Headache Nausea Dizziness: 10+ causes, 8 Treatments and 7 Prevention ways

Headache Nausea Dizziness is a very troublesome symptom, and when they occur together, they make life miserable. So, let’s try to know about them.

Headache Nausea Dizziness often occurs side by side. Nausea is a feeling of sickness occurs many times along with a headache. However, there are a few headaches that are associated with Nausea. A doctor finds out about symptoms before identifying the cause of a headache.

Headache nausea dizziness Causes:

There are some headaches which are directly linked with nausea like a migraine. However, there are few other conditions which also cause a headache and nausea as a symptom. Find the disease or the causes that are associated with headache nausea dizziness:

Cold, Flu or a stomach infection:

Viruses that lead to cold, flu or any stomach infection are also associated with the symptoms of headache nausea dizziness. However, the intensity varies from person to person and type of infection.

It is important to note that in cold, flu or a stomach infection, there are certain other symptoms as well which include a running nose or nasal discharge, loose motions or diarrhea, rigors or chills, muscle aches and body pains and fever.

Whenever a person is suffering from cold, cytokines are released into the body; they tend to help the body fight infections, but cytokines cause headache dizziness nausea fatigue as a side effect.

Meningitis:

Meningitis is the inflammation of the outer lining of the brain and can be caused by bacteria, virus or fungi. Meningitis causes a headache and is accompanied by nausea; a headache is also accompanied by body’s responsiveness to light.

However, during meningitis, there are many associated side effects which include a stiffness of neck, vomiting and could also be accompanied by fever.  At a later stage, meningitis can also lead to pain in limbs, cold hands and feet; the skin might also become yellow. In case of these symptoms, one should quickly consult a doctor.

This is caused due to the weakening of the walls of the brain, the condition is linked to the age of the person and may time worsen with age.

Post-concussion symptom:

Head injury leading to brain tissue injury often leads to a concussion in the brain. Some of the immediate symptoms of this include amnesia, nausea, dizziness, vomiting, headache etc. The symptoms last for a short interval in a majority of cases.

However, in certain cases, the symptoms of concussion stay for a longer period which could be weeks, months and years.

A cluster Headache:

A cluster headache is a severe headache pain that usually occurs on one side of the head. The pain associated with a headache is usually sharp and lasts for half an hour, or it might also occur for several hours.

This type of a headache is also accompanied by headache nausea dizziness. People suffering from a cluster headache also have swollen eyes, eye tearing or a runny nose as some of the other symptoms associated with it.

A person suffering from cluster headaches usually suffer from them every day. This type of a headache usually occurs on one side of the head.

A migraine:

Migraine is characterized by pains on one side of the head. Migraine is one of the major causes of headache nausea dizziness and is the most common reason for a headache associated with nausea. The proper cause of migraine pain is not yet known. However, there are few theories about the migraine pain which include:

• Neurons from the brain send signals to the brain vessels present on the surface of the brain to dilate.
• Fluctuations in the estrogen hormone level are also associated with the migraine pain, that is the reason why women tend to suffer more from migraine problem
• Drop in serotonin level is also characterized by brain surface getting swelled. Meagre serotonin level in people is found to be associated with migraine. Diminished level of serotonin is also associated with symptoms of nausea, fatigue and motion sickness.
• People who have a higher susceptibility to feeling sick during travel or motion sickness also have a greater chance of developing a migraine.

Some forms of a migraine which have the symptom of headache nausea dizziness include:

Migraine with aura or Migraine without aura:

There are migraines which are accompanied by an aura or are without aura. Migraine without aura is, however, more prominent. The symptoms of migraine without aura is more frequently seen and has following symptoms:

• Headache
• Visual disturbances
• Dizzness or Vertigo
• Light intolerance
• Nausea etc.

People suffering from migraine with aura tend to have the symptoms around half an hour to 1 hour prior to the actual attack. The symptoms include:

• Vision changes
• Vertigo or Lightheadedness or Dizziness etc.

An abdominal Migraine:

Majority of migraines are accompanied by a headache; however, a rare case of a migraine in children is associated with abdominal pain. This is also accompanied by other symptoms like:

• Feeling of sickness, vomiting, nausea, and fatigue etc.
• Children also experience anorexia during this type of a headache.

Benign Paroxysmal vertigo of children:

This is another form of migraine and usually occurs in toddlers. In this type of a headache, children suffer from vertigo problem, and they also tend to lose their balance and fall. This is also associated with vomiting. Vertigo associated with this usually gets resolved in some minutes or hours.

Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome:

This type of migraine also occurs more in children than adults. This type of condition is characterized by the long duration of vomiting which may last for hours or days in some conditions. This condition might repeat after some days. The condition is accompanied by headache nausea dizziness.

Other causes of headache nausea dizziness:

Apart from these major causes, numerous other reasons are associated with headache nausea dizziness. These include:

• Stress or anxiety
• Food poisoning/allergies
• High blood pressure
• Scarlet fever
• Early pregnancy
• Skull fracture
• Tick fever
• Severe acute respiratory syndrome
• Polio
• Yellow fever
• Polio
• Tumour
• Brain abscess
• Dengue fever
• Glaucoma etc.

Even certain lifestyle and food-related issues also lead to headache nausea dizziness. Some of the food items that lead to these symptoms include caffeine, alcohol or nicotine also leads to headache nausea dizziness.

When to visit a doctor for headache nausea dizziness?

One does not need to go for to the doctor for the symptoms of headache nausea dizziness. As most of the times, these side effects subside by themselves and don’t require medical attention.

However, in certain conditions are a serious sign of serious health condition. E.g. in cases a headache stays for a longer duration or becomes worse with time are there are certain accompanying symptoms along with these include:

• Slurred speech
• Confusion
• Neck stiffness
• Vomiting for more than 24 hours
• No urination for a long time
• Loss of consciousness

In any of these cases or any doubt, a person should not be reluctant to visit a doctor, as a doctor can help diagnose the underlying cause of these symptoms.

Treatment of Headache Nausea Dizziness:

The treatment of these is linked to the type of accompanying symptoms along with these. Diagnosis of the symptoms would result in the proper treatment of the person.

If there is some medical condition resulting from these symptoms, the doctor will try to manage these conditions using appropriate medicines. The doctor may give advice certain changes to the food habits or associated with one’s lifestyle.

In most of the cases changes to lifestyle or home remedies can help to treat the medical condition:

• If the person expects a headache and nausea associated with a migraine, the person should stay in a dark room and apply an ice pack over the back. This would help in reducing the symptoms
• If the person believes that he is having frequent headaches because of stress, then the person should participate in certain stress-relieving activities such as yoga or practice some hobby which could be listening to music, talking to people etc.
• If the person thinks that he is dehydrated or has low blood pressure, then the person should immediately take a break and try eating or drinking something.

Apart from the home remedies, there are various OTC and prescription medicines that one can take to treat headache nausea dizziness:

• Over the counter pain medications can help to lessen a headache
• If the person is sure, that a headache is because of a migraine, he can talk to the medical practitioner and take appropriate antimigraine medicines.
• Anti-depressants
• Relaxation techniques to release stress or divert the attention
• Maintaining a healthy diet and doing regular exercises

Dizziness is however regarded as a more serious symptom and should be consulted with a medical practitioner

Prevention of Headache Nausea Dizziness:

If you can identify the lifestyle issue that is triggering these, you can change certain lifestyles to prevent them. These include:

• Getting enough sleep, incomplete sleep also results in a headache and other related symptoms
• Stay well hydrated: drink a lot of water and remain hydrated
• Eat a well-balanced diet: This would help avoid symptoms related to lack of certain nutrients or minerals
• Avoid consuming caffeine and alcohol: Some people suffer from a headache due to the excess consumption of these
• Take precautions to prevent flu or cold like symptoms
• Avoid migraine triggers
• Take all the precautions to avoid an accident and a head injury because of that.

References:

1. https://www.buoyhealth.com/current/28-types-of-headaches-and-causes/
2. https://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/headaches-migraines-and-nausea#1
3. https://www.everydayhealth.com/pain-management/headache/headache-nausea.aspx
4. https://www.livestrong.com/article/462088-soda-migraines/
5. https://www.healthline.com/health/headache-and-nausea#prevention