Headaches & Migraines
By: Gretchen Bolander
Updated: August 4, 2011
Joplin, MO- Diagnosing a headache may sound simple - but that one phrase can cover many different issues. First there are primary headaches... anything from a one time dull ache to a migraine. Freeman Neurologist Dr. Ahmed Robbie said, "We get them on a daily basis or a weekly basis, sometimes a monthly basis. They are the tension headaches, they are the migraines, they are the medication induced headaches."
Those are treated with pain medication. Other prescriptions can serve as prevention. And there are the more serious secondary headaches. "Usually caused by an underlying process going on like a stroke, tumor, meningitis, sometimes like inflammation of the blood vessels like vascolitis, hemorrhage."
They can indicate a potentially life threatening condition and should be treated immediately. Signs you should seek help include a sudden, severe headache along with dizziness or slurred speech. Added Robbie, "Headaches with a fever, headaches with seizures, headaches with confusion."
