Talk:Headache/Archive 2

How common are headaches?
The article currently claims that toothache is more common than headache. This seems like an odd thing to say. Could someone cite a respectable source for it? --LostLeviathan 03:54, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

I agree as well. Toothaches are much less frequent for the general population than headaches. There are many more factors that can cause headaches than toothaches, such as the amount of nerves for instance. Grandeandy 22:56, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

i third this. ive only had a couple of toothaches in my lifetime, but headaches happen all the time. we need a cite for that, or it gets removed. -- jeffth  e  jiff  17:57, 30 April 2006 (UT

headaches are more common headaches happen more than toothaches toothaches are nothing compared to headaches i have more headaches than toothaches and headaches dont just happen because your stressed or got alot on anyways i think headaches are more common

I agree--72.74.119.137 (talk) 00:23, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

Picture of a person having a headache
Is this really necessary? The reactions that people have to headaches are very diverse, and we do not know if this person is having a headache or replicating it. I think a picture of a scan of the brain or something would be better, or even no picture at all. 71.169.185.194 (talk) 16:19, 21 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Agreed. This picture is of no benefit, no offense. What about a picture with pain centers or sinus cavities instead? Careiter 09:32, 23 October 2012 (UTC)
 * I think the picture from the historical section belongs in the lead. But than that is just me...-- Doc James  (talk · contribs · email) 22:07, 21 April 2010 (UTC)

So, what's it called when there's no actual pain?
I'm sure that the terminology used is medically correct, that it must involve pain. However, what about when the amount of stress tires one to the point where they are holding there head, as if to say "This is too much right now" but yet there is no actualy, physical pain sensation? Just pressure? I've always heard that called a headache, though I can see that being just a layman's usage.209.244.187.155 (talk) 18:02, 16 March 2010 (UTC)

Applying Pressure?
This article states: "A common response to a headache is to apply pressure to the forehead with one's hand" The accompanying picture shows someone with his hand outstretched over his face, fingers on his forehead and base of palm against his chin. One would think if the goal was to "apply pressure to the forehead" then the base of the palm should be on the forehead as that will allow much more pressure to be applied, and applied more uniformly, than with one's finger tips. Of course, it's dubious that applying pressure is going to do much good (relieving pressure might) and even then the pain is coming from the inside of the skull and external pressure isn't going to make much of a dent. Basically this picture is silly with an even sillier caption - although it violates copyright, a better picture might be that of Uncle Fester (Jackie Coogan) with his head in a vice...makes about as much sense. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.158.61.140 (talk) 18:32, 28 June 2010 (UTC)

Regardless to whether or not applying pressure (with one's fingertips or otherwise)is an effective treatment for a headache, it can still be a common reaction. Many people apply pressure (yes, even with their fingertips) to their temples in the case of a headache, some press at the bridge of their nose as well. Effective or not, it's still a common reaction to apply pressure. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 168.212.157.102 (talk) 18:19, 10 April 2012 (UTC)

Resources
I suppose that there is an informative blog about headache here: http://bert-firebert.blogspot.com/2010/07/treat-migraineheadache-with-massage-and.html -- Andrew Krizhanovsky (talk) 13:37, 13 March 2011 (UTC)


 * I suppose it is not a WP:MEDRS, and without even reading the post I can see from the URL that this is not a validated treatment. JFW &#124; T@lk  14:01, 13 March 2011 (UTC)

Image in the lead
The historical image of a headache is a little to small to see in the box. Migraines are headaches and one of the most common types.-- Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 07:03, 26 March 2011 (UTC)

Another cause
Another cause of headache is oxygen deprivation, kidney, liver 129.180.172.246 (talk) 00:10, 31 August 2012 (UTC)


 * Are you certain? I would love to hear a source. Carbon monoxide poisoning and high CO2 are more likely gas-associated causes of headaches. Kidney disease can cause headaches through severe hypertension, and liver disease through hepatic encephalopathy or haemorrhage, but I wouldn't say that these conditions invariably cause headaches. JFW &#124; T@lk  13:20, 31 August 2012 (UTC)

I think the oxygen deprivation cause is a commonly held notion, and likely has basis on reality. There is even a term, turtle headache. It supposedly can be brought on by sleeping completely under bed covers. It isn't surprising given that oxygen deprivation is a stressor on the body.

It may be that headache evolved as a warning, telling the animal, "You are living unhealthily: stop it."Joseph Meisenhelder (talk) 15:27, 6 November 2013 (UTC)

NICE guideline
JFW &#124; T@lk  17:55, 24 October 2012 (UTC)

Natural Cures
Can someone add natural cures? I heard a hot shower to relieve stress, then a heater will work like air conditioners work against poison ivy, this works against headaches, dry air helps create oxygen. 30 or so quick breaths in dry air will alleviate headaches because oxygen creates blood which flows through the cerebellum. However, sugar tends to process headaches over time via the build up of low sucrose levels will slow down the blood stream. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.255.25.193 (talk) 08:17, 21 April 2014 (UTC)

Ice-pick headache
It would be helpful to mention that primary stabbing headaches are commonly known as "ice-pick headaches." I get them, and -- concerned that they might be symptoms of a serious underlying condition -- tried some online research. I had no idea what such headaches were called, but I figured that anyone writing about them would say that it feels like your head is being stabbed with an ice pick. Indeed there were many search results about "ice-pick headaches," and one of those finally told me that the correct medical term was "primary stabbing headache." Ideally such searches would more directly lead to this Wikipedia article and some appropriate mention of the term. AmigoNico (talk) 08:38, 7 April 2013 (UTC)
 * If you have a reliable medical source, I imagine you'd be welcome to be bold and add this yourself. Happy editing! Doniago (talk) 13:34, 8 April 2013 (UTC)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headach
The e in headache is missing from the article URL. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.94.206.90 (talk) 21:46, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Epidemiology
I need to access 10.1016/S1474-4422(08)70062-0 before being able to use it as a source for headache epidemiology; currently the sources are weak. JFW &#124; T@lk  11:23, 26 January 2014 (UTC)

UCSF peer feedback
Overall, I think the article is very informational and well-organized. The intro is straightforward, simple, and a good introduction to the topic. I also like the way the classification is written out. I just have a few suggestions that I hope will be helpful. As I mentioned earlier, I really like the article and I think just a few tweaks would make it that much better. Good work! — Preceding unsigned comment added by CmcUCSF2014 (talk • contribs) 15:51, 21 April 2014 (UTC)
 * Under the "primary headaches", it might be nice to define what makes a headache a primary headache (I think a good definition was provided under the "Classification-NIH" subsection and read: "...primary headaches are those that do not show organic or structural etiology").
 * Overall, the causes section is well laid out and easy to read.
 * In the "pathophysiology" section, might be nice to provide a link to or define "nociceptors" in the first paragraph. Also, I'm not sure that the last paragraph in this section is so helpful, as it seems lacking in details the way it is. However, I do not have any specific suggestions as to how to change it.
 * In the "imaging" subsection under "diagnosis", I am wondering if MRI should be discussed at all. My headache knowledge isn't what it should be, but it seems like MRI might be another type of imaging that warrants discussion in its relation to diagnosing severe or new-onset headaches.
 * The treatment section looks like it could use some reorganization (maybe start with the most common therapies) as well as some discussion on common abortive treatments.
 * The epidemiology section is great.

Children
As written the epidemiology in adults directly contradicts the epidemiology in children. "Approximately 64–77% of people have a headache at some point in their lives." Whereas the children section report that 90% of children have had a headache by age 18. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 6.17.134.209‎ (talk • contribs)


 * The statistics were based on a single country's experience. I have removed this as it cannot necessarily be generalised to other populations.
 * In general, the section needs integrating with the remainder of the article and updating with modern sources. Recent reviews include 10.1542/pir.33-12-562 (cannot access fulltext) and 10.1055/s-0032-1332743. JFW &#124; T@lk  21:16, 20 October 2014 (UTC)

Why does "encephalalgia" redirect here?
The article only mentions "cephalalgia". What is the diff? 109.157.79.50 (talk) 22:36, 19 January 2015 (UTC)

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New classification of headaches
According to The International Classification of Headache Disorders 3rd edition 2018, trigeminal neuralgias or occipital neuralgias are classified as a "Part three: painful cranial neuropathies, other facial pains and other headaches" but not Primary headaches! We need to reveiw the classification in the wiki page.

https://www.ichd-3.org/

--Yeggarik (talk) 13:25, 23 February 2018 (UTC)

Epidemiology
The article states that "Approximately 64–77% of people have a headache at some point in their lives." However, this is clearly not true, and studies support that it's not even close to being true: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1941010 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.93.234.11 (talk) 15:43, 11 November 2019 (UTC)

Yep, agreed. The numbers as described by the article are (were) super confusing and (I think) misleading. It seems like the low number comes from the fact that the literature reviews include studies that ask approximately "have you ever had a headache?" along with studies that ask "have you ever had a disability from headaches?" I added a sentence pointing out (as is emphasized in the cited literature reviews) that the prevalence numbers in population studies vary immensely. Hopefully that fixes the problem. Of the universe (talk) 20:55, 9 March 2021 (UTC)

Sinusitis link
Sinusitis link was missing from the article. So I linked to it. From the sinusitis article: "Sinusitis is a common condition. It affects between about 10 and 30 percent of people each year in the United States and Europe."

As someone who used to have the sinus pressure, pain, and headaches for many years I was surprised such a common cause of headaches was not linked from the article. By the way, I got rid of my sinus problems, and so I was able to stop taking ibuprofen up to 5 times a day. By installing HEPA filters on each floor, and in my bedroom. I live in a river valley with a high mold level in the air. There is probably some WP:MEDRS sources for all this. -- Timeshifter (talk) 17:59, 23 December 2019 (UTC)