The difference between ordinary headache and tumor headache

Headache is a common symptom in life. It is not an independent disease. There are many reasons for headaches. Headaches may be caused by some mild diseases or some serious diseases. For example, headache caused by cold is an ordinary headache. If the headache is caused by a tumor, it means that this headache is more serious. There are obvious differences between them.

The difference between ordinary headache and tumor headache

1. Progressive aggravation is a characteristic of brain tumors

Headaches related to brain tumors are mainly caused by increased intracranial pressure. As the tumor grows, the headache will become progressively worse. However, headaches caused by other reasons will disappear on their own after the primary cause improves. If the headache is accompanied by other symptoms, such as vomiting, decreased vision, poor memory, slow reaction, etc., it is highly suspected that there is a tumor or other space-occupying lesion in the brain.

2. Ordinary headaches will go away on their own

Don’t be afraid when you see this, and don’t think that a headache means a brain tumor has occurred. In fact, headaches are very common in a person’s life! You can also have headaches if you catch a cold, get a chill, have poor sleep, or are too stressed. You may also have headaches if you are in a bad mood. Many brain tumors do not necessarily cause headaches at the beginning.

The onset of brain tumors is a long evolutionary process. When the tumor first develops, the brain tissue is less compressed and the headache is intermittent, with longer or shorter remission periods. The pain is mild and mostly dull. As the tumor grows larger, it directly pulls, stretches, and squeezes cerebral blood vessels, compressing brain tissue and causing blood and cerebrospinal fluid circulation obstructions in the brain, increased intracranial pressure, and stimulation of pain-sensitive nerves and meninges. The headache also becomes increasingly severe and persistent.

3. Brain tumor headaches are most obvious in the early morning

The headache is often aggravated by coughing, sneezing, lowering the head, etc., and is relieved when sitting or standing. The headache is mostly diffuse throughout the head. Brain tumor patients of different ages experience headaches at different times and have different feelings about them. Headaches appear later in the elderly because they have varying degrees of brain atrophy, the capacity of the cranial cavity is relatively large, and they have a certain tolerance to enlarged tumors. This is not the case for young people, who experience headaches earlier and more severely. Because the sutures of the skull of children have not yet completely closed, they have a certain degree of compensatory ability for increased intracranial pressure, so headaches appear later and are milder.

In addition, patients with lung cancer, breast cancer, and nasopharyngeal cancer should be alert to the possibility of brain metastasis if they suddenly experience severe headaches. Because brain metastases grow rapidly, they are often accompanied by severe cerebral edema, which leads to a significant increase in intracranial pressure.

As the brain tumor grows, in addition to headache symptoms, patients may also experience vomiting and vision loss. These three symptoms are called the "three main signs" of brain tumors. Generally, vomiting is parallel to the severity of the headache. It often occurs suddenly when the headache is severe and has nothing to do with whether you have eaten or not. There is usually no nausea before vomiting, and the headache often eases or alleviates after vomiting.