For some people, heaviness in the head is a frequent and even habitual phenomenon. However, it cannot be classified as a physiological norm. It’s good if the ailment is temporary (you can overcome it on your own, even at home), but there is always a possibility that it was caused by a disease that only a specialist can cure.
general characteristics
The following factors can lead to a feeling of heaviness, weakness and lethargy:
- staying in a constant position for a long time (during sleep or at the workplace);
- prolonged and strenuous activity (mental or physical);
- hypothermia;
- use of anesthesia (for example, during surgery);
- poisoning.
A person’s condition will quickly return to normal if the negative impact is eliminated.
It happens that the head becomes heavy for no reason. Fog appears in the eyes, confusion appears in consciousness, because of this it is impossible to do anything.
Such conditions are often accompanied by:
- feeling tired;
- loss of strength (noticeable drop in temperature);
- headaches;
- surges in blood pressure;
- attacks of dizziness;
- increased heart rate;
- lethargy and weakness.
The disappearance of all symptoms can occur either after a couple of minutes or after a few hours.
Pressing headache: main symptoms
With this disease, the patient feels as if something is pressing from the inside on the epicenter of the pain.
The pain can affect the back of the head, neck, eyes, and temples. It has a monotonous, aching character and does not change its intensity. An attack usually occurs in one part of the head, less often in both. Such pain can occur with severe pathologies, for example, encephalitis or meningitis. In this case, the symptoms are clearly expressed and persist for a long time.
They may be accompanied by nausea and vomiting. The location of the source of pain may vary. For example, with otitis media it is located in the temporal part of the head. When cranial pressure increases, pain compresses the eye area.
Causes
The pressing sensation in the head area does not always go away quickly. In such cases, one can judge whether a person has serious diseases or malfunctions in the body.
Circulatory disorders
In the vast majority of cases, discomfort is associated with a failure of cerebral circulation and is accompanied by:
- infectious pathology affecting brain tissue;
- increased temperature (during inflammatory processes);
- feeling of nausea and bouts of vomiting (in case of poisoning);
- severe allergies;
- chronic runny nose and bronchial asthma (it becomes difficult for a person to breathe, oxygen supply to the brain is disrupted);
- Meniere's disease, vestibular neuronitis and other ear lesions.
The variety of associated factors and symptoms makes it possible to determine the patient’s condition quite accurately. However, to do this, you should tell your doctor about them in as much detail as possible.
Osteochondrosis
Osteochondrosis is a pathology of the spine in which the structure of the intervertebral cartilaginous discs undergoes degenerative changes. For this reason, compression occurs on the roots of the spinal nerves and the vertebral artery. Due to the lack of necessary nutrition, a person begins to feel like he has a cotton head.
The circulatory disorder that occurs with osteochondrosis leads to hypoxia (oxygen starvation) of the brain, which causes a feeling of heaviness in the head. In addition, the patient has:
- ringing or noise in the ears;
- the appearance of auditory hallucinations;
- drowsiness;
- cloudy look;
- dizziness;
- severe muscle tension in the shoulder girdle;
- pain syndrome covering the temporal region and the back of the head;
- memory problems;
- fainting.
Due to the fact that damaged vertebrae compress the nerve endings, it is difficult for a person to tilt or turn his head (any movement is accompanied by pain).
Sinusitis, mastoiditis, frontal sinusitis
All of these diseases are associated with inflammation of the sinuses of various locations:
- sinusitis - nasal;
- mastoiditis - behind the ear;
- frontal sinusitis - frontal;
- sinusitis – maxillary adnexa (maxillary).
In each case, during the inflammatory process, the cavities of the sinuses are filled with pus (remnants of dead leukocytes), which presses on the walls of the cavities and creates an unpleasant feeling of fullness (with sinusitis or sinusitis, this occurs when a person bends down).
Symptoms
The sensation of squeezing the brain occurs in adults, although there are cases in children. At the same time, patients complain of pressure from the inside, which seems to surround the head, like a hat on the head. There are also accompanying symptoms that cannot be avoided without pain in the head:
- nausea and vomiting;
- dizziness;
- bursting feeling;
- sore eyes and darkening of the eyes;
- feeling of heaviness;
- the head is slow to think;
- loss of consciousness;
- drowsiness and headache after sleep;
- strong pressure;
- the attacks are monotonous.
The pain appears and goes off scale at the most inopportune moment, and then the question arises: to continue working, exercising, or is it better to lie down, is it squeezing the brain and the heaviness? It’s better to put things aside, take painkillers and try to sleep so as not to provoke complications and get rid of the cast-iron head.
Diagnostics
The only way to get rid of brain fog is to find out exactly what is causing it and begin treatment. Typically this requires:
- undergo a series of tests;
- undergo tomography and x-rays;
- consult with relevant specialists.
The need for additional testing will depend on the severity and frequency of symptoms. Typically, diagnostic results indicate that the source of the problem is damage to the vertebrae in the neck.
Treatment
Treatment of heaviness in the head is only possible if it is known what caused it.
Disease | How to treat |
Osteochondrosis |
|
Excessive tension in facial muscles |
|
Violation of venous outflow |
|
Neurasthenia |
|
In the case of physical diseases, therapy is always aimed at restoring normal cerebral circulation. For this purpose, special medications (including vitamins), manual therapy and osteopathy are used.
During the period of treatment, physical activity should be limited. The patient is also strongly discouraged from smoking and drinking alcohol.
If initially the problem lay in mental ill-being, then a psychotherapist is involved in the treatment. The specialist works with the patient’s emotions, prescribes pills that can smooth out the effects of prolonged lack of sleep and restore appetite.
Heavy, fuzzy head, weakness, wobbly head
Created: 02/20/19
Direction:
Neurology
Asked by: Maxim
Hello! The following symptoms: Feeling of heaviness and weakness in the head, heavy, unclear head. Feeling of pressure on the head, pressure inside the head, cloudy, cottony head, stiffness in the head. Tension and constant fatigue in the head. I am in a state of prostration, I read the text and cannot understand the meaning of what is written, my brain is dull. I experience lethargy, loss of strength, weakness, decreased emotional and intellectual activity, deteriorated perception of information, inability to concentrate, general weakness, exhaustion of strength and energy disproportionate to the load, loss of concentration and intelligence (decreased mental activity of the brain), weakness throughout the body, lung tension in the neck, orientation in space has worsened, the feeling that the head is not thinking at all, concentration and memory have deteriorated, has become less sociable, the state of a complete vegetable. Feeling of a cottony head, as if there is weakness in the head, for example, a leg or arm has been lying down and the limb becomes cottony I have approximately the same feeling in my head, because of this it is difficult to think and think, I would also characterize this feeling as a feeling of weakness and heaviness in the head at the same time, a unclear head, there is not enough clarity and I want my head to clear up, the heaviness will go away and my intelligence will improve . Consciousness is cloudy, drowsiness and lethargy are constantly present and as if you drank a liter of beer, for example, or like after a hangover. There is a feeling of pressure inside the head, or constriction, due to general weakness and because the head is not thinking, I don’t develop topics of conversation in communication, I don’t tell stories, I just keep up the conversation, I don’t have enough positive emotions and I haven’t I was happy, I felt like a vegetable. I became distracted and forgetful, for example, I just poured boiling water into a mug, put the kettle on, and after about 10 seconds I wanted to pour boiling water into the mug again, forgetting that I had already poured it. My concentration has decreased, I would call it attention exhaustion. I am constantly listening to someone and communicating with someone, they tell me something, I listen, I seem to understand what they are saying, but I just listen, my brain does not understand what needs to be said to maintain the conversation, so my answers are of the same type and not inventive, Only after a while does it occur to me that I should have asked or what I should have said, often even after communication, there is slowness of thinking, brain dullness and lethargy. Not only is the information not perceived and does not appear in the head and I don’t comprehend, I feel like a plant. That is, information doesn’t appear in my head, my brain just doesn’t generate it, I have knowledge, but my brain doesn’t figure out how to apply it, I can think about complex conclusions for a very long time, but somehow I don’t think .Also, the information is not assimilated, it went in one ear and out of the other, I seem to understand, but I can’t tell or explain. When I start thinking, trying to remember or comprehend something, I fall into a mental stupor. I’m trying to think, comprehend, and I can’t figure anything out at all. I start to think and reflect, only a thought comes to my mind and I immediately forget it and can’t remember later, or a thought arises and I can’t understand and formulate it and then I immediately forget and can’t remember. Memory has also deteriorated and sensible thoughts come to my mind very rarely, for example, I read a text, any article on the Internet 3 times and after 10 minutes it’s difficult for me to tell and formulate what I read, difficulty in learning new knowledge, in general difficulties in formulating something. something complicated, my brain just switches off and doesn’t want to think, I think I understand something but I can’t remember and I can’t tell you either. Uncertainty in judgment, constantly having the feeling that you said something wrong or not exactly what you thought. I often hesitate, there is a decrease in creative activity. Due to the fact that the brain does not understand, there is a poverty of associations, I select words with delays, the speech is of the same type: not rich and not inventive. Intellectual needs are inhibited, curiosity and inquisitiveness have disappeared. “It seems like there’s nothing left to think about.” The dialogue is difficult: “There’s nothing to talk about, you don’t know what to ask... Libido and potency have worsened, erectile dysfunction has developed. Sleep is fine, but I sleep a lot of time, sometimes 16 hours a day, after sleep I always wake up tired and broken with a terrible heaviness in the stomach and in the head, drowsiness lasts quite a long time throughout the day, I constantly want to sleep or lie down and don’t have enough strength for anything, fatigue quickly. Voices and thoughts of real people in my head, they can voice my thoughts, mentally to tell me about something, they try to humiliate me, they say: “We will drive you to suicide” and other nasty things, when they start talking often, intelligence drops to a minimum and you ignore everything, you only hear them, because of this it is difficult to concentrate on what -or. It’s difficult to carry on a conversation with anyone, it’s difficult to even talk “the thought process is difficult”, you constantly think about how bad you feel and that this cannot continue. I’ve had this condition for about 5 years now. It’s not something that prevents me from living, but it’s simply unbearable to live with it! Life has become painful, I don’t know what’s wrong with me! It is these sensations that prevent me from thinking, understanding, developing, rejoicing, being interested in anything, and living. Among the chronic diseases, there is asthma, at the age of 16 there was a slight concussion. From the examinations, ultrasound Dopplerography of the vessels of the head and neck was performed - without pathologies. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGDS) - superficial gastritis, gastroesophageal reflux disease, dyspepsia were detected. Ultrasound of internal organs, abdominal cavity in normal without pathologies. Undifferentiated connective tissue dysplasia. Electroencephalogram - Changes in the biolectric activity of the brain are determined, indicating dysfunction at the diencephalic level, asymmetry of the cortical rhythm. Interhemispheric asymmetry over 30% indirectly indicates the vascular nature of changes in electrogenesis. Cyst on the thyroid gland. Thyroid hormones are normal. Rheoencephalography - abnormalities detected serious, as the doctor told me, disturbances in cerebral blood flow (I can’t read the conclusion because the handwriting is not legible) X-ray of the cervical spine with functional tests - The physiological shape of the cervical spine is disturbed: the physiological lordosis is straightened, subchondral sclerosis of the bodies C2, C3, C4, C5 , C6, C7 additional bone formation C1 cervical osteochondrosis, Kimmerli’s anomaly. The ophthalmologist examined the fundus and found vasoconstriction. Passed the following tests: Blood test for ferritin, blood test with leukocyte formula and ESR, biochemical blood test ALT, AST, bilirubin, urea , creatinine, amylase, Test for antibodies to thyroid peroxidase (blood test), C-reactive protein (CRP blood test) - these tests are within normal limits, I also did screening for helminthiasis, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for herpetic infections with determination of the avidity index, enzyme immunoassay ELISA test for viral hepatitis, blood test for some neuroinfections - several types of herpes were detected, the rest were normal. According to the results of MRI with contrast and angiography of the vessels, no serious pathologies were found, only asymmetry of blood flow in the transverse sinuses. According to the MRI of the cervical spine, the conclusion is as follows: Signs of degenerative-dystrophic changes in the cervical spine. Dorsal protrusion of intervertebral discs C3-4, C4-5 with signs of moderate compression of the C4 nerve root on the right. What is happening to me and what is causing my condition and how I am treated. Please tell me what can be done in my situation? Help!
Prevention
To ensure the prevention of heaviness in the head, you must:
- adhere to a healthy lifestyle and diet ;
- do not forget about breaks during the working day;
- massage regularly (especially in the cervical spine);
- use orthopedic mattresses and pillows for sleeping;
- stop injections of Dysport (a substance that smoothes wrinkles on the face), smoking and drinking alcohol;
- exercise regularly, which will reduce the load on the spine.
For general strengthening of the body, you can also use folk remedies, but only in consultation with a specialist.