Nervous hurts. How does the disease develop? Nervous headache

Today it is difficult to find a person who would not be tormented by bouts of nervous headache. The reason for their occurrence is the irritation of the receptors of the muscles of the head, dura mater, trigeminal and vagus nerve. Severe attacks of nervous headache disturb a person when the vessels and nerves of the skull are irritated. The reason is that there are a large number of receptors that are responsible for pain sensitivity.

Origin mechanism

As soon as a person has a stressful situation, the pain signal from the receptors is sent to the spinal cord and brain.

The structure of the nerve cell is not so common. Two long processes depart from its main part - a dendrite and an axon. The first takes over the pain signal and gives it to the cell body. The axon transmits it to the rest of the cells of the nervous system.

The structure of these processes is arranged in such a way that the momentum is transmitted at a high speed. For this reason, after neuro-emotional stress, people perceive pain symptoms very quickly.

When pain attacks have been transmitted through the nerve endings, the last link, the brain, enters into the reaction. He not only perceives the pain signal, but also analyzes to make the right decision.

The nature of the headache

Headache attacks that have arisen due to neuro-emotional stress may be accompanied by:

• pulsation;
• squeezing;
• a feeling of fullness;
• focus on one or two sides.

The presented symptoms play an important role in the diagnosis.

Headache is a symptom that every person faces in his life. There can be many reasons for the occurrence of a symptom. Often, patients have a headache after stress. This is due to the overexertion of the body. Due to the presence of additional symptoms, it is possible to determine the cause of the pathology.

Stressful situations are provoking factors for headaches. When a person begins to get nervous because of various troubles, this causes the development of a migraine.

Nerve cells include long processes - an axon and a dendrite. With the help of the first of them, a signal is transmitted to the brain through the fibers. The second generates pain impulses when disorders occur.

Nerves can cause headaches in people who suffer from heart failure. The onset of the disease develops against the background of injuries or infectious processes that affect the brain tissue. With emotional overstrain, the development of a symptom is diagnosed. If a person is overly nervous, then he is at risk of pathology.

Headache from stress has a special mechanism of development, which is influenced by the individual characteristics of the organism and the stage of the disease. Patients complain about the occurrence of headaches at the most inopportune moment. With a migraine, the patient cannot concentrate, which negatively affects the quality of work.

With a nervous breakdown, the performance of various organs and systems is disrupted. Patients complain of the occurrence of pulsating, bursting and squeezing pain. Damage to the nervous system is diagnosed with injuries, which requires a long recovery period.

Diagnostic measures

If a headache occurs from the nerves, it is recommended to undergo a diagnosis. The doctor will examine the patient and take anamnesis. In order to confirm the diagnosis previously made by the doctor, the use of laboratory and instrumental methods is recommended.

The patient must undergo a consultation with an ophthalmologist, who, using special equipment, will examine the fundus of the eye. Thanks to this manipulation, stagnant processes are determined that affect the nerve endings, which leads to a headache.

Echoencephalography is recommended to determine the functioning of the brain. Patients may have a headache with damage to the nervous system. To confirm them, it is recommended to use electroencephalography. Highly informative diagnostic methods are computed and magnetic resonance imaging. During the diagnosis of headache, it is recommended to examine the cerebrospinal fluid, so a puncture is recommended.

Diagnosis of the disease should be comprehensive, which will determine the causes of the development of the disease and prescribe its effective treatment.

First aid and therapy

If a headache develops with mechanical damage to the nervous system, then the patient is recommended to contact a medical center. It is recommended to seek help from specialists for patients who have a sharp headache and an increase in body temperature. This indicates the impact on the nervous tissue of the infectious process. Migraine develops against the background of cephalalgia, in which the patient loses consciousness. With disorientation in space, headache, nausea and vomiting, the development of pathology is diagnosed.

In most cases, patients after a nervous breakdown have a headache. In order to eliminate the symptom, it is recommended to take drugs that stabilize the performance of nerve receptors - Pentalgin or Finlepsin. To normalize the emotional background and eliminate anxiety in a person, the use of antidepressants is recommended. Patients are advised to take Amitriptine.

Migraine in patients often develops with spasm of blood vessels. Therefore, patients are recommended to take antispasmodics, which are prescribed by a doctor, due to the presence of undesirable effects. With heart defects that are negatively displayed on the work of blood vessels, there is a headache. Patients are advised to be constantly monitored by a cardiologist. If the symptom occurs with hypertension, then it is recommended to take drugs whose action is aimed at lowering blood pressure.

To restore blood flow in the brain tissues, the use of drugs that have an antispasmodic effect is recommended. Experts advise to carry out treatment with the use of Papaverine or No-shpa. With the help of drugs, relaxation of the muscles that tense against the background of stressful situations is ensured. After taking medications, vasodilation and normalization of the blood circulation process are observed. If a person has frequent nervous strains, then the use of drugs that help slow down the process is recommended.

Headache treatment should be comprehensive. The specialist is recommended to develop a therapy regimen that aims to eliminate the cause of the disease. During the treatment period, a person needs to eliminate nervous strain and stressful situations from his life.

Preventive measures

In order to avoid headaches after stressful situations, the patient is recommended to carry out their prevention in a timely manner, which consists in following certain rules. People should have high physical activity. A person is recommended constant support of the physical form, which will ensure the preservation of the tone of the vessels that feed the brain tissue.

The occurrence of unpleasant sensations is diagnosed on a nervous basis. Therefore, the patient is advised to avoid stress. He must find a compromise with colleagues at work and with family at home. A person should have a hobby, thanks to which he will be distracted from problems and unpleasant situations.

Headache can appear after stress and nervous strain. If a pathology occurs, it is recommended to exclude unpleasant situations from your life. If you have a headache, you should consult a doctor. Thanks to the diagnostic measures, the cause of the pathology will be established. Treatment should be aimed at eliminating it. The fight against headache requires the normalization of lifestyle and the intake of medications prescribed by the doctor.

The life of a modern person is filled with various stresses - rush jobs at the workplace, misunderstandings when communicating with other people, family problems. This is quite a common occurrence. However, not all frequent psycho-emotional stress pass without a trace. Many say that they have a headache from the nerves. Consider why this happens and how to protect yourself from discomfort.

Why does the head hurt in a nervous environment

Nervous headaches usually appear in people engaged in intellectual work. This is due to the fact that the load on the central nervous system is greatly increased. With prolonged nervous tension, the cerebral cortex begins to work for wear. In such circumstances, there are interruptions in the work of all internal organs. Disorder in the functioning of the cardiovascular system has a particularly negative effect on well-being - heart rate increases, there are sharp drops in blood pressure. Therefore, after the nerves, the head hurts.

How does the development of a pathological condition

Starts the mechanism of development of a headache from nervous tension strong stress. For example, a quarrel with a loved one, dismissal, passing an exam. It is worth noting that the head begins to hurt even after pleasant shocks, for example, on the day of marriage.

With prolonged tension, nerve cells transmit a signal about interruptions in the coordinated work of internal organs in the central nervous system with the help of long processes - axons. The impulse reaches the target in a matter of moments, therefore, as a response, a nervous headache occurs.

Under what conditions does pain occur?

The main factor influencing the development of the condition, when the head hurts after the nerves, is a psycho-emotional shock. However, the likelihood of manifestation of painful symptoms increases at times when the following unfavorable conditions are present simultaneously with stressful situations:

1. The presence of cardiovascular pathologies. From the nerves, the sick person becomes even worse, because in such conditions the vessels work in an emergency mode. That's why my head hurts.
2. Intense mental stress. Headache after nervous tension disappears only after proper rest.
3. Pinched nerves in the cervical spine. It's in the wrong position. Many are interested in if a nerve in the neck is pinched, what to do. To begin with, it is worth constantly monitoring the correct position of the back at the desktop. Also, every half an hour of work it is worth taking breaks.
4. Depressive moods. In such conditions, the slightest trouble knocks a person out of balance. This can lead to headaches from nerves.

Pathological sensations associated with stressful situations

Often a person cannot understand that he has a headache precisely from the nerves. This happens because many are skeptical about the deterioration of well-being on a nervous basis. The danger lies in the fact that while the patient is trying to look for the cause in more serious diseases, the condition only worsens, and the head hurts even more from the nerves.

There are several characteristic signs that indicate that the headache is from the nerves. For example:

• memory has worsened;
• lethargy, decreased vital activity;
• sleep disorders;
• periodically there is a nervous tic.

Characteristic symptoms of sensation of nervous headache

The above are signs that can only indicate that the head hurts because of nerves. The symptoms below are ninety percent likely to indicate nerve headaches:

1. Unilateral localization of painful sensations. In advanced cases, unpleasant manifestations cover the entire head.
2. The pain is moderate and relatively easy to bear.
3. With the slightest stress, the pain intensifies.
4. Taking painkillers for headaches is not effective enough.
5. The condition worsens in the evening and at night.

Important! It is impossible to independently establish the cause of poor health; professional advice is required.

Diagnostic methods

Due to the fact that the condition when the head hurts from the nerves is quite difficult to identify, the initial questioning of the patient by a medical worker is of great importance. At this stage, you should be as frank as possible with the doctor and tell in detail about your feelings. For example: “after I get nervous, a headache appears” or “at first I was nervous at work, then my health worsened.”

In addition to a confidential conversation with a specialist, the patient will be assigned to undergo the following procedures:

• Ultrasound of the heart muscle and blood vessels;
• MRI, CT scan of the head;
• blood chemistry;
• radiography.

Additional examination methods may be required to determine that the headache is precisely from the nerves, for example, a conversation with a psychologist.

Special conditions when immediate medical attention is required

Sometimes, after nerves, the head hurts so badly that a person gets out of the usual rhythm of life. If more than two days it is not possible to get rid of the pathological symptoms on their own, it is necessary to visit a healthcare institution.

How to determine if the victim needs urgent hospitalization

In addition to the fact that the head hurts from nerves, there are several additional signs that indicate that a person needs inpatient treatment:

• fever, chills;
• fear of bright light;
• nausea, vomiting;
• confusion;
• nervous breakdown ended in fainting.

These symptoms may indicate the presence of more serious diseases that threaten life and health.

How to Reduce Stress-Related Headaches

Here are a few effective actions that will help when nerves greatly worsen well-being:

• Peace. The patient will need to lie down in a dark, quiet room and relax.
• A cup of green tea. The drink will help you calm down and come to your senses.
• If a pinched nerve occurs, you will need to do a light self-massage of the cervical region.
• Aromatherapy. Inhalation of vapors of the following essential oils helps well: tangerine, rosemary, clove, lavender.
• Deep sleep. After two to three hours of sleep in a calm environment, health will improve.

Therapeutic procedures for headaches due to nerves

After the patient is diagnosed, the doctor will select the appropriate treatment when the head hurts from the nerves. Consider the most effective ways to eliminate pathological symptoms.

Medical treatment

There is no universal cure for nerves and stress. Depending on the individual characteristics of the course of the disease, the patient is prescribed:

1. Psychotropic drugs - Melipramine, Reboxetine, Pirlindol, Imipramine.
2. Sedatives - Persen, Nevrochel, Nervoflux, Dormiplant.
3. Analgesics - Askofen, Anopyrin, Phenacetin, Metindol.

Important! Any medication can be taken only when prescribed by a doctor.

Charging treatment

Stress can be more than just psychological. The lack of physical activity or its lack is also a stressful load for the body. Therefore, daily exercise will help stabilize the psycho-emotional background and improve well-being.

Gymnastics for the face

The following movements performed with the help of facial muscles will help reduce pain from the nerves:

• slowly raising and lowering the eyebrows for five minutes;
• imitation of a scream, for this you will need to open your mouth wide and freeze in this position for a few seconds;
• alternately pushing the chin forward and returning to the normal position.

Exercises must be performed in the complex daily.

Gymnastics for the neck

Exercises for the neck will help relieve pain after nervous stress:

• tilting the head to the chest as far as possible;
• rotation of the head first clockwise, then counterclockwise;
• smooth rotation of the head to the right and left.

All movements must be repeated at least ten times.

Folk remedies

We list the most effective folk remedies when the head hurts from nerves:

• herbal medicine, herbal decoctions, infusions, tinctures help well;
• compresses, depending on the diagnosis, warm, cold compresses are used, as well as from natural ingredients, such as lilac or cabbage;
• relaxing salt baths;
• juice therapy, cabbage, beetroot, tomato, potato juices are most suitable.

Preventive actions

In order not to face the condition when the nerves hurt the head, it is necessary to follow the following preventive recommendations:

1. Do not perform unbearable loads, rest and relax more.
2. Refrain from drinking alcohol and smoking.
3. Once every six months, take a course of relaxing massage.
4. Increase your nighttime sleep to eight hours.
5. Eat easily digestible natural products, drink at least two liters of pure water per day.
6. Take daily walks lasting from forty minutes to an hour.

It often happens that a person experiences a headache without a specific localization. It is better to go to the doctor when you can complain about a specific source of an unpleasant feeling. So, for example, with a migraine, there are classic symptoms: throbbing pains on one side, radiating to the eye or temple, accompanied by nausea. At the height of the headache, vomiting usually occurs, after which the patient's condition improves.

Headache classification

With meningitis, a very severe, diffuse headache occurs, caused by inflammation on the membranes of the brain, which is aggravated due to hyperproduction of cerebrospinal fluid - cerebrospinal fluid. In this case, only a lumbar puncture can alleviate the condition.

Headaches - localization and causes

Sometimes there are headaches associated with neuralgia of the cranial nerves. Most often worried, which is given to various parts of the face. These pains are similar to electric shocks.

In each of the above cases, the source of the headache is clear: in the case of migraine, it is a vascular spasm, in the case of meningitis, inflammation of the meninges. With neuralgia, headache is associated with processes that occur in the nerve itself and give rise to an altered feeling of pain.

But there are headaches that are devoid of such a clearly defined nature of occurrence. These are tension headaches, or simply tension headaches.

It is very difficult to determine this type of pain: these are non-localized attacks of low intensity, in which the pain is diffusely distributed, often symmetrically. Sometimes this pain is called "usual", "as always", or "like everyone else". She covers her head like a helmet, covering it from all sides.

Such nerve pains in the head are manifested by separate episodes, which can last from 30 minutes to several days. Sometimes it happens that such pain happens more often than pain-free intervals - for example, more often than 2 weeks in a month in a row.

The above imposes significant restrictions on these “headaches from nerves”: although they interfere with a person’s life and work, they become habitual, and a person continues to perform his professional activities, and almost never goes “on sick leave”. After all, taught by the bitter experience of domestic health care, he believes that this requires at least a "temperature" or a cough.

Nerve headache symptoms

Tension headaches (THH) fully justify their name, and almost always appear when mental stress is combined with minor physical activity (sedentary work). In the event that other provoking factors are added to this (stuffiness in the room, lack of breaks, visual load and work at the computer), then the risk increases. This risk of developing HDN is further increased by the abuse of stimulants: coffee and cigarettes. If all this is present, then the characteristic clinical picture of HDN is characterized by the following symptoms:

• pain never pulsates, but infuriates with its constancy;

• the head hurts "stupidly", and always slightly;

• the pain is always bilateral, but most often it hurts on one side more;

• the localization of pain resembles a head “clamped in a vise”, or a mention of a helmet worn on the head, since the nature of the pain is constricting or squeezing;

• physical activity can lead to pain, but, having reached a certain low limit, it does not progress further.

Of course, when the pain of tension increases, the vascular component can be activated, as a result of which unsharply pronounced photophobia, intolerance to loud sounds, and nausea may appear, but this is rare.

Nervous headache, the symptoms of which we have described, is familiar to everyone. But in the event that it occurs often, lasts a long time, interferes with work, concentration, and “everything falls out of hand” - this is a sign of progressive disorders.

It is known that the interaction of chronic hypoxia of the brain, muscle spasm of the deep cervical and suboccipital muscles, and intense mental stress are very important in the development of this pain. Therefore, in order to avoid the development of tension headache, you need to combine moderate exercise in the fresh air with dosing tension. Also an important factor in the prevention of tension headache is the refusal of frequent and unjustified intake of headache pills, which themselves can cause this pain. This pain is called overuse pain, and often accompanies tension headaches.

Headache does not cause pain in the brain as such, it is the result of irritation of a certain group of nerves and receptors, muscles or blood vessels. It is they who take the first blow in stressful situations.

According to medical observations, out of 100 people with headaches, approximately 80 have it due to nervous tension.

Symptoms of nervous headache and its nature

It becomes difficult for a person, even if the pain is minor, to concentrate on any action or in general on everyday affairs, to read, to talk. Lethargy, fatigue, anxiety, insomnia appear, and all this affects the general state of health, up to the loss of interest in life. Any factor - from disorders of the central nervous system to increased nervous or mental stress - can cause a headache. No one is safe from this, however, the risk group includes people with increased emotionality, weather sensitivity, unstable mentality, and most often mental workers, office workers, and people who are forced to spend a lot of time driving.

Economic and social provocateurs of headaches

Most people ignore headaches as temporary and make the huge mistake of going to a specialist when the condition has become chronic. Many try to stop attacks on their own, using over-the-counter medications and traditional medicine. However, the problem remains and is only getting worse.

Diagnosis and treatment of headache "from the nerves"

Examining the patient and talking with him about the symptoms can give the doctor a first impression of the disease. More detailed information for establishing a diagnosis can be obtained after the following activities:

Pressure measurement (BP, ICP)

Violation of the functions of the optic nerve and congestion will help the study of the fundus.

Echoencephalography is an examination that, using ultrasound, will help to identify changes in the structure of the brain of the head and pathological processes.

Electroencephalography allows you to explore to identify epilepsy or pathology in a specific area of ​​​​the brain due to the registration of impulses.

Craniography (the bones of the skull are examined) is necessary to find out about the presence of congenital or acquired deformities of the skull, traumatic bone injuries, tumor processes, and the manifestation of certain endocrine diseases.

An analysis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is prescribed for suspected meningitis, a brain tumor, and also for diagnosing the nature of a traumatic brain injury.

An MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) is prescribed for patients with suspected migraine pain.

Without using medication, those suffering from nervous headaches can alleviate their condition with folk remedies, for example, sedative herbal infusions - peony, valerian root (you can buy ready-made in a pharmacy), St. John's wort or thyme. A tablespoon of dry herbal raw materials is poured into 250 ml of boiling water, insisted in a closed enameled, glass (by no means aluminum!) dish for 20 minutes. You need to take it before meals for a month - three times a day from one dessert spoon to a quarter cup.

Strongly brewed green tea with the addition of cinnamon and a sprig of mint helps to relieve pain within 15-20 minutes.

Well helps massage the surface of the head with sea salt - chamomile, lavender, coniferous.

Of the medications that help eliminate pain caused by neuro-emotional stress, you can use:
Finlepsin;
Analgin;
Pentalgin;
No-shpa, papaverine (prescribed for headaches caused by spasms of blood vessels);
Relanium (appointed exclusively to patients who are easily exposed to nervous excitement).

Preventive measures against the onset of nervous headaches