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

continue reading Headache Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment, Prevention

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.

continue reading Types of Headache

Nerve pain or neuralgia can occur for various reasons and may occur on its own or be accompanied by other signs and symptoms related to the cause. This type of pain does not always indicate nerve damage and may be due to injury, pressure, inflammation, chemical irritation or infection. When the cause of the pain is experienced at a site away from the point of injury or inflammation, then this is known as referred pain.

continue reading Nerve Chest Pain

Lip twitching can be a rather disturbing symptom for some even though in most cases the cause behind it may not be serious. Most cases of a twitching lip may be due to stress, fatigue, emotion, excessive caffeine intake (drinking large amounts of coffee or caffeinated soft drinks), or some deficiency in the diet such as potassium. Lip twitching in most cases is self-limiting, disappearing in minutes or maybe in a few days without any residual problems. However persistent lip twitching with other signs and symptoms should be investigated for other underlying disorders.

Twitching of the lips is a sudden involuntary contraction of the lip muscles. It may also be due to contraction of the muscle fibers as a result of direct stimulation or irritation or injury of the nerve supplying these muscles. Tics, spasms, tremors, and fasciculations (general muscle twitching) may also cause twitches of the lip.

continue reading Lip Twitching

Facial droop is sagging of the face caused by loss of facial muscle tone. This is usually caused by an impairment of nerve function that supply the facial muscles, particularly involving the facial nerve. Most cases of facial droop are one-sided (unilateral) causing a distortion of the normal face structure. This typically appears like the lips are being pulled on one side and there may be difficulty in closing the eye or impairment of the taste sensation. A number of factors can contribute to a facial droop, including trauma, infections and other systemic pathologies.

Facial droop in this context is not related to a sagging facial skin, which may occur as a result of loss of elasticity of the skin. In these cases, a sagging face may be age-related, occur after a sudden loss of weight, debilitating illness or in cases of drug abuse, like a crystal meth addiction.

continue reading Facial Droop – Causes of a Sagging Face

Nerve compression at the level of the thoracic vertebrae, or thoracic radiculopathy, is less common than in the cervical radiculopathy or lumbar nerve compression because of the lower amount of pressure and movement that the thoracic vertebrae are subjected to. However a pinched nerve at the thoracic level may cause symptoms that just as severe, usually presenting as pain, tingling, and numbness in the arms, chest, abdomen or pelvis.

continue reading Pinched Thoracic Nerve – Radiculopathy, Compression

The term ‘pinched nerve‘ actually refers to any condition where compression of the nerve causes a range of sensory (‘feeling’) and motor (‘movement’) related symptoms in the affected area. While a pinched nerve if often believed to affect the spinal nerves only, due to compression between parts of the spine, it can actually affect any nerve in the body. The severity of the symptoms will depend on the site that is affected, the extent of the nerve compression, movement or other aggravating factors as well as duration of the compression.

continue reading What is a Pinched Nerve?

Tingling or Numb Lips

Lip tingling is abnormal feeling, and lip numbness is decreased or absent feeling in the lip. Both sensations, medically called paresthesia, arise from conditions affecting sensory nerves in the lips, but usually not from neurological diseases. Skin diseases also rarely cause tingling or numbness but rather itch, burning or pain in the lips.

Main causes of tingling and numb lips are listed below.

continue reading Causes of Tingling or Numb Lips

What Is Sciatica?

Sciatic pain (sciatica) is a pain in the lower back, buttock, leg and/or foot, usually on one side at a time, caused by one of disorders affecting the sciatic nerve:

• Pinched nerve due to:
  • Bulging or herniated disc 
  • Degeneration disc disease (DDD)
  • Spinal stenosis (narrow spinal canal)
  • Fracture of one or more of spinal vertebra or direct injury of the nerve
  • Tumor of the spinal cord or spine
  • Spondylolysthesis (slipping disc – from several reasons)
  • Piriformis syndrome (pressure from piriformis muscle that extends from the sacrum to the outer hip bone)
  • Spondylosis – degeneration due to wear and tear of spinal vertebra
  • Spondylitis – inflammation of spine
  • Osteoporosis
  • Tuberculosis or osteomyelitis of spinal vertebra
• Peripheral neuropathy e.g. from diabetes or alcoholism  

continue reading Sciatic Nerve Pain – Causes and Symptoms

What Is Leprosy?

Leprosy is a chronic infection caused by bacterium Mycobacterium leprae that usually affects skin, peripheral nerves (usually in the limbs and face), upper airways and eyes. Another name for leprosy is Hansen’s disease (after Dr. G.A. Hansen who discovered it in 1873) (1).

The first sign of a disease is usually one or more discolored patches of the skin with reduced sensibility. Later, disfiguring plaques and nodules may appear. Because of damaged nerves in the limbs, affected person may lose a sense of touch and pain and may not be aware of injuries what may in long term lead to permanent damage of limbs.

continue reading What Is Leprosy (Hansen’s Disease): Cause, Facts, Epidemiology