Headache with
other symptoms like nausea, vomiting, vision disturbance
Symptoms of Headache with other
symptoms like nausea, vomiting, vision disturbance
could be due to:
BRAIN TUMOUR
Symptoms
and indications: Symptoms
vary depending on the location of the tumour and
may be slow in onset. Symptoms include headache,
vomiting, nausea, dizziness, poor coordination,
disturbance of vision, weakness affecting
one side of the body, mental changes and fits. A
person with any symptoms of brain disorder should
seek medical advice
Treatment:
This
depends very much on the type and location of the
tumour. Treatment can include surgery, radiotherapy
and the use of radioisotopes and chemotherapy.
Persons most
commonly affected: All
ages and both sexes, but more common in adults.
GLAUCOMA
Symptoms
and indications: For
open-angle glaucoma or chronic glaucoma there are
no or few symptoms until the condition is well advanced
and then a person normally experiences some form
of disturbance in vision. This may be a partial
loss, particularly of peripheral vision or blurring
of vision, which usually gets worse. A person
may see halos around lights and have poor night
vision.
Narrow-angle
glaucoma or acute glaucoma symptoms include seeing
a halo of coloured light around lamps, blurring
of vision, severe pain around the eye and a throbbing
headache. Vision is increasingly affected and the
eyeball is hard and tender. The eye may be red and
swollen. This condition requires emergency medical
treatment.
Treatment:
Open
angle or chronic glaucoma treatment consists of
the application of eye drops several times a day
and taking tablets. Some patients may require a
surgical operation called trabulectomy which helps
to drain fluid from the eye more easily.
Narrow-angle
or acute glaucoma requires admittance to hospital
and intensive use of drops and tablets. Surgery
is then required to prevent the condition from returning.
Persons most
commonly affected: Adults
of both sexes aged over 40 years, but those aged
over 60 being at particular risk.
HEATSTROKE
Symptoms
and indications: Failure
of sweating and all temperature regulation, headache,
muscular cramps, hot, dry skin and high body temperature.
The heartbeat rate is rapid, and there is a loss
of consciousness, followed by coma and death, which
can occur quite quickly. The person requires immediate
emergency attention to save his or her life and
admittance to hospital.
Treatment:
The
body is overheated and must be cooled immediately
by sponging or immersion in cool water, and fanning.
The body may be wrapped in wet sheets. Once the
temperature has returned to just above normal (38.9°C),
the person should be dried and wrapped in a dry
blanket. When consciousness returns, drinks and
salt solutions are needed or may have to be given
intravenously. Convalescence may take some time
and it may not be possible for the person to continue
former activities in the prevailing climate.
Persons most
commonly affected: All
age groups and both sexes with elderly most at risk.
MENINGITIS
Symptoms
and indications: The symptoms include
a severe headache, sensitivity to light and sound,
muscle rigidity, especially affecting the neck,
Kernig's sign (an inability to straighten the legs
at the knees when the thighs are at right angles
to the body), vomiting, confusion and coma, leading
to death. These are caused by inflammation of the
meninges and by a rise in intracranial pressure.
One of the features of meningitis is that there
is a change in the constituents and appearance of
the cerebrospinal fluid and the infective organism
can usually be isolated from it and identified.
One of the most feared aspects of (bacterial) meningitis
is that the onset of symptoms can be very rapid
and death can follow swiftly. A person with symptoms
of meningitis requires admittance to hospital for
urgent medical treatment.
Treatment:
Depends upon the cause of the meningitis, which
is established by analysis of the cerebrospinal
fluid. If the cause is a virus, the disease is usually
less severe but may still prove fatal in some cases.
Mild cases may recover spontaneously with bed rest
in a darkened room. Some cases require treatment
by means of antiviral drugs, such as acylovir, given
intravenously. If the cause is fungal or yeast infection,
the drug amphotericin B is normally given intravenously.
Various bacteria may cause meningitis, especially
those responsible for Tuberculosis, Pneumonia and
Syphilis. Treatment is by means of intensive doses
of appropriate antibiotics and sulphonamide drugs
given intravenously. The person requires additional
treatment to correct dehydration and electrolyte
disturbances and to lower fever.
Persons most
commonly affected: All age groups and
both sexes.
MIGRAINE
Symptoms
and indications: Early
symptoms of a migraine attack may be nausea and
disturbance of vision in the form of seeing flickering
bright lights (the aura of migraine). A severe,
throbbing pain develops, often sited over one eye,
nausea continues and there may be vomiting. The
person is sensitive to light and sound, which make
the condition worse.
Treatment:
Consists of rest in bed in a darkened, quiet room
until the symptoms suside (up to 24 hours), and
taking pain-relieving drugs. Other drugs that may
be prescribed are ergotamine tartrate and metoclopramide.
An affected person may have to experiment to find
which pain-relieving drugs are the most helpful.
Usually, they are most effective if taken during
the period whan an attack is felt to be coming on.
Persons most
commonly affected: Adolescents
and adults of both sexes but especially premenopausal
women.
SINUSITIS
Symptoms
and indications: There
is usually a preceding upper respiratory tract infection.
Symptoms include headache, blocked nose with a greenish
infected discharge, a feeling of heaviness and pain
inside the head and face, and possibly, disturbance
of sleep. Depending upon the location of the affected
sinus, there may be eye pain and inflammation. A
person with symptoms of sinusitis should seek medical
advice.
Treatment:
Is by means of antibiotics and also decongestants,
usually in the form of nasal drops. Painkillers
may be taken to relieve headache and pain. Rarely,
if the problem is persistent and severe, admittance
to hospital for surgery to drain the affected sinus
may be necessary. The condition usually improves
but may recur.
Persons most
commonly affected: All
age groups and both sexes.
PROFIND
DOCTOR