The pain you feel during a headache comes from a mix of signals between your brain, blood vessels and nearby nerves. Specific nerves in the blood vessels and muscles in your head are firing and sending pain signals to your brain. But it’s not clear how these signals are activated in the first place.

Common causes of headaches include:

• Illness. This can include infections, colds and fever. Headaches are also common with conditions such as sinusitis (inflammation of the sinuses), a throat infection or an ear infection. In some cases, headaches may result from a blow to the head or, less commonly, a sign of a more serious medical problem.

• Stress. Emotional or physical stress and depression, as well as alcohol consumption, postponing meals, changes in sleep patterns and taking too many medications. Other causes include neck or back strain due to poor posture.

• Your environment, including second-hand tobacco smoke, strong odors from household chemicals or perfumes, allergens and certain foods. Stress, pollution, noise, noise, lighting and weather changes are other possible triggers.

• Genetics. Headaches, especially migraines, tend to run in families. The majority of children and adolescents (90%) with migraine headaches have other family members with the same condition. When both parents have a history of migraine headaches, there is a 70% chance that their child will also have migraines. If only one parent has a history of these headaches, the risk drops to 25%-50%.