What to do when your head hurts?

How does a “heavy” head feel?

It’s not just a headache that can interfere with normal perception of the colors of the world around you and living in peace. Sometimes a tedious heaviness in the head is perceived worse than a migraine attack. After all, a migraine will go away after a certain period of time, and the feeling of a burden in the head can torment a person for a very long time.

How do patients describe their feelings?

• In the morning, my head pulls towards the pillow.
• There is a feeling that the skull has been filled with stones.
• It was as if blood from the whole body had collected in the skull.
• Metal disks move heavily in the brain.
• Difficulty concentrating.
• Information is not perceived adequately.
• I want to put my head in my arms and sleep, sleep, sleep.
• Nausea creeps up my throat.
• Lethargy falls on the body, it is difficult to even raise an arm.

Often the headache does not hurt, but it is heavy and cottony. Unpleasant sensations can occur in the morning and do not disappear even after a long sleep.

Characteristics of the condition

A heavy head is a condition that patients describe as a feeling of unclear, cloudy consciousness. The head feels as if it is made of cotton – a sensation similar to what occurs in an arm or leg when the limb is numb. Often the head feels as if it is leaden with a feeling of pressure from within. Symptoms are complemented by retardation of thinking and impaired orientation in space.

In this case, a feeling of heaviness in the eyes and head is accompanied by a deterioration in cognitive abilities. The person does not think well, his memory and mental activity deteriorate. It is difficult for him to concentrate, concentrate on work, perceive and process new information. Constant fatigue and a feeling of cloudiness in the head interfere with communication, performing household and job duties.

Diseases accompanied by heaviness in the head

Heaviness in the head may be a sign of brain damage. Also, unpleasant sensations, a feeling of lethargy and weakness indicate that a person is developing a serious illness.

Vegetative-vascular dystonia

With this disease, any unusual load can cause discomfort. The tone of brain vessels is disrupted, the outflow of venous blood is hampered, and the supply of oxygen to brain cells deteriorates. The result is a feeling of overcrowding in the skull.

A person suffering from vegetative-vascular dystonia often has panic attacks that worsen the general condition. Depressive thoughts arise that literally make your head explode. If there is no opportunity to rest and relax, the feeling of heaviness is accompanied by a headache: bursting, aching, throbbing.

Meniere's disease

Damage to the vestibular system can also cause a person to have a feeling of heaviness in the head. Meniere's disease is an inflammation of the inner ear, labyrinthine dysfunction develops, in which an excess amount of fluid is released. Liquid accumulates in the labyrinth, pressing on the nerve endings. Symptoms of the disease:

• Ear noise, feeling of fullness in the ears.
• Constant dizziness.
• Loss of balance when walking.
• Nausea.
• Hearing loss.

Due to the fact that the vestibular system sends distorted signals to the brain, a person has a feeling of a cotton head. It is difficult for the patient to stand up; when bending over, he is pulled forward.

Osteochondrosis

If the cervical spine is affected by osteochondrosis, then the person’s blood supply to the brain is disrupted. Most often the vertebral artery is compressed. This can provoke an increase in intracranial pressure and lead to oxygen starvation of the brain. A gradual deterioration in blood flow causes the following symptoms:

• Drowsiness, lethargy.
• Frequent dizziness.
• Intrusive headaches.
• Feeling of stiffness in the neck.
• Feeling of heaviness in the skull.

Those at risk include office workers, athletes, people engaged in monotonous work that requires constant repetition of the same actions. Even a nursing mother who regularly falls asleep in an uncomfortable position while breastfeeding may experience a feeling of “fullness” in her head.

Dizziness and heaviness in the head are frequent companions of teachers who spend the entire working day at the blackboard. The static and heaviness of the posture affects the pose - a raised hand with chalk, which performs monotonous movements.

Neurosis-like conditions

Chronic fatigue, constant stress, and depression can lead to a person beginning to develop neurosis. Complaints of patients suffering from neurosis:

• Feeling empty in the head.
• “Muddy” head, like jelly in the skull.
• Tightening, pressing headache.
• The feeling that a heavy hat or a cast-iron helmet was put on your head.

The patient is easily irritated and may start shouting for no apparent reason at his family or just strangers. The patient has difficulty in crowded places where there is a lot of noise and light. They cause increased discomfort; in addition to the symptoms listed above, a feeling of confusion and, at the same time, anger is added.

Sleep disturbances are noted: a person has difficulty falling asleep, often wakes up at night, and lies awake for a long time. The next morning he finds it difficult to get up, even if sleep lasted until lunch, he has a feeling of a “heavy head”, a thick “fog”.

Neoplasms

One of the main symptoms of brain cancer is a daily morning headache. In addition, patients complain of heaviness in the head and drowsiness. Pressing pain occurs in one area of ​​the head due to the fact that the growing tumor puts pressure on the nerve endings and compresses the blood vessels. Due to poor circulation, a feeling of “fullness” and heaviness in the head appears.

The morning nature of the discomfort is due to the fact that when a person changes body position, intracranial pressure rises and cerebral edema increases. Minor physical activity increases the discomfort.

When to call an ambulance

Sometimes a headache can be a sign of serious illness. For example, a slowly developing tumor or a rapid stroke.

See a doctor or call an ambulance immediately if the pain is sudden and very severe, almost unbearable, or if it is accompanied by any of the following symptoms:

• numbness or weakness on one side of the face or body;
• slurred speech;
• confusion;
• sudden vision problems: you see everything in a fog or you see double;
• nausea and vomiting;
• dizziness, loss of balance.

By taking painkillers, you will mask the symptoms and allow the disease to progress. The result may be irreparable.

If you do not observe any suspicious signs and the matter is limited only to a headache, you can relax and look for the causes of discomfort in the Why Does My Head Ache? list. below.

Third-party factors that provoke heaviness in the head

Is it hard to raise your head, but you have not been diagnosed with any diseases? Perhaps the cause of discomfort is a person’s lifestyle or some external factors. Unpleasant sensations appear if:

• For a long period of time you don’t sleep enough, go to bed late and get up early.
• Sit at the computer every day, avoiding physical activity.
• Drink alcoholic beverages in large quantities.
• Spend your nights in clubs and sleep during the day.
• Use drugs.
• Use certain medications in large quantities.

Toxic damage to the body (from food, alcohol, drug poisoning) causes oxygen starvation of the brain, and is therefore accompanied by a feeling of fullness and heaviness of the skull. Allergic reactions that occur with cerebral edema can also cause discomfort. When the weather changes, a sudden cold snap, a weather-dependent person may experience heaviness in the head.

Tension headache

A dull monotonous pain covers the head on both sides, like a hoop. If such pain haunts you more than 15 days a month, then it is already considered chronic. “Neurotic helmet” - this type of headache is also called - more often overtakes people who often experience stress, emotional tension and overwork.

Tense neck muscles for a long time also provoke this pain, so office workers who sit at the computer and phone all day always carry Citramon with them. By the way, if used frequently, analgesics will cause severe headaches, did you know?

How to eliminate discomfort?

Did you get up in the morning with a heavy head and can’t recover? There are several methods you can use to improve your condition.

• When a headache is added to the unpleasant sensations, it makes sense to take a pain reliever (analgesic, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug).
• A cool or contrast shower, which should be taken for at least 15 minutes, helps to get rid of discomfort.
• You can conduct a massage or self-massage session, gently rubbing the neck, back of the head, and temple area.
• To alleviate the condition, you can use aromatherapy: apply a couple of drops of mint, rosemary, lavender oil, tea tree oil, lemon.
• Breathing exercises effectively eliminate discomfort.
• Some yoga exercises can reduce discomfort.
• You can try to relax using self-hypnosis: sit or lie down with pleasant music and imagine yourself on the seashore, in a rustling forest, in a meadow.

Sometimes, in order to eliminate discomfort, you just need to get a good night's sleep in a dark room and normalize your working day: if your job is sedentary, periodically take breaks, exercise minutes, and regulate psychological and physical stress. It is advisable to change the pillow and mattress, choosing bedding that helps you relax while sleeping.

Folk remedies

Unconventional methods of dealing with headaches for the most part do not eliminate the cause, but only relieve the manifestations. They cannot cancel drug therapy, but only be its addition. The medical community has ambivalent attitudes towards traditional methods of treatment. And to avoid possible complications, you should first consult with a specialist.

To help get rid of headaches at home:

• a copper coin applied to the forehead or temples;
• tea with mint or chamomile;
• garlic, which also helps with tinnitus;
• St. John's wort decoction;
• Hot baths can relieve neuralgia. The main thing is that the procedure takes no more than fifteen minutes;
• peony tincture;
• lemon zest. It is cleaned and applied to the sore spot;
• essential oils: their vapors can relieve cephalalgia. Just moisten a cotton swab and inhale;
• apple: you need to eat one or two.

Features of treatment

If a patient constantly complains that he has a heavy head, the causes of discomfort are vegetative-vascular dystonia, osteochondrosis or another disease, it is best to entrust treatment to a specialist. The following therapeutic measures are carried out:

• Cerebral circulation is normalized with the help of nootropic and vasotropic drugs.
• Blood circulation is improved with the help of physiotherapy: electropheresis, phonopharesis, and magnetic therapy are used.
• Muscle spasms in cervical osteochondrosis are relieved through massage and manual therapy.
• Nervous tension is eliminated - with the help of tranquilizers, sedatives, sedatives.
• To relieve muscle spasms, muscle relaxants are taken, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory gels and ointments are applied topically.
• Allergic reactions are relieved with antihistamines.

If the cause of discomfort is the growth of a tumor, surgical intervention may be required.

In case of dysfunction of the cardiovascular system, it is necessary to strengthen blood vessels and normalize blood pressure. If the discomfort is due to a cold, the patient’s condition will return to normal after recovery.

Regular use of painkillers is required only if the heaviness in the skull is accompanied by a headache. It is advisable not to rely only on medications, but also to change eating habits and give preference to natural products. Spicy, salty, sour foods can increase discomfort, as can caffeinated drinks and chocolate.

Do you want the heaviness in your head to go away? Play sports, preferably swimming. It helps not only to get a feasible load on all muscle groups, but also to relieve accumulated negative emotions, “wash away” stress and a depressive mood. Walking in the fresh air, good sleep and the absence of nervous overload will help avoid unpleasant sensations.

Pain intensity

Why does my head hurt? In medicine, there are four types of ailments, depending on the causes that cause them and the specifics of their manifestations:

• vascular: caused by a decrease and increase in pressure in the circulatory system, cervical chondrosis. The head is spinning dully, throbbing, darkening in the eyes. It is unpleasant for a person to bend over, wear a hat, or do his hair;
• liquorodynamic: caused by an increase in the amount of cerebrospinal fluid, intracranial pressure increases. Compresses in the frontal area, attacks of nausea begin;
• neuralgic: cause severe physical and psychological stress, hypothermia, intoxication and poisoning, including heavy metals. The pain in this case is acute, stabbing, dizziness is observed, and is especially felt in one place. Redness on the skin is possible. Medicines don't help;
• muscle tension, spasm: almost always manifests itself due to sharp strong odors, loud sounds, when a person is worried or afraid, due to lack of movement, if something presses on the head or its individual parts from above, behind or from the sides, for example, rim or temples of glasses. Aching pain begins, as if something is pressing, drowsiness.

Why do I have a headache all day? There are common causes of cephalalgia:

• different types of traumatic brain injuries: with a mild degree, the ailment goes away in just a few days, when the damage is serious, the person falls into a coma;
• increased body temperature, for example, with acute respiratory viral infections or acute respiratory infections;
• weather change: relevant for weather-sensitive people;
• long stay in a bathhouse or sauna;
• pregnancy, childbirth;
• in girls, sensitivity increases during PMS;
• a daily headache often means the presence of a certain pathology: VSD, sinusitis, migraine;
• during adolescence in adolescents (boys and girls).

The intensity of sensations, depending on the reason causing them, changes. For example, it may occur frequently in the morning or evening, after strong experiences.

Vegetative-vascular dystonia

The pain throbs in the temples, the general condition is broken, the face looks swollen, as if you had been partying all night. The pain can cover two parts of the head at once, radiating to the back of the head, forehead, temples, and eyeballs. Most often, headaches with VSD occur in the morning or at night.

Often such pain occurs when the weather changes; in women it is associated with the menstrual cycle. Maybe your blood vessels are spasming or your blood pressure is jumping sharply - with VSD, the headache is secondary and most often serves as a sign of a malfunction in the central and autonomic nervous system.

What to do? Eliminate caffeine from your diet, go swimming, make a wet compress and study a set of procedures.

1. Using the pads of your outstretched fingers, press horizontally on the neck muscles at the level of the hairline

1. Connect your index and middle fingers. Massage from below with short circular movements the point where you feel the bones of the skull begin. To feel it, tilt your head back - it will be somewhere on the fold line.

1. Connect your index and middle fingers. Massage from above with short circular movements the point where you feel the bones of the skull begin. To feel it, tilt your head back - it will be somewhere on the fold line.

1. Place your fingers on the neck muscles that hug the line of the spine. Press with your fingertips in a gripping motion, varying the intensity.

Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine

A headache with osteochondrosis comes suddenly to the occipital part, and then spreads to the entire skull. Characteristic accompanying symptoms are numbness and tingling of the fingers, dizziness, deterioration of the senses, and noticeable spasms in the neck. In the process of diseases of the cervical spine, blood circulation is disrupted, nerves and arteries are pinched due to displacement of the vertebrae.

For 90% of owners of phones and gadgets, the phrase “smartphone neck” is relevant, because at the end of the working day, spasms in the cervical spine are simply inevitable with such a lifestyle.

Editing the Atlanta with a medical stylus

What to do? Improving the health of the entire spine is the only correct option for treating osteochondrosis. Start by visiting a chiropractor who can adjust the first cervical vertebra (atlas), or at least stretching in the morning.