What is a Secondary Headache?

A headache is a pain in the head. The pain is above the eyes or ears, behind the back of the upper neck and upper shoulders. In the medical field headaches are split into three categories which are primary, secondary and miscellaneous. All headaches come from a multitude of causes.

What is a secondary headache?

Secondary headaches are more worrisome because they cannot be solved until the specific cause of the illness is diagnosed and treated.  Secondary headaches result from a varied number of conditions, ranging from life threatening ones such as brain tumors, strokes, meningitis, and hemorrhages. Common conditions are withdrawal from caffeine or sugar. Stop taking prescription pain killing medication can cause a symptom.

What are the symptoms of secondary headaches?

They include a new or unusual type of headache, adult ages fifty and up, fever, or sudden or worst headache you have ever had. More symptoms include a stiff neck, swelling of optic nerves or head pain not responding to treatment instead getting steadily worse. Finally neurological symptoms during or between head pains or an abnormal neurological exam are symptoms. Tests to diagnose theses symptoms could be blood tests, brain scans or a lumbar puncture.

Are there natural treatments to help relieve secondary headaches?

Herbal remedies can be included in your daily meals and also topical remedies. Cayenne pepper has a lot of medicinal and nutritional value including usefulness in curing a headache. Cayenne helps in getting rid of the discomfort of head pain by cutting off the sensors in the brain. Suggested use is one-half teaspoon cayenne pepper to a glass of water. Stir. Drink slowly until gone. Consumption of mixture will help in dilating blood vessels for improved circulation of the blood.

Chew on a couple feverfew leaves. Feverfew is an herbal plant. Chewing on these leaves will give you secondary pain relief by inhibiting the release of substances that restrain the onset of head pain.

Ginkgo biloba is a popular herb for treating head pain. Use of ginkgo biloba helps the flow of blood to the brain which contributes to the increase of oxygen.