4 Form for hormonal headache

Hormonal headache is very common phenomenon in adult females; it’s usually related to hormonal body changes. Most cases of hormonal headache are usually diagnosed as fatigue-related headache, so we will highlight the forms of hormonal headache and how to manage it.

1. Menstrual headache: it develops during menstruation due to change in the levels of estrogen and progesterone hormones. Management of menstrual headache includes non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) as well as salt restriction to avoid water retention and hypertension.
2. Contraceptive headache: this type of headache is usually related to oral contraceptive pills due to increased level of estrogen. If you have contraceptive headache, it's preferred to use contraceptive pills with a relatively low estrogen content, also you can use another contraceptive method contains progesterone only (pills or injections). Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are helpful in elimination of headache.
3. Post-menopausal headache: menopause is permanent cessation of menstruation without any pathological cause. It usually develops in the 5^th decade of life due to reduction of estrogen level. This drop of estrogen level leads to many symptoms such as; headache, dry skin, insomnia, recurrent UTI and vaginal infections. Management of these post-menopausal symptoms (including headache) consists mainly of hormonal replacement therapy (HRT).
4. Pregnancy headache: it occurs due to increased levels of estrogen and progesterone hormones during pregnancy; it's a physiological phenomenon just related to pregnancy, so management is restricted to analgesics (Paracetamol). Also anemia and malnutrition could precipitate pregnancy headache, so healthy diet and iron supplementation is very important during pregnancy.