Headache on coughing

Types of cough headaches andthe main symptoms

Headache on coughing is acharacteristic kind of headaches caused by coughing or because of some kind ofstraining. Therefore, this kind of headache may be the result of laughing,crying, sneezing, and singing as well as bending and having a bowel movement. Coughheadaches can be classified into two groups: primary cough headaches, which arenot very serious, and secondary cough headaches, which are grave and which mustbe treated, sometimes even with the surgery. Primary cough headachesusually occur in men after their forty years, while secondary cough headachesappear frequently before a person turns forty years.

Coughheadaches have their characteristic symptoms. They usually occur sudden afteror with coughing, or with some other kind of straining, and they usually lastvery short, up to a few minutes. Those lasting about 30 minutes are rare. Thepain that they cause is sharp, stabbing or splitting, and occurs in the bothsides of head and in the back of head. Sometimes, a long-lasting dull pain canfollow primary cough headaches. Secondary cough headaches have the samesymptoms as primary cough headaches, but they are more severe and they lastsmore, sometimes they last for several days. When a personexperiences some of the symptoms that are mentioned above, it is important tovisit a doctor, especially if these symptoms are accompanied with blurred ordouble vision and imbalance.

Causes of cough headaches

Although the chief cause forprimary cough headaches is not established yet, intracranial pressure, which isthe increased pressure in the head that occurs as the consequence of coughingor other kind of straining, may be the cause for the appearing of primary coughheadaches. Secondary cough headaches are caused either by a defect in theskull shape, or by a defect in the cerebellum configuration. Brain tumor canalso be responsible for the occurrence of this type of cough headaches.

Treatment of cough headaches

In the treatment of primary coughheadaches, the physician usually prescribes certain medications to relieve thepain, such as Indomethacin, an anti-inflammatory drug, or Acetazolamide, adiuretic that is effective in the decreasing of the production of spinal fluid. Lumbar puncture or spinal tap isa procedure in which the fluid that surrounds your brain and spinal cord isremoved in order to decrease the pressure in the skull. This kind of treatmentis rarely performed, but is also recommended. For the curing of secondarycough headache, a surgery is usually necessary.