I feel a sense of pressure on my forehead

If you feel any discomfort in your body, you should pay more attention to it. Even if you feel pressure on your forehead, you cannot ignore it. After all, this is just a symptom, not a separate disease. Moreover, this situation is quite serious. If it is accompanied by other symptoms, you should be extra careful. The best way at this time is to go to the hospital as soon as possible for relevant examinations and treatments.

1. Disease situation

Acute onset with fever is often caused by infectious diseases. Acute headache that persists without abating and is accompanied by varying degrees of impaired consciousness without fever suggests intracranial vascular disease (such as subarachnoid hemorrhage). Long-term recurrent or throbbing headaches are mostly vascular headaches (such as migraine) or neurosis. Chronic progressive headaches accompanied by symptoms of increased intracranial pressure (such as vomiting, bradycardia, and papilledema) should be noted as indicating intracranial space-occupying lesions. Chronic headaches in young and middle-aged people, but without increased intracranial pressure, often occur due to anxiety and emotional tension, and are mostly muscle contraction headaches (or tension headaches).

2. Headache location

Knowing whether the headache is unilateral, bilateral, frontal or occipital, localized or diffuse, intracranial or extracranial is of great value in diagnosing the cause. For example, migraine and cluster headaches often occur on one side. The headache caused by intracranial lesions is often deep and diffuse. The location of the headache caused by deep intracranial lesions is not necessarily consistent with the location of the lesion, but the pain often radiates to the same side as the lesion. Headaches caused by high blood pressure often occur in the forehead or the entire head. Headache caused by systemic or intracranial infectious diseases is mostly pain in the whole head. Subarachnoid hemorrhage or cerebrospinal meningitis may cause neck pain in addition to headache. Ocular headaches are superficial and localized to the orbit, forehead, or temporal areas. Rhinogenic or odontogenic pain is also mostly superficial.

3. The degree and nature of headache

The degree of headache is generally divided into three types: mild, moderate and severe, but there is no parallel relationship between the severity of the disease. The pain of trigeminal neuralgia, migraine and meningeal irritation is the most severe. The pain from a brain tumor is usually moderate or mild. Sometimes neurological headaches are also quite severe. Headaches caused by hypertensive, vascular and febrile diseases are often pulsating. Neuralgia is often electric shock-like or tingling, while muscle contraction headaches are often heavy pressure, tightness, or clamp-like pain.

4. The time and duration of headache

Some headaches may occur at specific times. For example, intracranial space-occupying lesions often worsen in the early morning. Sinusitis headaches also often occur in the early morning or morning. Cluster headaches often occur at night. Migraines in women are often related to the menstrual period. Headaches caused by brain tumors are usually persistent and may have remission periods of varying lengths.

5. Factors that aggravate or relieve headaches

Coughing, sneezing, shaking head, and bending over can aggravate intracranial hypertension headaches, vascular headaches, intracranial infection headaches, and brain tumor headaches. Cluster headaches are relieved by standing upright. Headaches caused by acute inflammation of the cervical muscles may be aggravated by neck movements; headaches caused by chronic or occupational cervical muscle spasms may be gradually relieved by moving and massaging the cervical muscles. Migraine headaches can be relieved by taking ergotamine.

1. Keep your mind and body calm

1. People with more severe headaches should rest in bed and reduce activity during headaches to avoid aggravating the condition.

2. For headaches caused by muscle tension, avoid long periods of reading, writing, knitting, etc.

3. Pay attention to the adjustment of the ward environment, reduce the stimulation of sound and light, and limit visits.

4. Provide good psychological care to relieve anxiety and tension.

2. Closely monitor changes in the condition

Observe changes in the location, nature, and severity of the headache, and whether it is accompanied by other symptoms or signs. If you experience vomiting, decreased vision, changes in consciousness, limb convulsions or paralysis, these are mostly organic headaches. You should contact your doctor in time and treat the cause.

3. Application of cold, hot compress and massage

1. Headaches caused by cerebral hemorrhage and cerebral vasodilation can be treated by applying cold compresses to the head to reduce the brain's oxygen consumption, alleviate cerebral edema, and protect brain tissue.

2. Patients with cerebral infarction are prohibited from using ice packs or cold compresses on their heads to avoid affecting blood supply to the brain.

3. For headaches caused by muscle tension, hot compresses and massage can be used to relieve muscle spasms.

4. Keep bowel movements open: People with headaches accompanied by meningeal irritation signs or increased intracranial pressure should keep their bowel movements open to avoid straining during bowel movements which may increase intracranial pressure. Those who have difficulty defecating can use laxatives as prescribed by their doctor.

5. Medication care: People with mild headaches should not use addictive analgesics such as codeine and pethidine. People with chronic headaches should avoid long-term use of painkillers. For patients with increased intracranial pressure, dehydrating agents such as mannitol should be rapidly dripped intravenously.