give you a shot to numb the nerve, called a nerve block, to see if it gives you relief. If it works, occipital neuralgia is likely the cause of the pain. You might also have blood tests or an MRI scan if your doctor thinks your case isn’t typical. 

You have to get the right diagnosis to get the right treatment. For example, if you have occipital neuralgia and you get a prescription for migraine medication, you may not get relief.

The first thing you’ll want to do is to relieve your pain. You can try to:

• Apply heat to your neck.
• Rest in a quiet room.
• Massage tight and painful neck muscles.
• Take over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs, like naproxen or ibuprofen.

If those don’t help, your doctor may prescribe medications for you, including:

• Prescription muscle relaxants
• Antiseizure drugs, such as carbamazepine (Tegretol) and gabapentin (Neurontin)
• Antidepressants
• Nerve blocks and steroid shots. The nerve block that your doctor might do to diagnose your condition can be a short-term treatment, too. It may take two to three shots over several weeks to get control of your pain. It’s not uncommon for the problem to return at some point and to need another series of injections.

An operation is rare, but it might be an option if your pain doesn’t get better with other treatments or comes back. Surgery may include:

• Microvascular decompression. Your doctor may be able to relieve pain by finding and adjusting blood vessels that may be compressing your nerve.
• Occipital nerve stimulation. Your doctor uses a device called a neurostimulator to deliver electrical pulses to your occipital nerves. They can help block pain messages to the brain.

Occipital neuralgia is not a life-threatening condition. Most people get good pain relief by resting and taking medication. But if you still hurt, tell your doctor. They’ll want to see if there’s another problem that’s causing your pain.

Top Picks

Hemiplegic Headaches/Migraines: Symptoms, Causes, Treatments

Written by Rebecca Buffum Taylor

• What Is a Hemiplegic Migraine?
• Hemiplegic Migraine Symptoms
• Hemiplegic Migraine vs. Stroke
• Hemiplegic Migraines Causes
• Tests to Diagnose Hemiplegic Migraines
• Hemiplegic Migraine Treatment
• More

Hemiplegic migraine is a rare and serious type of migraine headache. Many of its symptoms mimic those common to stroke. For example, muscle weakness can be so extreme that it causes a temporary paralysis on one side of your body, which doctors call hemiplegia.

You may have early symptoms before the actual headache pain. Early symptoms called auras may cause:

• Short-term trouble with muscle control and sensation
• Severe, throbbing pain, often on one side of your head
• A pins-and-needles feeling, often moving from your hand up your arm
• Numbness on one side of your body, which can include your arm, leg, and half of your face
• Weakness or paralysis on one side of your body
• Loss of balance and coordination
• Dizziness or vertigo
• Nausea and vomiting

Other aura symptoms may include:

• Seeing zigzag lines, double vision, or blind spots
• Extreme sensitivity to light, sound, and smell
• Language difficulties, such as mixing words or trouble remembering a word
• Slurred speech
• Confusion
• Drowsiness or loss of consciousness

Auras usually come on gradually over a half-hour, and then can last for hours and then slowly resolve. They can be more severe and last longer than with other types of migraine.

You have a terrible headache. How do you know the cause? The short answer is: You don’t. Some of the symptoms of a migraine can be very much like those of a stroke.

If you think there’s even the slightest chance you’re having a stroke, call 911 right away. Early treatment can limit the damage to your brain and possibly save your life.

If you’re over 40 and have never had a migraine, assume your pain is something more serious, especially if you notice stroke symptoms like paralysis or slurred speech. People who get migraines typically have it most of their lives. It’s rare to have your first symptoms when you’re older.

The stroke-like symptoms of hemiplegic migraine can range from worrisome to disabling. Unlike stroke symptoms, they come on slowly and build and then may completely go away. Muscle problems usually go away within 24 hours, but they may last a few days.

There’s not a predictable pattern with this type of migraine. Usually, pain follows the paralysis, but it might come before, or you might not get a headache at all. You may hurt a lot and feel only a little weak; then the next attack might bring severe paralysis without much pain.

It’s uncommon, but over time, some people can have long-lasting trouble with movement and coordination.

Hemiplegic migraine symptoms often start when you’re a child or teen. Sometimes, they’ll disappear when you’re an adult.

So far, researchers have found four genes linked with hemiplegic migraine:

• CACNA1A
• ATP1A2
• SCN1A
• PRRT2

Defects, or mutations, in any of these can make your body less able to make a certain protein. Without it, nerve cells have trouble sending out or taking in signals that go between them. One of these chemical messengers, or neurotransmitters, is serotonin.

A child of a parent with hemiplegic migraines will have a 50% chance of getting them as well.

A CT scan or an MRI of your head can show signs of a stroke and so rule it out as a cause of your symptoms. Tests of your heart and the blood vessels in your neck can rule out blood clots as a cause of your symptoms.

If you have a family member with similar symptoms, your doctor may want to do genetic testing. Familial hemiplegic migraine (FHM) means it runs in your family, and you could pass it on to your children. People who don’t have problems with those four genes have sporadic hemiplegic migraine (SHM).

Doctors don’t always agree on the best way to treat hemiplegic migraines.

Your doctor might prescribe drugs to prevent hemiplegic migraines, to stop them once they’ve started, or to relieve your symptoms. It’s a good idea to discuss these options with your doctor.

There is controversy over whether some drugs that are used to treat other types of migraines should be used for hemiplegic migraines. There is some evidence that triptans, beta-blockers, and ergotamine derivatives may lead to ischemia (when a part of your body isn’t getting enough blood) in patients with hemiplegic migraine. But more research is needed to be sure.

CGRP inhibitors are a new class of preventive medicine for treating most common migraines, but early studies suggest they would not work for hemiplegic migraines.

Top Picks

10 foods that cause headaches

Headache can be provoked by various, sometimes unexpected, causes or triggers. Their identification is often very difficult. These include environmental factors, concomitant diseases, fatigue, stress. Food is also one of those triggers.

According to the Migraine Research Foundation, food triggers, combined with other migraine triggers, are among the most significant.

“Up to 10% of the population is sensitive to food triggers that can cause migraines. However, identifying the food that triggers it is very difficult,” says Belinda Savage-Edwards, a headache specialist.
Since every person is different, it is impossible to give absolute and clear recommendations on what foods to avoid. What negatively affects one person will not necessarily have a similar effect on another. However, there are some foods and ingredients that are relatively common in causing headaches and migraines.

1. Beverages containing caffeine – tea, coffee, cola. Scientists conducted studies in which people suffering from headaches gradually stopped consuming caffeinated products. In one of them, which focused on children and adolescents, 92% of participants (33 people) stopped their headaches after caffeine withdrawal. In another study, stopping it helped many adults better than medication.

2. Aged Cheeses – Blue Cheese, Brie, Cheddar, English Stilton, Feta, Gorgonzola, Mozzarella, Muenster, Parmesan, Swiss. The point is a substance called tyramine, which is formed during the breakdown of proteins in the processes of aging and decay. The longer the cheese is aged, the higher the tyramine content.

3. Alcohol is one of the main migraine triggers. Red wine, beer, whiskey and champagne are triggers for approximately 25% of people who suffer from regular migraines. Tyramine and tannins contained in drinks play a role, as well as dehydration after drinking.

4. Chocolate is a trigger affecting approximately 22% of people who experience migraines. In addition to the already mentioned caffeine, it contains beta-phenylethylamine, which dilates the blood vessels of the brain.

5. Artificial sweeteners. They are found in many processed foods and are also used as an alternative to sugar for people with diabetes. In particular, the most popular trigger is aspartame, according to the Mayo Clinic.

6. Products containing monosodium glutamate – frozen and canned foods, snacks, salad dressings, sauces. Researchers note that glutamate can provoke migraine attacks in 10-15% of those who suffer from it. Instead of monosodium glutamate, products may contain potassium glutamate, autolyzed yeast, hydrolyzed protein, and sodium caseinate. All of these ingredients are also triggers.

7. Processed meat – deli meats, ham, sausages, sausages. In addition to the already mentioned monosodium glutamate, they contain nitric oxide, thanks to which the color and taste of the products are preserved. When nitric oxide enters the bloodstream, the blood vessels in the brain dilate, causing headaches or migraines.

8. Pickled and fermented products – olives, sauerkraut, kombucha. They also contain a large amount of tyramine.

9. Frozen foods – ice cream, smoothies, ice milk. Eating or drinking them quickly after physical activity or when overheated can provoke a severe stabbing headache.

10. Salty food, increases blood pressure, causes headaches and migraines. Salty processed foods that additionally contain the preservatives mentioned above are especially dangerous.

At the same time, there are also paradoxical studies that an increased amount of salt in the diet is associated with fewer attacks of severe headaches and migraines.
Nutritionists do not recommend giving up these products immediately. It is necessary to remove one of them for about 2 months, and then reintroduce it into your diet. If a headache occurs within the next 24 hours, and there are no other aggravating factors (menstruation, lack of sleep, hunger or thirst), the culprit may have been found.

December 22, 2022

Headache treatment with botulinum toxin: what is important to know

Migraine is a disease of the nervous system, which is manifested by attacks of headache of varying intensity: from moderate to very severe.

May 26, 2022

Botulinum therapy – anti-wrinkle injections Botox, Dysport, Xeomin

Anti-wrinkle injections are a natural protein that interrupts this process, smoothing wrinkles. For the period of action of anti-wrinkle drugs, there is no trace left!

May 26, 2022

JUVEDERM

Juvederm is a hyaluronic acid filler. It is one of the most common preparations for contouring wrinkles, eliminating deep nasolabial folds and giving extra volume to the lips.

May 26, 2022

XEOMIN (XEOMIN, GERMANY)

Xeomin (Xeomin, Germany) is a new generation drug containing pure neurotoxin type A, produced by a strain of microorganism Clostridium botulinum type A.

Read all related articles

Make an appointment

Thank you for contacting us! We will contact you shortly.

Leave a comment

Thank you, your feedback is very important to us

Apply for a job

Thank you for contacting us! We will contact you shortly.

Sign up for the course

Thank you, your application has been successfully sent

Registration for the conference

Thank you, your application has been successfully sent

Ask a question

Thank you, we have submitted your question

How get rid of a headache, what to drink and what folk remedies

Headaches can occur for various reasons. In some cases, they indicate banal overwork, but sometimes pain is a symptom of serious pathologies. Do not drown out discomfort with medication if you do not know the cause. Especially if the pains recur, become stronger – this is a natural defense mechanism of the body. Thanks to pain, we can understand that something is going wrong and take action in time.

Causes of headaches

Headaches can take many forms. Below we list common localizations of painful sensations in the head.

1. Headaches in the occiput. Such pain may indicate that you have developed cervical spondylosis, osteochondrosis, increased muscle tone in the cervical region. Also, pain in the back of the head indicates hypertension.
2. Headaches in the temples. The reasons can be completely different: intoxication of the body with some chemical substance, an infectious lesion, sudden pressure surges.
3. Pain in the forehead. Such pains indicate increased intracranial pressure, frontal sinusitis, that the occipital nerve was infringed. In addition, painful sensations in the front of the head indicate typhus, malaria, pneumonia, meningitis and other serious pathologies.
4. Pain in the eyes or in the region of the optic nerves. It indicates a migraine attack, autonomic dysfunctions, and eye pathologies. If you ignore the appointment with a specialist with such pain, the disease can give complications.

Frequent headaches: causes

A severe headache does not always indicate a severe pathology. In some cases, this is normal. The head may hurt due to experienced acute stress, against the background of nervous strain, due to severe fatigue or noise. But it can also lead to pain intolerance to a certain food factor, infection and inflammation.

If you had a headache once, and the pain did not recur, it may not make sense to worry and turn to different specialists. But if your head hurts constantly, for example, once every 2-3 days, and you do not understand the reasons, you should not postpone the visit to the treating specialist.

Severe headache can be triggered by migraines, sudden pressure surges, sinusitis, TBI, infections. Sometimes the pains increase – that is, tomorrow the head hurts more than today. This is a wake-up call for a person.

If we talk about prolonged headaches, they may indicate serious chronic pathologies. In particular:

• syphilis
• tuberculosis
• encephalitis
• arachnoiditis
• meningitis
• parasitic pathologies
• oncology

Throbbing headache may occur in the background of migraines. Also, such pain indicates sinusitis, eye diseases, otitis media, and vascular pathologies.

Sharp attacks of headaches can be caused by vasospasm, which, in turn, can be triggered by cervical osteochondrosis or a sharp jump in pressure. The most dangerous causes are internal hemorrhage, aneurysm rupture.

Environmental factors cannot be ruled out: experienced stress, professional overstrain, malnutrition, use of medications.

Types of headaches

When it comes to throbbing pain, the most common cause is migraine. With such a pathology, nausea, photophobia, intolerance to pungent odors, a feeling of fatigue and weakness additionally occur. Usually the pain is localized in one half of the head. The duration of such pain is 2-3 hours-3 days. Young women are more often affected.

Mild or moderate headache, which everyone probably experienced, can occur against the background of muscle spasm due to an uncomfortable sitting position, sleeping. It can also be caused by emotional stress. The pain extends to the back of the head, forehead, temples and other parts of the skull.

There is also a cluster type of pain. There are pulsating painful sensations that most of all give to the eyes and forehead. During an attack, lacrimation may increase, swelling and redness may appear. The duration of the attack is 20 minutes-1.5 hours. More often men suffer from such pains.

Headache of infectious origin is accompanied by fever, chills. If we talk about respiratory infections like SARS, then the pain is usually not too strong. More like pressure. In parallel, a person suffers from a runny nose, cough, fatigue.

The pain of meningitis will be sharp and throbbing. Body temperature rises to 37.5 degrees and above, nausea and vomiting also develop. Such patients need urgent medical care, hospitalization.

If we talk about pain as a result of injuries, then it depends on the place of injury. Pain occurs both immediately and after a certain period of time.

There is also a sinus type of headache. It occurs against the background of the inflammatory process, while it is accompanied by swelling of the nasal mucosa.

If the headache occurs due to high intracranial pressure, then the headache will be quite severe. It will be accompanied by intolerance to light, nausea.

Pain that occurs against the background of an inflammatory process in the trigeminal nerve, manifests itself in short time periods – a couple of seconds, but the pain is very strong. It can occur anywhere, at any time – even during a conversation or during breakfast. Doctors say that such pains can be provoked by sinusitis, malocclusion, stomatitis, caries.

What to drink for a headache and what helps?

There are at least 8 ways to get rid of a headache at home.

So, what to do with a severe headache? Follow these guidelines:

• drink hot tea with a pinch of cinnamon. Do not use cinnamon if you have an allergy – it is quite a strong allergen
• take a contrast shower
• try chewing mint, lemon or ginger
• arrange a small promenade for yourself – a walk in the fresh air
• try aromatherapy
• massage your head
• do acupressure
• drink clean water

Certain methods can be combined. If the headache is caused by overexertion, stress, worries, fatigue, lack of sleep, it will quickly go away.

All products Dexalgin

20 reviews

All products Caffetamin

5 reviews

All products Dibazol

20 reviews

All products Papaverine

20 reviews

Headache preparations

As for drug relief for pain, then there are the following drugs:

1. Analgesics. These include panadol, analgin, ibuprofen, paracetamol. Such drugs also have an antipyretic effect.
2. Antispasmodics. They are used by patients whose headaches are caused by vascular disorders – for example, a jump in blood pressure. These include no-shpa, papaverine, dibazol, dexalgin.
3. Vasoconstrictor drugs. They are used to combat migraine attacks. These include migraine, caffeamine, and other agents.

As a reminder, pills are good for pain, but they do not eliminate the causes of this pain. If the attacks are repeated often enough, seek the advice of a specialist.

All products Paracetamol

13 reviews

All products Analgin

20 reviews

All products No-shpa

20 reviews

All products Panadol

20 reviews

All products Ibuprofen

25 reviews

What can be pregnant and lactating headaches

K Unfortunately, during pregnancy and lactation, a woman faces many restrictions. Doctors do not recommend taking medications to alleviate the condition. But there are proven remedies that are perfect for new mothers:

• Head massage: acupressure or general.
• Sleep – it is advisable to get a good night’s sleep in a ventilated area.
• Applying an ice pack.
• Herbal decoctions. Melissa, rosehip, chamomile are perfect – these remedies soothe, relieve headaches.

Headache during pregnancy can be triggered by various factors. In particular, the reasons are as follows:

1. Hormonal fluctuations. Against the background of hormonal changes, blood circulation is significantly disturbed, which causes headaches.
2. Jumping blood pressure. At the same time, the woman develops weakness, her head begins to spin. Often this condition accompanies the first trimester of pregnancy. In case a woman still gets vomiting, it is better not to self-medicate. Hospitalization may be indicated.
3. Aggravated chronic pathologies. In particular, pain can be provoked by osteochondrosis, vegetovascular dystonia, old neck and head injuries, infections, and oncological pathologies.