What Is a Headache?

A headache is diffuse pain in the head not confined to the area of distribution of any nerve (1). By headache we usually mean pain anywhere between the back of the head and front (like tension headache), or pain in one half of the head (like migraine or cluster headache).

Head pain confined to particular parts of the head usually have more specific names, like earache, toothache, sinus headache, TMJ pain.

Headache Types and Causes

1. PRIMARY Headaches

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The coccyx bears the weight of the body in the sitting posture, especially when a person leans backwards. An injury to the coccyx impairs ones ability to sit comfortably, because of tenderness and pain in that region. Pressure on this area hampers the healing process and displaces the edges of the broken coccyx. Thus, a wide variety of cushions have been designed for people with a broken coccyx or longstanding coccyx pain to avoid pressure on the coccyx while sitting. These are called coccyx seat cushions or simply, coccyx cushions, which are used for treatment of broken coccyx.
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Sitting is a common posture which we assume while working. It does not take much energy and gives a comfortable platform for performance of several activities. The human body has specifically developed fat pads called buttocks, which provide a cushion to the bones during this posture. The ability to sit on our buttocks without any support also depends on the vertebral column. The absence of a tail greatly helps in our ability to sit. However, we still have a rudimentary tailbone called the coccyx, which lies at the lower end of the vertebral column. The coccyx bears the weight of the body when a person leans backward while sitting. An injury of this bone causes unbearable pain during sitting and completely deprives us of this comfortable posture.
continue reading Broken Coccyx – Causes and Symptoms

Collarbone or clavicle (Latin clavicle = little key) is a horizontally placed bone in the upper part of the chest. This bone forms a unique link between the upper limb and the chest. It transfers the weight of the upper limb ( or any weight that is carried in our hands) to the central part of the body. Hence, any injury to the collarbone substantially weakens the carrying capacity of the hand making it virtually useless to the person.
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Head pain or cephalgia refers to pain in any part of the head or of the entire head. This differs from a headache which is traditionally accepted as only referring to pain on the upper part of the head including the temples (sides), frontal (front), parietal (top) and occipital (back of the head) regions.

Despite this difference, the terms ‘head pain’ and ‘headache’ are often used synonymously.

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Primary Headache

Primary headache is a headache not caused by another medical condition. Neurological examination, results of CT, MRI and other tests are usually normal (1). Your doctor can make a diagnosis on the basis of your personal medical history and physical examination. Primary headaches include (2):

1. Migraine

Symptoms:

• Aura (for example, flashing lights) within 1 hour before a headache onset. Often there is no aura.
• Pounding, throbbing pain, usually on one side of the head (sometimes on both sides), lasting from 4 to 72 hours.

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Health Conditions With Headache and Constipation

Any headache can be followed by constipation, because the pain limits your activities, and when you reject food. On the other hand, constipation may be followed by headache, because of stress, dehydration and hunger (due to avoiding food). Headache and constipation may be present in several acute or chronic diseases, where their cause is more or less obvious. Constipation and headache are also common symptoms in pregnancy.

Both headache and constipation can be symptoms in the following health conditions:

1. Depression or Anxiety

Symptoms:

• Feeling sad or anxious
• Poor appetite
• Headache
• Constipation
• Suicidal thoughts

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Types of Constipation

1. Atonic Constipation

Atonic (Gk. atonos = unaccented, without tension) constipation results from reduced muscle tone (tension) of the colon, abdominal wall or pelvic floor. Causes include:

• Habits, like sedentary life style, irregular meals, low-fiber diet, postponing bowel movement, overuse of laxatives resulting in a lazy colon that does not react to stimuli, like eating and presence of the stool in the rectum. Affected person simply does not feel the urge to defecate even when his colon is full of stool.
• Loose rectal muscles, mainly in old people
• Weak pelvic floor muscles, often in women after giving birth
• Damage of the intestinal nerves in long-term, poorly controlled diabetes or congenital disorders, like Hirschsprung’s disease.

Change of life habits, or surgery (in Hirschsprung’s disease) can help.

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Anaphylaxis is the medical term for a severe allergic reaction that can affect the entire body and is potentially life threatening. An anaphylactic reaction can lead to shock, hence the term anaphylactic shock. Anaphylaxis presents with the same signs and symptoms of shock in addition to an itchy skin rash, airway constriction, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.

Anaphylaxis is known as a type I hypersensitivity reaction and occurs within 15 to 30 minutes of being exposed to the antigen (foreign organisms or substance). Sometimes a severe reaction can occur within seconds. This reaction is mediated by immunglobulin E (IgE), which is a type of antibody. Antibodies are developed by the immune system to help immune cells identify antigens  as being dangerous and triggering a reaction against them. IgE tends to reside within the respiratory passages, skin and mucus membranes. Therefore much of the symptoms of this type of hypersensitivity reaction occurs in these areas.

Milder type I hypersensitivity reactions may be seen in acute allergies and chronic allergic conditions like asthma and hay fever. Anaphylaxis, however, is a much more severe reaction commonly triggered by certain drugs, foods or insect toxins (from bites or stings). Unlike a mild allergic reaction, anaphylaxis requires emergency medical attention so that epinephrine can be administered. Failure to do so can sometimes lead to death.

Chest pain may be accompanied by other signs and symptoms like coughing. The pain may be due to forceful or persistent coughing, or can occur independently of the coughing. Nevertheless it is important to identify if both chest pain and coughing are related and to isolate the possible causes of both. Chest pain with coughing is not always due to respiratory causes since certain gastrointestinal and cardiac (heart) conditions can cause chest pain and also trigger coughing.

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