Nearly everyone has had a headache eventually in life. A frontal lobe headache is when there is mild to severe pain in your forehead or temples. The majority of frontal lobe headaches arise from stress.
What are Frontal Lobe Headaches?
This type of headache typically happens from time to time and is called episodic. However in some cases, the headaches can end up being chronic.
The National Institute of Neurological and Disorders and Stroke defines a chronic headache as one that happens more than 14 times per month.
Headaches are the most common type of pain, but fairly little is learnt about what causes them. Headaches are likewise the most frequent cause for missing out on work or school. The National Institute of Neurological and Disorders and Stroke approximates that headaches straight cost the economy billions of dollars a year in wasted time and performance.
How Can You Tell if it’s a Frontal Lobe Headache?
A frontal lobe headache seems like something is pressing on both sides of your head, with mild to moderate pain.
Some individuals describe it like a vise or belt tightening up around your head. In some cases the pain can be more severe.
Some areas of your body might feel tender, such as your scalp, head, and shoulder muscles.
A frontal lobe headache does not cause queasiness and other symptoms of migraine headaches. It is likewise not affected by: physical activity, noise, light, smell.
What Causes a Frontal Lobe Headache?
Frontal lobe headaches have lots of possible triggers. The most frequent trigger is stress. Some headaches appear to run in households. So, genetics might be involved. Other triggers can include:
- sinus infection
- jaw or neck pain
- allergic reactions
- eye strain from computer use
- sleeping disorders or other sleep disorders
- specific foods, such as meats with nitrates
- dehydration
- depression and anxiety
- weather condition changes
- poor posture
- tension
When Should You Look for Help?
A lot of headaches are benign and do not need a visit to a doctor. These are called primary headaches, and they make up more than 90 percent of headache problems.
If your headaches are chronic and hinder your everyday activities, see a doctor. Chronic tension-type headaches impact just 2 percent of the population, however represent lots of doctor check outs and missed days of work.
Other headaches, called secondary headaches, have symptoms for which you ought to see a doctor or go to the emergency room. Sometimes you may experience pain in right side of head.
Secondary headaches might have serious hidden problems that are causing the headache. Look for help if your headache is:
- sudden and severe
- new but relentless, particularly if you’re older than 50-55
- the result of a head injury
You ought to likewise see a doctor if you have a headache and any of the following:
- a stiff neck
- fever
- vomiting
- confusion
- weakness
- double vision
- loss of consciousness
- shortness of breath
- convulsions
Monitoring symptoms
It may be useful to keep a headache log to note your headache dates and situations. If you speak to a doctor, they’ll need to know:
- when your frontal lobe headaches started
- for how long they last
- what type of pain you have
- where the pain lies
- how severe the pain is
- what you’ve been considering pain
- whether particular activities or environmental conditions impact the pain
- whether there are any triggers you can identify
How is Frontal Lobe Headache Treated?
Treatment will depend on the severity of your headache and the possible triggers. A lot of frontal lobe headaches can be treated with OTC pain medications such as aspirin, acetaminophen (Tylenol), ibuprofen (Advil), or naproxen (Aleve).
There are likewise OTC mix drugs. These include a pain killer and a sedative or caffeine. Understand, though, that overuse of some headache remedies can make your headaches worse.
Other headache remedies are tailored to assist you relax and reduce stress. Prevent any specific stress activates that you have identified. Establish a day-to-day regimen that consists of frequently scheduled meals and enough sleep. Other stress-busting remedies include:
- a hot shower or bath
- massage
- physical therapy
- routine workout
For chronic or severe headaches
If your headaches are chronic, the doctor might refer you to a psychotherapist or psychologist for therapy. You can collaborate to deal with stress problems and find out biofeedback and stress reduction methods.
For more severe chronic headaches, the doctor or therapist may prescribe other drugs, such as muscle relaxants. If depression is a factor in activating your headaches, the doctor might prescribe an antidepressant. Antidepressants and muscle relaxants do not have an immediate result. They may take some time to develop in your system, so be patient.
In some cases, you might have more than one type of headache and a number of different medications might be prescribed. If your headaches continue after preliminary treatment, the doctor may buy brain imaging tests to make sure there are no other possible causes of pain, such as a growth or aneurysm. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computerized tomography (CT) are commonly used for brain imaging.
Complications
Treatments for headaches can cause complications sometimes.
Overmedication, or using OTC drugs frequently for headache pain, is a frequent problem. Drug overuse can make your headaches even worse, as can quickly stopping the use of these drugs. This is something to talk about with your doctor.
If you are prescribed antidepressants, you may have side effects such as:
- sleepiness in the morning
- weight gain
- dry mouth
- constipation
What Can You do to Prevent Headaches?
Keep a log of your headaches to aim to determine what activates them, such as:
- irregular sleep
- particular foods and beverages
- specific activities
- social circumstances
Attempt to avoid these triggers as best you can.
Use relaxation methods. If you sit at a desk throughout the day or work at a computer system, take frequent breaks to stretch and rest your eyes. Correct your posture so that you are not straining your neck and shoulder muscles.
Other possible nondrug headache avoidance techniques include acupuncture and supplements such as butterbur and dietary supplements. The research for some of these is promising.
Frontal Headache Home Remedy
A frontal headache is pain in the forehead and, sometimes, the cheeks and bridge of the nose. Headaches in this area might be stress headaches, sinus-related headaches or migraines.
With any headache, if the pain is severe or repeating, you must see your physician to eliminate health problem. Depending on the type of headache that you have, frontal head pain can often be eliminated with a range of natural home remedy.
1. Take a hot shower. If this is difficult, try using a heating pad, hot water bottle or hot rice pack to your forehead and the back of your neck. If you are experiencing a tension headache, heat might alleviate the stress and your headache.
2. Massage your temples, neck, shoulders and forehead, or ask someone else to do it for you. Massage can separate stress headaches.
3. Use saline nasal spray if your frontal headache is accompanied by sinus congestion or a stuffy nose. This can help you to expel the excess mucus that might be triggering your headache. If you do not have nasal spray, breathe in the steam from a cup of warm water or tea to alleviate sinus blockage.
4. Eat something and drink water. Low blood sugar and dehydration can both cause frontal headaches.
5. Drink a cup of ginseng tea or coffee. Ginseng and caffeine are popular headache remedies.
6. Sleep. A dark space and a period of sleep can alleviate migraine headaches. If you can not snooze, simply removing yourself from intense lights and turmoil might help.
Health Tips
More research is needed to find other treatments for these headaches and to assess what works best. Inning accordance with the Cleveland Clinic, headache centers do not yet have conclusive data comparing treatment results.
The majority of frontal lobe headaches get better quickly with OTC drugs and relaxation. For more frequent and painful headaches, see a doctor. The doctor can prescribe a combination of other medications and therapy that is most likely to provide relief for you (don’t despair).