Headache and nausea: what could it be? Causes of vomiting and headache

Headache and nausea: what could it be? Causes of vomiting and headaches"> 0
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Headache, regardless of whether it occurs in men or women, causes a lot of discomfort. Headache and nausea, and especially severe is a pathological condition in which pain is accompanied by nausea.

Headache and nausea

If you have a headache and feel nauseous, you should definitely see a doctor, because there can be different reasons. It is necessary to find and eliminate them in time so that the pathology does not become more complicated.

For example, nausea can turn into vomiting, and this is dehydration. This is why examination and treatment must begin immediately.

Etiology [causes]

There can be many causes of headaches and vomiting in an adult: from banal overwork to tumor processes in the brain.

• Stress and overwork . Headaches almost always occur against the background of nervous experiences. In case of severe psycho-emotional disorders, nausea may be added and the temperature may rise.
• Hypertension is a disease of sedentary and overweight people. Blood pressure increases when the weather changes and when the body is very tired. A person’s pulse quickens, a squeezing pain in the head and a feeling of anxiety appear, and numbness in the limbs may occur. Vascular pathology is dangerous due to the development of a hypertensive crisis and the possibility of a stroke.
• Migraine is a neurological disease, the main symptoms of which are intense headaches localized in the temporal part of the head and extending to the frontal part. The duration of the attack can last from a couple of hours to a couple of days. Associated symptoms are dizziness, chills, sensitivity to external stimuli. The disease is hereditary in nature and is diagnosed more often in the fairer sex than in men.
• Intracranial pressure is manifested by headaches and nausea, the intensity of which increases in the evening. In children, hypertension is a congenital pathology; in adults, it is a consequence of previous infections, tumors, and strokes.
• Head injuries can continue to cause headaches for a long time after their occurrence. After all, with a severe injury, a concussion occurs in the brain and its vessels.
• Pregnancy . In the early stages of pregnancy, women may experience periodic headaches and nausea. This is a normal reaction of the body to changes in hormonal levels and adaptation, which does not require treatment.
• Food poisoning . In case of poisoning, the body reacts to intoxication with a headache. Nausea and vomiting, on the other hand, are symptoms that attempt to empty the intestines of contents and remove toxins from the body.
• A hangover is not a dangerous condition in itself. But after a stormy feast, a person is not immune in the morning from loss of strength, dryness and unpleasant taste in the mouth, headache and nausea. To prevent a hangover, men have become accustomed to eating heavy meals and taking sorbents.
• Oncological diseases of the brain put pressure on the meninges. The presence of benign formations and tumors can be suspected when pain in the head and nausea appear in the morning.

In fact, there are many more causes of cephalalgia: encephalitis, meningitis, osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, ARVI, vegetative-vascular dystonia, thermoneurosis with fever, ophthalmological diseases, allergic reactions to irritants and much more.

Diagnostics

If the patient constantly has a headache and nausea, and also vomits blood, especially in the morning, it is necessary to urgently consult a doctor.

The specialist will prescribe a comprehensive examination, which includes:

1. Laboratory tests of biological fluids, as well as biochemical blood tests.
2. Ultrasound of internal organs.
3. Encephalogram.
4. MRI or CT.
5. Cardiogram.

Other studies may be needed. However, an MRI or CT scan will allow you to establish the exact cause of the appearance of such a pathological condition, and will also allow you to draw the most accurate picture of the development of the disease. This, in turn, will make it possible to prescribe adequate treatment.

Symptoms

Types of headaches vary in nature. They can be acute or chronic, isolated or covering the entire head. Sometimes there is a slight feeling of discomfort in different parts of the head: pressure on the eyes and in the forehead, pain is localized in the temporal region, in the occipital or parietal region. In some cases, the pain begins gradually, and in others - suddenly, lasting less than an hour or tormenting for several days. In addition to this, a person may be bothered by:

• Depression and general weakness;
• Decreased mental activity;
• Dizziness;
• Noise in ears;
• Temperature increase;
• Arterial pressure.

If headaches last a long time and are accompanied by additional symptoms, it is necessary to undergo an examination and find out the root causes of the discomfort.

What are headaches and nausea? Mechanism of symptom appearance

Headache is a specific pain in the head and neck area. Severe pain can also occur in the chest and back and cause attacks of nausea. Painful sensations manifest themselves in different ways: throbbing, squeezing, sharp, periodic headaches. Sometimes they take over only part of the head (back of the head, front, left or right side of the head).

Often headaches appear along with nausea and sometimes vomiting. These are serious symptoms that you should pay attention to and not leave to chance. Nausea is a consequence of severe headaches. The pain is periodic and constant. With constant pain, the quality of life deteriorates.

Sometimes a headache goes away on its own if a person creates favorable conditions for this: silence, calm, rest. But sometimes even such methods do not help, the pain does not go away, and medications are used: tablets, mixtures, etc.

Is it possible to take medications on your own without establishing the nature of the pain and its cause? You can, but you don't need to! If pain and nausea appear frequently, then you should not self-medicate, but rather consult a specialist.

Doctors

If you have a headache or nausea, you should seek medical help. After consultation and examination of the patient, the family pediatrician will prescribe the necessary treatment or refer the patient to a more specialized specialist.

Initially, a survey will be conducted on the following points:

• Does your head hurt constantly or not, with what frequency?
• Does pain decrease after sleep?
• Do you always feel nauseous with a headache?
• Does relief come after vomiting?
• What is the nature of the pain (sharp, aching, dull, throbbing, pressing);
• Are there additional symptoms?

If severe headache, vomiting and nausea are caused by neurological diseases and stressful situations, you need to visit a neurologist with a psychotherapist. A neurosurgeon diagnoses and treats tumors.

Why do you feel nauseous when you have a headache?

Nausea and headache are two phenomena that are related.
The reasons for the appearance of this ligament can be very different, from food poisoning to serious brain diseases. In some cases, nausea occurs directly due to a severe headache, but the opposite scenario is also possible. With head injuries or diseases of the central nervous system, intracranial pressure often increases. Any changes can lead to stimulation of the vomiting center, which is located in the brain. Weak “activation” leads to nausea, which does not end with vomiting, which can help relieve symptoms.

Also, injuries or diseases can cause disturbances in the functioning of the vestibular apparatus. It seems to a person that he is losing his balance, the world begins to “float”, and the result is reflex nausea. There is another type: psychogenic nausea, which appears due to uncomfortable sensations, which include a severe headache.

Treatment

Depending on the diagnosis and the severity of the patient, the necessary treatment is selected. Serious pathological conditions accompanied by severe attacks of pain require observation in a hospital.

First aid

What to do if you have a headache and feel sick? First of all, you need to get rid of all irritants (sound, light), take a vertical position, apply a heating pad with warm water to the sore spot and take a painkiller. If the condition does not improve within a couple of hours, it is recommended to seek medical help.

Drug therapy

Depending on the severity of the headache and the general condition of the patient, home or inpatient treatment is prescribed. In most cases, it is enough to take the prescribed course of certain medications to improve the condition:

• Painkillers and antispasmodics (Spazmalgon, Tempalgin, Solpadein, Paracetamol, Nurofen, Analgin);
• Sorbents (Sorbex, Activated carbon) and antiemetics (Motilium, Cerucal) are used for nausea and vomiting;
• Diuretics and anticonvulsants are adjuncts in the treatment of severe brain injuries.

In acute pathologies, tablets may not be enough. Then injections and intravenous drips are connected.

If there are tumors in the brain, surgical intervention will be required. The type of operation will depend on the size of the tumor: craniotomy or endoscopic method.

Traditional methods and homeopathy

Single manifestations of headaches and nausea allow self-medication. When the symptoms are mild and occur relatively rarely, you can turn to traditional medicine recipes. Homeopathic remedies are prescribed for complex treatment of the disease.

To prevent severe headaches and nausea, use the following recipes:

• Mix freshly squeezed potato, viburnum and black currant juice in equal proportions, add a little honey to taste and take half a glass 2-3 times a day.
• Frequent headaches and nausea go away if you take infusions that include mint, valerian, St. John's wort, motherwort and chamomile flowers.
• When vomiting occurs due to a headache, it is recommended to drink a soda solution. To do this, dissolve 1 teaspoon of baking soda in a glass of water.
• Take crushed valerian root, oregano leaves, rose hips and coriander in equal quantities. Pour a tablespoon of the mixture into a glass of water, simmer for 5 minutes in a water bath and leave for an hour. Use the ready-made infusion when you feel the urge to vomit.

Compresses and lotions on the temples and back of the head relieve painful symptoms. Gauze dressings with slices of raw potatoes and clay compresses with mint are popular.

During the period of remission and to consolidate drug treatment, it is recommended to accustom yourself to taking a contrast shower. It tones blood vessels, invigorates and improves overall well-being.

Causes of discomfort

Often headaches and nausea are accompanied by other unpleasant symptoms:

• dizziness;
• abdominal pain;
• general weakness;
• heat;
• eye pain;
• noise in ears;

Depending on the accompanying symptoms, it is necessary to identify several diseases that lead to nausea and headaches.

Migraine

Patients usually describe their condition as follows: a throbbing pain appears in one part of the head, as if someone had poked them with a burning stick. It radiates into the ear, eye, temples. With bright light and sharp sounds, the discomfort intensifies. Over time, the headache hurts to the point of nausea, vomiting, and the person cannot do anything.

Experts have not identified the exact causes of migraine; attacks can appear once a week or not bother a person for years. The duration of a migraine attack can range from two hours to three days.

Hormonal changes

Hormonal changes in the human body can provoke headaches and nausea. Patients complain of these symptoms:

• adolescence during puberty;
• pregnant women;
• girls with premenstrual syndrome;
• women of climatic age.

If the discomfort is caused by a malfunction of the adrenal glands or thyroid gland, this can only be identified by consulting a doctor. You are not pregnant, you are still far from menopause, and every week you experience nausea and headaches? It makes sense to consult a therapist who will prescribe comprehensive treatment.

Osteochondrosis

Pronounced symptoms of osteochondrosis are not only muscle stiffness and pain in the neck, patients often suffer from headaches, nausea, and dizziness.

What causes osteochondrosis? People who lead a sedentary lifestyle are more susceptible to the disease. The disease is also diagnosed in the following category of patients:

• Workers engaged in the same activity all day in an awkward position.
• Office workers forced to constantly sit at the computer.
• Overweight people.

The disease can be caused by hypothermia, fatigue, nervous and physical overload. If there is no treatment, attacks of pain recur. Patients also experience other symptoms: “floaters” before the eyes, cervical migraine, loss of coordination, and deterioration in mental activity.

Hypertension

The patient can track the increase in blood pressure not only on the tonometer screen. Heat in the face, a feeling of pulsation, heaviness in the back of the head, hot headache, obsessive nausea, rarely leading to vomiting, indicate increased blood pressure. At the same time, patients complain of other symptoms:

• tachycardia;
• feeling of weakness;
• panic fear;
• shortness of breath;
• tightness behind the sternum.

Hypertension is a disease of obese and elderly people. Blood pressure often increases due to weather changes and nervous experiences. A person experiences short-term relief if he vomits.

Increased intracranial pressure

Can headaches and nausea occur with increased intracranial pressure? Swelling of the brain and impaired outflow of cerebrospinal fluid can lead to increased pressure inside the skull. Patients also complain:

• for nausea that does not end with vomiting (one might say the person is “sick”);
• blurred vision, spots, cloudy film before the eyes;
• decreased attention and concentration;
• weakening of mental activity.

Causes of high blood pressure: injuries, tumors, infectious diseases.

Meningitis

Inflammation of the membranes of the spinal cord and brain provokes severe pain in the head and nausea. Meningitis is an infectious disease accompanied by symptoms:

• temperature rise to 40 degrees and above;
• “ache” of joints and muscles;
• the appearance of a rash on the body in the form of large dark spots.

Checking the stiffness of the neck muscles helps to reliably establish the development of the disease: bending the patient’s head towards the chest causes unbearable pain, and it is also painful to straighten the legs at the knees. Literally within 24 hours the patient’s condition worsens, so it is important to seek medical help at the first signs of illness. Only a doctor can make an accurate diagnosis and offer effective treatment.

Encephalitis

Encephalitis is an inflammatory disease of the brain that causes headaches and nausea. Depending on the cause of the disease, additional symptoms are identified:

• With tick-borne encephalitis, the headache is intense, constant, spreading over the entire head. Accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and fever.
• With epidemic encephalitis, pain periodically manifests itself in different areas of the head.
• With herpetic encephalitis - severe headache, convulsions, paralysis, coma.

Even colds and flu can cause secondary encephalitis. Therefore, this disease must be treated under the supervision of a doctor.

Borreliosis

If, after a tick bite, a person complains of a severe headache, constant nausea, aching joints, a sore throat, and a dry cough, he may be developing borreliosis. The causative agent of infection is transmitted through the saliva of the tick. Over a certain period of time, the patient’s circulatory system and central nervous system may be affected.

To avoid illness, people bitten by a tick must contact a doctor on the same day. Do not throw away the removed tick; it should be submitted for examination. If a causative agent of an infectious disease is detected in the blood of an arthropod, the doctor will prescribe treatment for the disease immediately.

Poisoning

A hangover syndrome manifests itself in the fact that a person has a headache due to alcohol poisoning and weakness constrains the muscles. Similar symptoms are caused by food and drug poisoning. Additional signs of toxic damage to the body:

• nausea and vomiting;
• eye pain;
• intolerance to loud sounds, bright light;
• trembling of limbs;
• slight increase in temperature.

If the body is significantly damaged, severe diarrhea may occur, accompanied by dehydration. Patients complain of dry mouth, dizziness, and heart rate may increase. The main treatment is to drink as much fluid as possible; a solution of glucose and salt works best.

Colds and viral infections

Influenza, ARVI, and sore throat are often accompanied by headaches and nausea. Patients may complain of body aches, red eyes, ear and eye pain. At the same time, the patient’s temperature rises and other signs of the disease appear. Painful sensations are caused by general intoxication of the body.

If a child or adult suddenly develops a headache with nausea, a doctor may diagnose the development of rotavirus. Later, the person may develop vomiting, diarrhea, cramping, and intestinal pain.

Overwork

Due to great physical and mental stress, a person can also get pain in the back of the head; sometimes in the evening, tired people say that they are “sick from work.” This is not a figurative expression, but a very real one. Overexertion and high loads cause discomfort in the head and nausea. Also the cause of pain:

• lack of sleep;
• stressful situations, nervous overload;
• depressive states;

Nerve pain can be localized in the occipital, temporal region of the head, the neck may hurt. The pain has a pulsating, aching character, does not go away during the day, and intensifies in the evening. Sometimes patients complain of a dull, pressing pain that appears at the end of the working day, or a headache after completing an important project or negotiating with competitors.

Traumatic brain injury

Brain lesions can occur either as a result of an open skull fracture or as a result of a mild blow to the head.

The main signs of a concussion are headache and nausea, as well as loss of consciousness. Any head injury or neck injury can disrupt brain function. At the same time, patients complain of poor condition:

• weakness;
• drowsiness;
• lack of coordination;
• short-term memory loss;
• noise in ears;
• darkening of the eyes;
• vomiting

In particularly severe cases, a person not only has a headache, but may develop seizures. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor the condition of a person who has fallen and hit his head.

Neoplasms in the brain

Do you have a headache every morning and feel very nauseous? Do regular pills and medications for migraines not help? Perhaps the cause of discomfort is a tumor growing in the brain.

Regular headaches and vomiting for no reason are reasons to urgently seek medical help.

Prevention

A person who leads a healthy lifestyle and watches his diet is much less likely to experience headaches, nausea and blood pressure. In turn, poor nutrition and a sedentary lifestyle will sooner or later lead to hypertension.

Spicy spices, dark chocolate and coffee can provoke headaches and vomiting. To prevent attacks, it is necessary to exclude these foods from the diet, as well as avoid sweet foods, fatty and fried foods.

Mandatory conditions for the prevention of headaches and nausea are regular walks in the fresh air, healthy sleep, proper balanced nutrition, giving up bad habits and a positive attitude.

Low pressure

With low blood pressure, when it is at the level of 100/60 and below, people very often complain of headaches. The nature of the pain syndrome can vary: dull, pulsating, aching, paroxysmal, pressing. In this case, there is no need to talk about severe headaches and vomiting, but the pain syndrome is pronounced, causes discomfort, and nausea appears against its background.

The head begins to hurt in hypotensive patients with a lack of oxygen, with moral and physical stress, in any condition when the pressure drops below normal levels. The person experiences pale skin, dizziness, and constant yawning. There is a certain chance that a person may faint if nothing is done.

Bibliography

When writing the article, the neurologist used the following materials:

• Morozova, Olga Aleksandrovna Headache. Issues of diagnosis, therapy, prevention [Text]: reference guide for general practitioners / O. A. Morozova; Ministry of Health of the Chuvash Republic, . — Cheboksary: ​​GAU DPO “IUV”, 2016
• Aleshina, Natalia Alekseevna Headache: treatment and prevention using traditional and non-traditional methods / N. A. Aleshina. - M: RIPOL classic, 2009. - 253 p. ISBN 978-5-386-01248-9
• Classification of headaches, cranial neuralgia and facial pain and diagnostic criteria for the main types of headache: [Transl. from English] / Classification com. on headaches International. headache islands; [Scient. ed. and ed. preface A. A. Shutov]. - Perm: ALGOS-press, 1997. - 92 p. ISBN 5-88493-017-8
• Uzhegov, Genrikh Nikolaevich Headache: main causes of pain: diagnosis of concomitant diseases: methods of prevention and elimination of headaches / Uzhegov G. N. - M: AST: Stalker, 2005. - 158 p. ISBN 5-17-021078-1
• Osipova V.V. Primary headaches: clinical picture, diagnosis, therapy [Text]: information letter (for neurologists, therapists, general practitioners) / Osipova V.V. [etc.]; Russian Institute for the Study of Headache (ROIGB), Ministry of Health of the Rostov Region, State Budgetary Institution RO “Region. Consultative and Diagnostic Center", Region. Center for diagnosis and treatment of headaches. - Rostov-on-Don: Antey, 2011. - 46 pp. ISBN 978-5-91365-157-0
• Zhulev N. M. Cephalgia. Headache: (diagnosis and treatment): textbook. allowance / N. M. Zhulev [etc.]. - St. Petersburg. : Publishing house. house SPbMAPO, 2005. - 135 p. ISBN 5-98037-048-X

What to do if you have a headache and nausea

If headache and vomiting occur, then treatment tactics directly depend on the provoking factor. What medications are used most often:

1. Diuretics. Used to eliminate edema, which often results from hypertension and increases symptoms. The brain is most often affected. Veroshpiron, Furosemide, etc. are prescribed.
2. Painkillers. They help eliminate symptoms such as headaches, but do not relieve nausea. Tempalgin, Baralgin, etc. are used.
3. Antispasmodics: Nosh-pa, Papaverine, etc. Relax the walls of blood vessels, eliminating spasms.
4. Nootropics. The drugs in this line improve cerebral circulation, acting gradually. In addition to eliminating discomfort in the head, memory improves and concentration increases. Nootropil, Mildronate, etc. are most often prescribed. The brain receives more oxygen and nutrients.
5. Antiemetics. Relieves nausea caused by various reasons. Cerucal, Motilak, etc. are used. These drugs affect the brain receptors that send an impulse to the stomach.
6. Antihypertensives: Enalapril, Cinnarizine, etc. Help eliminate headaches associated with high blood pressure.

If symptoms associated with poisoning occur, it is recommended to take any adsorbent: Smecta, Polysorb, etc. These drugs help remove toxic substances from the body. Additionally, you can take a medication that relieves spasm of the smooth muscles of the gastrointestinal tract, for example, Trimedat.

If the cause of a headache with nausea is pregnancy, then no special treatment is provided. You should only refrain from eating in the morning, and instead drink water with lemon, which will reduce the intensity of unpleasant symptoms.

If headache pills do not help, you should definitely consult a doctor.

Headache is often accompanied by nausea of ​​varying intensity, sometimes with vomiting. This disease can have many causes, which are best understood with the help of a doctor. Nausea and headache - what do these symptoms mean? How can you remove them at home? If, with pain accompanied by nausea, there are no problems with the stomach and intestines, then the cause of the disease is a problem in the nervous system, when signals about malfunctions in the digestive system begin to collect in the nerve plexus of the brain stem.

Text: Eduard Matveev, Anna Gerasimenko October 5, 2016

Discomfort in older women

Women during menstruation often experience a worsening of their condition - nausea and headache. These symptoms are also accompanied by abdominal pain. Typically, you can get rid of the cause of this headache by taking painkillers.

Nausea and systematic headaches often accompany women in the first months of pregnancy. Doctors call this condition toxicosis.

There is no need to treat toxicosis yourself; it will go away in the second trimester of pregnancy. If nausea and vomiting have not stopped, be sure to contact your treating gynecologist to rule out possible pathologies of fetal development, miscarriage and premature birth.

Many doctors consider vegetative-vascular dystonia to be the disease of the century, since thousands, or even millions of people on the planet suffer from it. The first symptoms that the patient complains about are headache, constant nausea and severe dizziness.

The pain can spread to all parts of the head, or it can be concentrated in some specific areas. The nature of the headache can be very diverse:

• aching;
• pricking;
• aching;
• blunt.

Along with pain in the head area, pale areas of the skin on the body and attacks of nausea are observed.

In the age range of 45-55 years, women usually experience menopause. Most patients who seek help from a doctor complain of cephalgia. Headaches and nausea: the causes in women are often associated with a sharp change in hormonal levels.

The causes of headaches and nausea in older women can be associated with various diseases, therefore, it is also important to consider the presence of additional symptoms. In particular, it may be associated with diseases of the digestive, cardiovascular system and neurological disorders.

Nausea and headaches in older women can occur with diabetes, pancreatitis, stroke, cancer, as well as minor disorders of the functioning of internal organs.

How to treat?

Only after carrying out the above and other diagnostic methods that the doctor deems necessary in each specific case and having determined the cause of pain, possibly in different parts of the head and nausea, is appropriate treatment prescribed.

Standard therapeutic measures include drug treatment, physiotherapeutic procedures, and preventive methods. In severe cases, when, for example, a tumor is detected in the brain, surgical intervention is most often suggested. If the tumor is malignant, chemotherapy and radiation therapy may be prescribed.

In case of poisoning, measures are taken to help remove toxins from the body. This, as a rule, involves gastric lavage, taking sorbents, and drinking plenty of fluids. Severe cases, when the condition does not stabilize after applying the above methods, require hospitalization and inpatient treatment.

Diseases that are accompanied by nausea and headaches and are of a vascular nature require the use of drugs that improve the functionality of the vascular system, strengthen the walls of blood vessels, and help restore their elasticity. Medicines are used that can combat “bad” cholesterol, restoring the lack of vitamins and microelements in the body.

Migraine attacks are usually stopped with painkillers, which are recommended to be used without waiting for the pain syndrome to develop. Knowing the initial signs of an attack, it is recommended to take the medicine at this time. Then you can reduce the intensity of pain or avoid it altogether.

Pain and nausea caused by overwork or stress can be prevented by changing your daily routine, supplementing it with proper rest and sleep. A sufficient amount of fresh air, moderate physical activity appropriate for age and health, and a proper diet are methods that will help get rid of unpleasant symptoms.