Headaches

Headaches
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Headache is regarded as the pain that is experienced in the neck region as well as the head. A headache may itself be a disorder or come as a result of an underlying medical condition. A nursing practitioner has to understand that headache is one of the most common ailment in the human history. The major categories of headaches that are known are termed as the primary and the secondary. The category of the primary is the headache that is not caused by any other underlying medical condition. A primary headache is said to include a migraine, cluster, and the tension headache. On the other hand, the secondary headache includes a headache that comes as a result of another underlying medical condition. For instance, individuals suffering from meningitis, brain tumor, and head trauma among other may experience a series of a secondary headache.
Establishing the types of a headache a patient is suffering from is an important role that a nurse practitioner must establish before establishing the course of action. Studies have revealed that 90% of all the headaches faced are primary while the secondary headaches account for only 10% of the headaches faced (Jackson et al., 2015). The commonly experienced forms of headaches that the nurses may encounter are the migraines, cluster headaches, and the tension related headaches. All these types of headaches are primary headaches that occur without any form of the underlying condition.

They all have different symptoms and may have different effects on the people who are experiencing these forms of headaches. In fact, it Nurse Practitioner has to identify each and come up with a clear intervention on how to address these issues. The move assists in planning the medication to use to assist that particular patient (Colman et al., 2016).
A migraine is a primary headache that is usually characterized by pain of moderate or severe intensity and may last for four hours to three days. They usually affect one half of the head, and in most cases, they become worse with physical activities and may bring about nausea or even vomiting. Migraine patients are also known to have hypersensitivity to sounds, odor, and light. Migraine headaches are treated with prescribed medications, mainly the anti-Convulsants and Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
Cluster headaches are brief and sudden attacks of severe pain which occurs on one side of the head. These cluster headaches are most intense when they occur in areas around the eye. These headaches last between five minutes to about three hours. These headaches can be classified as episodic or chronic and may occur one to eight times a day. The pain is excruciating and may make most patients think of committing suicide since on average the cluster headache do last for two weeks to three months. Symptoms may include drooping eyelids, congested nose, and restlessness among others. The intervention for the cluster headaches include verapamil, topiramate, and sumatriptan do suppress the attacks (Jackson et al., 2015).
Tension headaches are the most common among the population and are at times referred to as a stress headache or an ordinary headache. These headaches in rare cases last more than just a few hours. The pain that is associated with a tension headache is said to be mild. The trigger points of the tension headaches are usually in the upper shoulder areas, neck muscles, and forehead. The conventional treatments for a tension headache are OTC analgesics such as the aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and tricyclic antidepressants among others (Larry & Heisler, 2016).
Understanding all these types of headaches will prove to be helpful to the Nurse practitioners. The knowledge will aid in proper diagnosis and proper intervention. Further, it will ensure that the patient has been given the right assistance as required.
References
Colman, I., Kingsbury, M., Sareen, J., Bolton, J., & van Walraven, C. (2016). Migraine headache and risk of self‐harm and suicide: A population‐based study in Ontario, Canada. Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain, 56(1), 132-140.
Jackson, J. L., Cogbill, E., Santana-Davila, R., Eldredge, C., Collier, W., Gradall, A., & Kuester, J. (2015). A comparative effectiveness meta-analysis of drugs for the prophylaxis of migraine headache. PLoS One, 10(7), e0130733.
Larry Charleston, I. V., & Heisler, M. (2016). Headache Literacy-A definition and theory to help improve patient outcomes of diverse populations and ameliorate headache and headache care disparities. Headache, 56(9), 1522.