Factors That Help Diagnose Headaches

Headache is one of the most common yet the most tricky problem to deal with. Diagnosing a headache can be really difficult because there can be several reasons for the problem. However, you will be able to diagnose a headache better provided you relay the symptoms in a better manner. Here is how to go about it.

Character
The first and foremost thing that you need to consider when trying to diagnose your headache is the nature of your pain. How does your pain really feel like? Is it extremely sharp and stabbing? Or is the pain dull and achy? In some cases, you may experience the sensation of pricking of a needle along with the headache.

Severity
Rate the pain on a scale of one to ten. You need to be very careful here. Make sure that you are not over exaggerating the pain. In case you give your headache a rating of ten, make sure that it is the worst headache you have ever had.

Onset
Remembering when your headache commenced is very important if you want to diagnose it right. Try to recall what you were doing when the headache started. Were you eating something? Or did you practice some rigorous exercise? Finding an answer to these questions can help ascertain the real cause of your headache.

Location
Where exactly do you feel the pain? There are some headache types that affect only a part of your head. On the other hand, there are others that involve the entire headache. For instance, cluster headaches usually hurt behind the eye. Identifying the location of the pain will help you diagnose the kind of headache you are dealing with.

Duration
Different types of headaches last for different time spans. You must take into account the time span for which your headache lasts. There are some headaches that continue to hurt throughout the day. On the other hand, there are some headaches like thunderclap headache that do not last for more than a few minutes. If your headache persists for more than 24 hours then a consultation with the doctor at the earliest is strictly recommended.

Triggers and relief
While there are some factors that will help you ease out the pain, there could be some that would worsen it. You need to identify these factors to be able to diagnose the headache properly. If any painkiller or any particular activity such as lying in a dark room offers relief, make sure that you mention it to the doctor.

Symptoms
Watch out for symptoms when you have a headache. In some cases, headache may be accompanied by symptoms like nausea and diarrhea. Make sure that you let your doctor know about them.

A careful analysis of the above mentioned factors will help you diagnose your headache in a much better manner.
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