What are the common causes of eye pain. How can you treat a dull ache in the left eye. When should you seek medical attention for eye discomfort. What are the potential complications of untreated eye pain.

Understanding Eye Pain: Types and Symptoms

Eye pain can manifest in various forms, ranging from a dull ache to sharp, piercing sensations. It may develop gradually or appear suddenly, affecting one or both eyes. In some cases, the discomfort can feel like a deep headache. Recognizing the specific characteristics of your eye pain is crucial for proper diagnosis and treatment.

Common symptoms associated with eye pain include:

• Eye redness
• Watery or teary eyes
• Sensitivity to light
• Pain when moving the eyes
• Nausea or vomiting
• Weakness or numbness
• Double vision
• Fever
• Sinus pressure

Is eye pain always a cause for concern? While occasional mild discomfort may not be serious, persistent or severe eye pain should be evaluated by a healthcare professional. Ignoring eye pain can lead to complications or mask underlying conditions that require prompt treatment.

Eye-Related Causes of Pain Behind the Eyes

Several eye-related issues can contribute to pain behind the eyes. Understanding these causes can help you identify potential problems and seek appropriate care.

Vision Problems and Eye Strain

Poor vision is a common culprit behind eye-related headaches and discomfort. Conditions that may lead to eye strain include:

• Myopia (short-sightedness)
• Hyperopia (long-sightedness)
• Astigmatism
• Presbyopia (age-related short-sightedness)

Why does poor vision cause eye pain? When your eyes are not properly corrected with appropriate lenses, your brain and eye muscles work overtime to focus. This extra effort can result in eye strain, headaches, and discomfort behind the eyes.

Scleritis: Inflammation of the Eye’s Outer Coating

Scleritis is characterized by inflammation of the sclera, the tough outer layer of the eyeball. This condition can cause a stabbing pain at the back of the eye, which may worsen with eye movement. Additional symptoms often include redness and light sensitivity.

Optic Neuritis: Infection of the Optic Nerve

Optic neuritis occurs when the optic nerve becomes infected or inflamed. This condition typically begins with pain in or around the eye, especially during eye movement. The primary symptom, however, is a sudden decrease in vision. Patients may also experience blind spots and reduced color perception in the affected eye.

Non-Eye-Related Causes of Pain Behind the Eyes

Eye pain doesn’t always originate from eye-specific issues. Several other conditions can manifest as discomfort behind the eyes.

Sinusitis: Inflammation of the Sinus Cavities

Sinusitis occurs when the tissue lining the sinuses becomes inflamed. This inflammation can lead to a buildup of pressure behind the eyes, causing pain and discomfort. Common triggers for sinusitis include colds and nasal allergies.

Migraines: Intense Headaches with Associated Symptoms

Migraines often cause severe, throbbing pain on one side of the head, which can include eye pain. Additional symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light and noise, and temporary vision disturbances (auras).

Cluster Headaches: Intense, Localized Pain

Cluster headaches are characterized by intense pain centered around one eye. These headaches typically occur in patterns, happening daily at similar times for weeks or months. Accompanying symptoms may include red or watery eyes, drooping or swelling around the affected eye, and nasal congestion.

Brain Aneurysm: A Serious Cause of Left Eye Pain

A brain aneurysm is a potentially life-threatening condition that can cause pain behind the left eye. It occurs when a blood vessel in the brain develops a weak spot, causing it to bulge. If the aneurysm presses on surrounding nerves or tissue, it can lead to pain and headaches.

What are the warning signs of a brain aneurysm? Symptoms may include:

• Sudden, severe headache
• Vision problems
• Numbness or weakness on one side of the face
• Balance or speech difficulties

In rare cases, an aneurysm may rupture, leading to a medical emergency. Symptoms of a ruptured aneurysm include a sudden, excruciating headache, nausea, vomiting, neck pain, confusion, and loss of consciousness. Immediate medical attention is crucial in these situations.

Diagnosing the Cause of Eye Pain

Proper diagnosis is essential for effective treatment of eye pain. Healthcare professionals may use various methods to determine the underlying cause of your discomfort.

Physical Examination

A thorough eye examination can reveal signs of infection, inflammation, or structural abnormalities. Your doctor may use specialized instruments to examine the front and back of your eye, as well as test your vision and eye movement.

Medical History

Providing a detailed medical history can help your doctor identify potential causes of your eye pain. Be prepared to discuss the nature of your pain, its duration, and any associated symptoms.

Imaging Studies

In some cases, imaging studies such as CT scans or MRIs may be necessary to diagnose conditions like sinusitis or brain aneurysms.

Treatment Options for Eye Pain

The appropriate treatment for eye pain depends on its underlying cause. Here are some common approaches to managing various eye-related and non-eye-related conditions:

Eye-Related Treatments

• Vision Correction: Using appropriate vision aids and maintaining the correct prescription can alleviate eye strain and associated pain.
• Scleritis Treatment: Oral or topical steroids and immunosuppressive drugs may be prescribed to reduce inflammation.
• Optic Neuritis Management: Steroids and immunosuppressive medications can help treat optic nerve inflammation.

Non-Eye-Related Treatments

• Sinusitis Relief: Decongestants, nasal sprays, and antibiotics (if bacterial infection is present) can help alleviate sinus pressure and related eye pain.
• Migraine Management: Pain relievers, preventive medications, and lifestyle changes may be recommended to reduce the frequency and severity of migraines.
• Cluster Headache Treatment: Oxygen therapy, medications, and nerve blocks are potential treatment options for cluster headaches.

Can eye pain be treated at home? While some mild cases of eye discomfort can be managed with over-the-counter pain relievers and rest, persistent or severe eye pain should always be evaluated by a healthcare professional.

Prevention and Self-Care Strategies

Taking proactive steps to maintain eye health and prevent eye pain is essential. Consider implementing these strategies:

• Regular eye exams to ensure proper vision correction
• Practicing good eye hygiene, including proper hand washing and avoiding touching or rubbing your eyes
• Using appropriate lighting for reading and detail-oriented tasks
• Taking frequent breaks when using digital devices (following the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds)
• Staying hydrated and maintaining a balanced diet rich in eye-healthy nutrients
• Protecting your eyes from UV radiation with sunglasses and wide-brimmed hats
• Managing underlying health conditions that may contribute to eye pain, such as allergies or sinus issues

How often should you have your eyes examined? Adults with no known eye problems should have a comprehensive eye exam every 1-2 years. Those with existing eye conditions or risk factors may need more frequent check-ups.

When to Seek Medical Attention

While some cases of eye pain may resolve on their own, certain symptoms warrant immediate medical attention. Seek emergency care if you experience:

• Sudden, severe eye pain
• Sudden vision loss or significant changes in vision
• Eye pain accompanied by fever, headache, and extreme light sensitivity
• Eye pain following a blow to the eye or other trauma
• Severe eye pain with nausea and vomiting
• Eye pain with rainbow-colored halos around lights (a potential sign of acute glaucoma)

Why is prompt medical attention crucial for severe eye pain? Delayed treatment for certain eye conditions can lead to permanent vision loss or other serious complications. It’s always better to err on the side of caution when it comes to your eye health.

In conclusion, understanding the various causes and symptoms of eye pain, particularly a dull ache in the left eye, is crucial for maintaining optimal eye health. By recognizing potential red flags and seeking timely medical attention, you can protect your vision and overall well-being. Remember, your eyes are invaluable assets, and taking proactive steps to care for them is an investment in your long-term health and quality of life.

Pain behind your eye |

Symptoms

When we talk about pain, it doesn’t necessarily describe just one type of sensation. Pain behind the eyes can be dull or sharp and piercing. It can come on gradually or appear suddenly. You might feel it above just one eye, across both or it can feel more like a deep headache.

Depending on the root cause of the pain or headache behind your eyes, you may notice some other symptoms including: ¹

• Eye redness
• Watery or teary eyes
• Sensitivity to light
• Pain when you move your eyes
• Feeling or being sick
• Weakness or numbness
• Double vision
• Fever
• Sinus pressure

Causes of pain behind the eye

There are several types of uveitis. The type of uveitis
you have Eye pain can be a symptom of many different issues. These could be related to problems with your eyes, or something else. Often the type of pain,the level of intensity, and where you feel it, can help to pinpoint the cause.

Eye-related causes

Poor vision can often be the root cause of headaches.
It could be due to:

• short-sightedness (distant objects look blurry)
• long-sightedness (close objects look blurry)
• astigmatism (things look blurry and distorted near or far)
• presbyopia (short-sightedness related to ageing)

If you are not wearing corrective lenses or they’re not the right strength for you, your brain and your eyes have to work extra hard to focus. You may also squint when you’re trying to look at an object or read. These factors can cause a headache between the eyes or behind the eyes.

Another cause of pain behind your eye could be scleritis which is inflammation of the sclera, the tough outer coating of your eyeball. This swelling may cause you to feel a stabbing pain at the back of your eye which is triggered or can feel worse when
you move your eye. You may also notice redness
and sensitivity to light.

Optic neuritis is an infection in the optic nerve (the cable that carries visual information between the eye and the brain). It tends to start with pain in or around your eye, especially when you move your eye, but the main symptom is a sudden decrease in vision. You may also develop a blind spot and find that colours look less vivid in the affected eye.

Non eye-related causes

There are also several non-eye related reasons that you may
be experiencing pain behind your eyes.

Sinus inflammation (sinusitis)² is when the tissue lining your sinuses (the four cavities behind your face that drain your nose to keep it clean and bacteria free) is inflamed. When the sinuses get blocked and become infected and inflamed, it causes pressure to build up behind your eyes. A common cold or nasal allergies can sometimes turn into a sinus infection.

It’s common to feel eye pain when you have a migraine.
A migraine is a headache that causes severe throbbing or pulsing pain in your head, usually on one side. You may also feel sick, vomit and be extremely sensitive to light and noise, experience temporary vision disturbances or even loss of vision
(called an aura).

Cluster headaches are a rare condition that involve attacks
of headaches and intense pain usually centered around one eye. They usually happen daily at the same time for several weeks or months at a time. Other symptoms may include
red or watery eyes, drooping or swelling around one eye,
a sweaty, pale or flushed face, restlessness, a stuffy or
runny nose.

Migraines and cluster headaches are the most common cause of a headache above the right eye.

Brain Aneurysm

If you have a pain or a headache behind the left eye, it could possibly indicate a brain aneurysm.³ This happens when the wall of a blood vessel in your head is weak and the pressure of the blood passing along it causes it to bulge. If it presses on nerves or other tissue it can cause pain and headaches. You may also notice vision problems, numbness or weakness on one side of your face, balance or speech problems. You should see your doctor as soon as possible if you experience any or a combination of these symptoms.

In rare cases, the wall of the blood vessel can rupture (burst). Symptoms include a sudden and blinding headache like being hit on the head, nausea and vomiting, neck pain, confusion, and loss of consciousness. A ruptured brain aneurysm can cause long-term brain damage and even death. You should call an ambulance immediately for emergency medical treatment if you suffer from any or a combination of these symptoms.⁴

Treatments

If you have an ache behind your eye there are many options to help. Treatment will depend on the cause. Sometimes it may not be possible to find
the source of the pain. Treatments for the most
common causes include:

Eye-related causes

• Poor Vision: using the right vision aids and the correct prescription and using enough light for reading
  or any detailed activity
• Scleritis: oral or topical steroids, immunosuppressive drugs
• Optic Neuritis: steroids, immunosuppressive drugs

Non eye-related causes

• Sinus Inflammation: saline sprays, decongestants, allergy medication and pain medication
• Migraines and Cluster Headaches: avoiding triggers and over the counter or prescription pain medications
• Unruptured Brain Aneurysm: preventative surgery or procedures (only if high risk of rupture)
• Ruptured Brain Aneurysm: this requires emergency medical treatment and possibly long-term rehabilitation

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Cluster headache: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia

A cluster headache is an uncommon type of headache. It is one-sided head pain that may involve tearing of the eyes, a droopy eyelid, and a stuffy nose. Attacks last from 15 minutes to 3 hours, occur daily or almost daily for weeks or months. The attacks are separated by pain-free periods that last at least 1 month or longer.

Cluster headaches may be confused with other common types of headaches such as migraines, sinus headache, and tension headache.

Doctors do not know exactly what causes cluster headaches. They seem to be related to the body’s sudden release of histamine (chemical in the body released during an allergic response) or serotonin (chemical made by nerve cells) in the area of a nerve in the face called the trigeminal nerve. A problem in a small area at the base of the brain called the hypothalamus may be involved.

More men than women are affected. The headaches can occur at any age, but are most common in the 20s through middle age. They tend to run in families.

Cluster headaches may be triggered by:

• Alcohol and cigarette smoking
• High altitudes (trekking and air travel)
• Bright light (including sunlight)
• Exertion (physical activity)
• Heat (hot weather or hot baths)
• Foods high in nitrites (bacon and preserved meats)
• Certain medicines
• Cocaine

A cluster headache begins as a severe, sudden headache. The headache commonly strikes 2 to 3 hours after you fall asleep. But it can also occur when you are awake. The headache tends to happen daily at the same time of day. Attacks can last for months. They can alternate with periods without headaches (episodic) or they can go on for a year or more without stopping (chronic).

Cluster headache pain is usually:

• Burning, sharp, stabbing, or steady
• Felt on one side of the face from neck to temple, often involving the eye
• At its worst within 5 to 10 minutes, with the strongest pain lasting 30 minutes to 2 hours

When the eye and nose on the same side as the head pain are affected, symptoms can include:

• Swelling under or around the eye (may affect both eyes)
• Excessive tearing
• Red eye
• Droopy eyelid
• Runny nose or stuffy nose on the same side as the head pain
• Red, flushed face, with extreme sweating

Your health care provider can diagnose this type of headache by performing a physical exam and asking about your symptoms and medical history.

If a physical exam is done during an attack, the exam will usually reveal Horner syndrome (one-sided eyelid drooping or a small pupil). These symptoms will not be present at other times. No other nervous system (neurologic) changes will be seen.

Tests, such as an MRI of the head, may be needed to rule out other causes of the headaches.

Treatment for cluster headaches involves:

• Medicines to treat the pain when it happens
• Medicines to prevent the headaches

TREATING CLUSTER HEADACHES WHEN THEY OCCUR

Your provider may recommend the following treatments for when the headaches occur:

• Triptan medicines, such as sumatriptan (Imitrex).
• Anti-inflammatory (steroid) medicines such as prednisone. Starting with a high dose, then slowly decreasing it over 2 to 3 weeks.
• Breathing in 100% (pure) oxygen.
• Injections of dihydroergotamine (DHE), which can stop cluster attacks within 5 minutes (Warning: this drug can be dangerous if taken with sumatriptan or some other medicines).

You may need more than one of these treatments to control your headache. Your provider may have you try several medicines before deciding which works best for you.

Pain medicines and narcotics do not usually relieve cluster headache pain because they take too long to work.

Surgical treatment may be recommended for you when all other treatments have failed. One such treatment is a neurostimulator. This device delivers tiny electrical signals to certain nerves such as the occipital nerve in the scalp. Your provider can tell you more about surgery.

PREVENTING CLUSTER HEADACHES

Avoid smoking, alcohol use, certain foods, and other things that trigger your headaches. A headache diary can help you identify your headache triggers. When you get a headache, write down the following:

• Day and time the pain began
• What you ate and drank over the past 24 hours
• How much you slept
• What you were doing and where you were right before the pain started
• How long the headache lasted and what made it stop

Review your diary with your provider to identify triggers or a pattern to your headaches. This can help you and your provider create a treatment plan. Knowing your triggers can help you avoid them.

The headaches may go away on their own or you may need treatment to prevent them. The following medicines may also be used to treat or prevent headache symptoms:

• Allergy medicines
• Antidepressants
• Blood pressure medicines
• Seizure medicine

Cluster headaches are not life threatening. They usually do not cause permanent changes to the brain. But they are long-term (chronic), and often painful enough to interfere with work and life. However, they can occur less frequently with age.

Call 911 if:

• You are experiencing “the worst headache of your life.”
• You have speech, vision, or movement problems or loss of balance, especially if you have not had these symptoms with a headache before.
• A headache starts suddenly.

Schedule an appointment or contact your provider if:

• Your headache pattern or pain changes.
• Treatments that once worked no longer help.
• You have side effects from your medicine.
• You are pregnant or could become pregnant. Some medicines should not be taken during pregnancy.
• You need to take pain medicines more than 3 days a week.
• Your headaches are more severe when lying down.
• You have a fever or stiff neck with your headache.

If you smoke, now is a good time to stop. Alcohol use and any foods that trigger a cluster headache may need to be avoided. Medicines may prevent cluster headaches in some cases.

Histamine headache; Headache – histamine; Migrainous neuralgia; Headache – cluster; Horton’s headache; Vascular headache – cluster; Episodic cluster headache; Chronic cluster headache

• Headache – what to ask your doctor

• Brain
• Hypothalamus
• Cause of headaches
• Pain of cluster headache

Garza I, Robertson CE, Smith JH, Whealy MA. Headache and other craniofacial pain. In: Jankovic J, Mazziotta JC, Pomeroy SL, Newman NJ, eds. Bradley and Daroff’s Neurology in Clinical Practice. 8th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2022:chap 102.

Hoffmann J, May A. Diagnosis, pathophysiology, and management of cluster headache. Lancet Neurol. 2018;17(1):75-83. PMID: 29174963 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29174963/.

Rozental JM. Tension-type headache, chronic tension-type headache, and other chronic headache types. In: Benzon HT, Raja SN, Liu SS, Fishman SM, Cohen SP, eds. Essentials of Pain Medicine. 4th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2018:chap 20.

Updated by: Joseph V. Campellone, MD, Department of Neurology, Cooper Medical School at Rowan University, Camden, NJ. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.

Pain in the left temple – General information, Causes.

Tomsk

General information

Pain in the left temple is one of the most frequent complaints with which patients turn to a neuropathologist. Epidemiological studies show that more than 70% of the population of developed countries complain of episodic or chronic headaches in the left temple.

However, this figure does not reflect the true state of affairs, since many patients do not go to doctors, self-medicating or not wanting to be examined for fear of discovering a more serious pathology. Often such patients, periodically experiencing headaches in the left temple , do not visit doctors, more than half of them take over-the-counter analgesics, often while abusing the drugs. This leads to the development of dangerous side effects (gastrointestinal disorders, liver and kidney damage, allergies).

Causes of pain in the left temple

Headaches in the left temple may be associated with impaired tone of the cerebral vessels of the arterial and venous bed. In young people, they can be symptoms of autonomic dysfunction, migraine, increased intracranial pressure.

At an older age, these are the initial manifestations:

Provoking moments can be weather changes, mental, emotional and physical overload. In this case, heaviness in the head and pressing, throbbing pain in the back of the head or temples are characteristic. Infectious diseases (very different, including influenza, tonsillitis and many others) cause severe pain in the left temple. Intoxications (that is, poisonings) are also possible, the most familiar of which is alcohol intoxication.

Psychogenic headaches may be the root cause of pain in the left temple. As a rule, “nervous” headaches are aching, dull, sensation, appear either in the temple, or in the back of the head, or somewhere inside. This increases irritability fatigue. Patients complain of general discomfort in the head, which prevents them from gathering their thoughts and concentrating. Also, patients are haunted by a feeling of anxiety.

Migraine and cluster pain are independent diseases, the main symptom of which is severe acute headache, covering one half of the head. At the same time, shiny dots (“flies”) appear before the eyes. Some people experience increased sensitivity to smells, tastes, and various external stimuli during an attack.

Later, patients complain of pain in one half of the head, pain in the temple radiating to the eye. If left untreated, the pain spreads throughout the head, and nausea and vomiting often occur. Migraine headache may be accompanied by photophobia and general weakness. Suffering lasts from 30 minutes to several hours. If the attack drags on for several days, it may end in a migraine stroke.

In women, migraine is usually associated with the menstrual cycle and first manifests itself during puberty – period of hormonal storms. During pregnancy, the frequency of attacks decreases, after childbirth, migraine may go away forever. Due to hormonal disorders , for example, with menopause.

Headaches in the left temple of unknown etiology. Temporal arteritis , a rare disease in which the walls of the temporal arteries become inflamed, causes excruciating severe throbbing pain in the left temple. Pain in the left temple often indicates a violation of the activity of the cranial and spinal nerves.

Headache in the left temple is one of the most common symptoms of temporomandibular joint pathology. Usually, a headache in the pathology of the temporomandibular joint is located in the left temple, the back of the head, and even the shoulders (shoulder blades). Jaw clenching and teeth grinding can be symptoms of temporomandibular joint disease; these symptoms cause muscle pain, which may be the cause of headaches. A displaced TMJ disc can also cause joint pain that often radiates to the temples, forehead, or neck. These headaches are often so severe that doctors take them and treat them (without much success) like migraines or brain pathology .

Diet

Foods and drinks containing monosodium glutamate, which is a flavor additive found in many processed foods; it is believed to be the cause of severe headaches. In addition, these foods in your daily diet can cause breathing difficulties and tension in the face and jaws. Pain occurs statistically in 10-15% of the population. Headache may appear 20-30 minutes after ingestion glutamate . The pain is characterized by a beating, dull and throbbing pain in the temple area and painful sensations in the forehead. Products containing monosodium glutamate:

• Chinese cuisine;

• canned and dry soups;

• roasted nuts;

• processed meat;

• turkey in own juice;

• gravies, sauces;

• certain types of potato snacks and chips;

• spices and condiments.

A diet containing foods rich in nitrites may also cause throbbing pain in the temple area. As a rule, half an hour after the intake of nitrites with the following food:

Chocolate is one of the most powerful migraine triggers. The use of chocolate can provoke the development of hypoglycemia. Chocolate also contains caffeine, which can trigger migraines , and phenylethylamine in chocolate causes vasoconstriction, which leads to a headache in the temple area.

First, chocolate provokes hypoglycemia, because it contains sugar, and also because cocoa beans have a slight hypoglycemic effect. Secondly, chocolate contains caffeine – migraine trigger . Thirdly, it contains phenylethylamine, which, being an amine, causes vasoconstriction and, as a result, a headache in the temple area. It is best to limit your intake of these foods if you notice these symptoms after eating them. If the pain in the temple area is regular, it makes sense to seek help from a professional neurologist.

Left side of head hurts. Causes of headache in the place on the left.

Left side of head hurts. Causes of headache in the place on the left.

Gimranov Rinat Fazylzhanovich
Neurologist, neurophysiologist, experience – 33 years;
Professor of Neurology, MD;
Clinic for Rehabilitation Neurology. About the author

Publication date: January 5, 2021

Updated: January 31, 2023

Pain in the left frontal part of the head can signal a number of serious disorders, the influence of pathogenic external factors. Only a doctor of the appropriate profile will be able to determine what exactly the matter is after a thorough diagnosis.

To understand what is happening to a person, because of which the state of health is constantly deteriorating, possibly by the accompanying symptoms that appear simultaneously with the pain syndrome [1], [2].

It is important to remember that head cephalgia is a serious phenomenon that can signal a dangerous condition. With a regular manifestation of pain, you can not self-medicate. This, most likely, will worsen the course of the disease and will not allow timely diagnosis. Thus, we will miss the chance to eliminate the pathology in the early stages.

Article content:

• 1 Causes
  • 1.1 Physiological (primary)
  • 1.2 Pathological (secondary)
• 2 Diagnosis

900 85 3 Treatment

• 4 References

Causes

a person wonders why the left side of the head, half of the frontal part or neck hurts, what is the reason for such selectivity?

Method for determining the root cause, includes, among other things, a description of specific pain sensations. Cephalgia on the left, by nature, happens:

1. stinging;
2. stabbing;
3. drawing and aching, turning into prolonged attacks;
4. arching;
5. pulsating.

Depending on whether the attack began due to external influences, or due to internal malfunctions in the body, cephalalgia is divided into appropriate categories [3].

Physiological (primary)

A severe headache on the left is not the result of a disease, it occurs without the influence of pathological factors on the head and structures located in the skull. Common Physiological Causes of Cephalgia:

1. Physical overvoltage. After prolonged muscular labor or excessive training of an unprepared organism, an attack begins. It is easy to overcome it on your own. Give yourself some rest, take a pain reliever.

1. Use of drinks containing stimulants, caffeine and tannin. Excessive passion for coffee, tea, energy drinks is harmful to health, as it leads to vasospasm. Subsequently – and to the lack of oxygen necessary for brain tissues. The treatment is simple: avoiding such drinks.

1. Smoking and addiction to alcoholic beverages. Both habits provoke a sharp change in two states: expansion, and then narrowing of the vessels of the brain. Such reactions negatively affect the state of health at the current time. And lead to pathology in the future.

1. Strong psycho-emotional, single or chronic stress. It is difficult to get rid of malaise if it is impossible to exclude such moments from life. Rest and selection of an effective way of relaxation (without bad habits) will help. It can be yoga, meditation, other psychotechnics for relaxation.

1. Hormonal changes in women due to PMS or pregnancy. Fluctuations in hormone levels affect the functioning of the cardiovascular system, which ultimately leads to a deterioration in well-being.

You need to be alert when the pain returns even after minor influences: a small load, habitual stress. This progression of cephalalgia should prompt a person to seek medical attention.

Pathological (secondary)

It is not always the causes of a sharp severe or aching headache on the left side of the head in the forehead or occiput that indicate the harmful effects of the external environment or signal overwork.

Pain in the left area of ​​the head may be a sign of a pathological process that requires full treatment.

Typical causes of these symptoms are:

1. Increased blood pressure. The symptom is throbbing pain in the left temple and forehead. Unpleasant sensations indicate a critical increase. If attacks become more frequent, and cephalgia spreads to other parts of the head, this is an alarm signal. The risk of stroke increases [4].

1. Migraines are a common cause of cephalgia on the left in women and men under 35. The onset of an attack is provoked by a variety of many factors, each person has their own. Shortly before the onset of pain, sometimes an aura is felt: a slight flicker before the eyes. With an attack comes nausea, light intolerance.

1. Neoplasms of the brain or its membranes, benign and malignant. In the first case, pain occurs due to squeezing of neighboring tissues. In the second – due to the destructive growth of a cancerous tumor. In both cases, urgent surgery is needed.

1. Infections leading to inflammation of the meninges or other tissues of the brain on the left side. Often occur with concomitant symptoms: fever, weakness. Syncope, behavioral disturbances and disorders of consciousness are possible. You need to see a doctor, keep calm, give a large amount of drink. If indicated, take antiviral drugs.

1. Problems with the eye apparatus on the left, affecting not only the eye itself, but also the nerves and muscles of the orbit. It is possible to get rid of unpleasant sensations after a course of special treatment, which is compiled depending on the specific problem that has arisen [5].

Diagnosis

To understand what to do if the entire left side of the head or only part of it constantly hurts, you need to find out what causes it, which provokes poor health. To do this, we recommend that you consult a doctor without delay.

If the exact cause is not known, it is worth starting treatment with a visit to a general practitioner or neurologist, who will begin the diagnostic procedure:

• Questioning the patient and clarifying the accompanying symptoms of cephalalgia, looking for factors that negatively affect well-being.
• Laboratory blood tests for cholesterol levels, bacterial or viral contamination.

• Hardware research. MRI and CT are used to make an accurate diagnosis. Informative ultrasound, Doppler examination of the vessels of the cervical and head.
• When necessary, we refer the patient for consultation and further treatment to a specialized doctor: a neurosurgeon, an internist, a cardiologist.

Based on the results of a complex of examinations, the doctor makes a picture of the state of the brain, vascular system and nerves.

Based on the identified pathology or disease, a complex treatment is selected that will allow you to get rid of cephalalgia.

Treatment

Depending on how exactly the head hurts: from above in one place, from the front, from the side, only half of the frontal part, half of the entire head – the causes are determined. Based on the diagnostic data, a diagnosis is made, and complex treatment begins.

The therapy is based on three directions and their combination:

• Medical approach. Drugs are used, not only painkillers, but also means to stabilize blood pressure, improve the condition of blood vessels, and suppress the onset of migraine attacks.
• Physiotherapy in consultation with the attending physician. In some cases, acupuncture, the action of electric currents (electrophoresis, myostimulation), therapy with magnetic constant and alternating fields is performed.
• Surgical intervention in case of an aneurysm or tumor.

By selecting the optimal treatment regimen, we remove many types of headaches without medication.

An integrated approach and subsequent compliance with the preventive measures prescribed by the doctor will allow you to cope with the disease and forget about the unpleasant sensations of cephalalgia for a long time.

References

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