Headache in the forehead area
introduction
Headache in the forehead is a symptom that is based on irritation of pain-sensitive structures in the head, such as the meninges, cranial nerves or blood vessels. Headaches on the forehead are usually an expression of overwork or stress and do not require any special therapy. In some cases, headaches on the forehead can also be caused by diseases such as migraines, tension headaches or cluster headaches (Bing-Horton syndrome).
Symptoms
Headaches in the area of the forehead are of a pulling, stabbing or dull, pressing character of varying intensity and can occur on one or both sides. Headaches in the forehead are often attack-like, but they can persist for a longer period of time. Headaches in the forehead that persist for a long time are called chronic headaches.
Various accompanying symptoms can be accompanied by a headache on the forehead. These are listed below.
- nausea
- Vomit
- dizziness
- Impaired vision or speech,
- Noise and noise sensitivity,
- Tears of an eye or nasal discharge
Location of the headache
Headache on the forehead can occur with pain in other locations and thus provide clues as to the cause. You will also find an overview of the most common combinations and their diseases.
- Headache with eye involvement
- Headache on forehead and temples
- Headache with neck pain
- Headache combined with nausea
- Unilateral headache
Headache on the forehead with involvement of the eyes
Headaches in the forehead can also be triggered by eye strain, such as working long hours at the screen. Visual defects that are not adequately corrected by glasses can also cause headaches in the forehead.
In some cases, diseases of the eyes are also a cause of headache in the forehead. This includes in particular glaucoma (green star). In glaucoma, a disturbance in the drainage of the aqueous humor leads to a sharp increase in intraocular pressure. The increased intraocular pressure leads to severe headache and eye pain, as well as reduced visual acuity. Occasionally, you may also experience nausea and vomiting. Since blindness can occur as a result of glaucoma, this cause of headache in the forehead should be treated urgently. Various medicinal measures such as the administration of mannitol and so-called carbonic anhydrase inhibitors as well as surgical procedures to lower intraocular pressure can be considered for therapy.
Read more on this topic: Pain over the eye
Headache on forehead and temples
In principle, pain in the temples can have the same causes as headaches in the forehead. In addition to migraines, cluster headaches or tension headaches, you should definitely have a Temporal arteritis (Giant cell arteritis) can be thought of as a trigger. In the Temporal arteritis autoimmune processes lead to an inflammation of a blood vessel in the temple, the Temporal artery. The inflammation can lead to symptoms such as fatigue, fever, severe pain in the temples, pain when chewing and, if blood vessels in the eye are involved, impaired vision and impaired vision. Since it can lead to blindness if left untreated, the Temporal arteritis be treated immediately with high-dose cortisone.
Read more on the topic: Pain in the temple
Headache with neck pain
Forehead headaches that originate in the neck can be caused by diseases of the cervical spine (Cervical spine) or by muscle tension in the neck.
Diseases of the cervical spine that cause neck pain that can radiate into the forehead are, for example, injuries to the cervical spine due to trauma, fractures and instabilities of the cervical spine, rheumatic diseases of the cervical spine, as well as malformations of the cervical spine and incorrect posture of the head. If you suspect neck pain due to a cervical spine disease, an orthopedic surgeon should be consulted. With the help of a physical examination and imaging procedures, such as x-rays, computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance tomography (MRT), the diagnosis can be made and appropriate therapeutic measures initiated. For the treatment of neck pain, depending on the cause, various therapeutic measures such as physiotherapy or physical applications, the administration of medication and surgical interventions can be considered.
Headache on the forehead with nausea
Headache in the forehead, which is accompanied by nausea, are typical symptoms of a migraine. Migraines are a form of headache that occurs like a seizure and is usually localized on one side of the head. In addition to headaches on the forehead, temples and behind the eye, nausea, vomiting and sensitivity to light and noise are typical. The mechanism by which migraines develop is unknown. Medicines such as ASA, ibuprofen, paracetamol or triptans are used to treat an acute migraine attack. So-called antiemetics, such as metoclopramide or domperidone, are used to treat nausea.
Read more on the topic: Headache with nausea
Unilateral headache
The unilateral occurrence of headache in the forehead is characteristic of two forms of headache, migraine and cluster headache.
Both clinical pictures are characterized by seizure-like, one-sided localized headaches, which are accompanied by other symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light and noise or one-sided tears of the eye and one-sided nasal discharge. Double-sided headaches speak more against a migraine or a cluster headache and are more typical of a tension headache. Unilateral headaches in the context of a migraine or a cluster headache are treated with drugs with aspirin, ibuprofen, paracetamol and triptans or with one hundred percent oxygen.
root cause
The causes of a headache in the forehead are numerous. Headaches in the forehead are often an expression of overwork, stress or lack of sleep and only last for a short time.
Headache in the forehead can also be an accompanying phenomenon of another disease, such as an infection, a head trauma, a brain tumor, a bleeding or a disease of the cervical spine, which is why headaches that recur constantly increase in intensity or persist for a longer period of time, a doctor should be consulted. Depending on the cause of the headache in the forehead, conservative measures, for example medication and physiotherapy, as well as operative therapy concepts can be considered.
In some cases, headache in the forehead can also be the cause of illness. A distinction is made here between primary forms of headache, in which the headache alone is the disease, and secondary forms of headache, in which headache occurs in the forehead as part of another disease.
In more than 80% of cases, the two primary forms of headache, migraine and tension headache, trigger headache in the forehead, and somewhat less often another primary form of headache, cluster headache (Bing-Horton syndrome). The mechanisms of development of these three clinical pictures have not yet been clearly clarified, but one suspects, among other things, a familial disposition.
Secondary headaches in the forehead area are less common and occur, for example, as an accompanying phenomenon to infections, traumatic brain injuries, brain tumors, bleeding or diseases of the cervical spine.
Read more on this topic at: Causes of headache
Finding the exact cause of a headache is often not so easy, as it is also a symptom of other diseases. A headache diary can help with headaches in the forehead area that persist for a long time or occur again and again for no apparent reason.
Find out more at: Headache diary
diagnosis
If you have a headache in the forehead that recurs, increases in intensity or persists for a long time, it is advisable to consult a doctor. This can make a diagnosis with the help of various examinations.
To make a diagnosis, a detailed anamnesis is required, which means a detailed questioning of the person concerned Underlying diseases and current complaints necessary. The question of the exact location of the headachewhether they occur unilaterally or bilaterally, when exactly and how often the headache occurs in the forehead and how long it lasts, which one Pain character who have a headache in the forehead and whether other complaints such as Nausea, vomiting, dizziness, visual disturbances, speech disturbances, noise and noise sensitivity, tearing of one eye or nasal discharge accompany the headache in the forehead.
This is followed by a physical examination of the person concerned, in which, among other things Blood pressure and Body temperature be determined and especially on neurological failures is respected. Afterwards, depending on the examination results, a further, more detailed diagnosis can be carried out by a specialist doctor, for example by a Neurologist, Orthopedists, ENT doctor or Ophthalmologist become necessary.
Possible examinations that may be necessary for a headache in the forehead are examinations of blood and Brain water, as well as imaging tests like one Computed tomography (CT) or one Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) Of the head.
therapy
For the treatment of headaches in the forehead, various conservative and, less often, surgical procedures are used.
An important part of conservative therapy includes avoiding so-called trigger factors, i.e. factors that can trigger or worsen headaches in the forehead in the person concerned. Typical trigger factors for headaches in the forehead are, for example, stress, lack of sleep, stimulants such as nicotine and alcohol, climatic influences and, in women, menstruation. If the person concerned does not know the trigger factors for headache in the forehead, it is advisable to keep a so-called headache diary. In a headache diary, the person concerned should record the situation in which the headache occurs in the forehead, how long it lasts, with what intensity it occurs, what pain character it is and how the person concerned dealt with the headache, for example whether medication was taken and whether this helped. Keeping a headache diary is particularly useful in the case of chronic forehead headaches that have persisted for a long time.
ASA, ibuprofen and paracetamol are mainly used for drug therapy for headaches in the forehead. The drugs mentioned do not require a prescription, but should still only be taken in consultation with a doctor, as side effects and interactions with other drugs can sometimes occur.
Furthermore, aspirin, ibuprofen and paracetamol should not be taken too often or over a longer period of time, as this in turn can lead to headaches. One then speaks of the so-called drug-induced headache.
Medicines that are used for an acute migraine attack and an acute attack of cluster headache are also the so-called triptans.
For chronic headaches in the forehead, atypical painkillers from the group of antidepressants and anticonvulsants (anti-epileptic drugs) can also be used. These drugs are normally used to treat depression or epilepsy, but can still be effective for headaches if conventional pain relievers such as ASA, ibuprofen or paracetamol no longer have a pain-relieving effect.
Peppermint or eucalyptus oil can also be tried as a herbal alternative for headaches in the forehead.
In addition to drug therapy, regular exercise (at least three times a week) is recommended. Suitable sports for a headache in the forehead are, for example, cycling, swimming or running.
Furthermore, various relaxation exercises such as autogenic training, yoga or progressive muscle relaxation according to Jacobsen can be learned. Massages, heat applications, stretching exercises or acupuncture can also have a pain-relieving effect.
In the case of secondary headache of the forehead, for example in the context of an infection, a cranial brain trauma, a brain tumor, bleeding or a disease of the cervical spine, the underlying disease must be treated. In rare cases, this may require surgery.
Read more on the topic: Headache therapy
forecast
The prognosis of a headache in the forehead is very variable and depends on the underlying disease. Primary forms of headache, how migraine, Tension headache or Cluster headache are usually not curable, but through the administration of medication and regular exercise of Sports and Relaxation exercises well treatable. Secondary forms of headache are in principle curable by eliminating the underlying disease.
prophylaxis
Important measures to prevent headache in the forehead include leading a healthy lifestyle with avoidance stress, alcohol and nicotine, as well as the regular exercise of Sports, for example biking, swimming or running and performing Relaxation exercises, how autogenic training, yoga or Jacobsen's progressive muscle relaxation.
The headache lies in the forehead migraine or a Cluster headache prophylaxis with medication can also be used. In migraines, the so-called prophylaxis are used Beta blockers applied at Cluster headache come Anticonvulsants for use.
Type of pain
Pain in the forehead can present itself very differently and vary among other things in Pain character (for example pulling, stabbing, dull, piercing, pressing, pounding or tearing) and in theirs intensity. The pain can unilateral or bilateral be localized. Forehead pain can acute and seizure occur, but can also persist over a longer period of time, i.e. become chronic.
For the treatment of pain in the forehead, painkillers from the group of are suitable nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), like for example ASS and Ibuprofen, also can Paracetamol be applied.
