Headache | Types of headaches | Migraine | Tension headache | Occipital neuralgia | Cluster headaches | Sinus headache | Ocular migraine 

Headaches

Headaches are a very common condition that most people will experience many times during their lives. The main symptom of a headache is pain in your head or face. This can be throbbing, constant, sharp, or dull. Headaches can be treated with medication, stress management, and biofeedback.

How common are headaches in adults?

If your head is thumping, you’re not alone. Headache is one of the most common pain conditions in the world. Up to 75% of adults worldwide have had a headache in the past year.

Headaches are a major cause of absenteeism from work and school. They also take a toll on social and family life. For some people, continually battling headaches can lead to feeling anxious and depressed.

Common Types of Headaches

There are over 150 types of headaches, but the most common types include:

Tension Headaches

Tension headaches are the most common type of headache among adults and teens. They cause mild to moderate pain and come and go over time. They usually have no other symptoms.

Migraine Headaches

Migraine headaches are often described as pounding, throbbing pain. They can last from 4 hours to 3 days and usually happen one to four times a month. Along with the pain, people have other symptoms, such as sensitivity to light, noise, or smells; nausea or vomiting; loss of appetite; and upset stomach or belly pain. When a child has a migraine, they may look pale, feel dizzy, have blurry vision, fever, and an upset stomach. A small number of children's migraines include digestive symptoms, like vomiting, that happen about once a month.

Cluster Headaches

These headaches are the most severe. You could have intense burning or piercing pain behind or around one eye. It can be throbbing or constant. The pain can be so bad that most people with cluster headaches can’t sit still and will often pace during an attack. On the side of the pain, the eyelid droops, the eye reddens, the pupil gets smaller, or the eye makes tears. The nostril on that side runs or stuffs up.

They’re called cluster headaches because they tend to happen in groups. You might get them one to three times per day during a cluster period, which may last 2 weeks to 3 months. Each headache attack lasts 15 minutes to 3 hours. They can wake you up from sleep. The headaches may disappear completely (your doctor will call this remission) for months or years, only to come back later. Men are three to four times more likely to get them than women.

Chronic Daily Headaches

You have this type of headache 15 days or more a month for longer than 3 months. Some are short. Others last more than 4 hours. It’s usually one of the four types of primary headache:

• Chronic migraine
• Chronic tension headache
• New daily persistent headache
• Hemicrania continua

Sinus Headaches

With sinus headaches, you feel a deep and constant pain in your cheekbones, forehead, or on the bridge of your nose. They happen when cavities in your head, called sinuses, get inflamed. The pain usually comes along with other sinus symptoms, like a runny nose, fullness in the ears, fever, and a swollen face. A true sinus headache results from a sinus infection so the gunk that comes out of your nose will be yellow or green, unlike the clear discharge in cluster or migraine headaches.

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Posttraumatic Headaches

Posttraumatic stress headaches usually start 2-3 days after a head injury. You’ll feel:

• A dull ache that gets worse from time to time
• Vertigo
• Lightheadedness
• Trouble concentrating
• Memory problems
• Tiring quickly
• Irritability

Headaches may last for a few months. But if it doesn’t get better within a couple of weeks, call your doctor.

Migraine headaches

Migraine is a primary headache disorder that is recurrent and often lifelong. Usually, the pain is intense and throbbing in only one area of the head.

Other symptoms of a migraine headache include:

• nausea
• vomiting
• light sensitivity
• sound sensitivity

This type of headache is more common in women by a 2-to-1 radio trusted Source when compared with men, which may be attributed to female hormones.

A 2018 review of studiesTrusted Source suggests that migraine in females can be influenced by hormone fluctuations, such as those seen in:

• the menstrual cycle
• pregnancy
• menopause
• the use of oral contraceptives
• those undergoing hormone replacement therapy

The cause of migraine headaches may be a combination of factors, but researchers trusted Source believe it may also be due to changes in the activity of the brain’s nerve pathways and chemicals.

Stages of migraine headaches

Migraine headaches can be predictable because some start with an aura. An aura is a visual disturbance that can appear as:

• flashing lights
• zigzag lines
• temporary vision loss right before the headache

Migraine headaches are sometimes preceded by a prodrome, or “preheadache,“ and some migraine episodes may have an aura before or during the headache.

Here are all the states trusted sources of migraine headaches:

1. Premonitory phase. May occur as early as 3 days before a migraine headache, and you can experience symptoms such as fatigue, mood changes, and muscle tenderness.
2. Aura. Approximately one-third of trusted sources of migraine attacks include an aura, which may last only minutes and develops gradually.
3. Headache. Throbbing pain or other associated symptoms may occur during this stage.

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Migraine outbreak

Migraine is a type of headache illness. Some people describe this type of headache as feeling like a migraine attack. Migraine is classifiedTrusted Source as:

• a moderate-to-severe headache
• one-sided
• pulsating
• aggravated by routine physical activity
• lasts hours to 2 to 3 days

Migraine attacks can occur anywhere from once a week to once a year.

In children, migraine (with or without a headache) can involve:

• irritability
• abdominal discomfort
• fatigue
• vomiting
• diarrhea

Headache and migraine headache triggers

Migraine and other types of headaches can be triggered by things like diet, activity, and environmental factors. Common triggers include:

• activity
• exercise
• bending over
• lifting overhead
• physical inactivity
• jet lag
• alcohol
• wine
• beer
• hard liquor
• drinking too much
• allergy or sinuses
• pollen
• pollution
• seasonal
• sneezing
• congestion
• auditory
• loud music
• acoustic
• environmental noise
• emotion
• anger
• anxiety
• fear
• sadness
• depression
• food or eating
• caffeine
• certain foods
• dehydration
• soft drinks
• not eating a nutritious diet
• skipping meals
• hunger
• hormones
• medications
• trauma
• changes in sleep habits
• smells
• stress
• environment
• motion from a vehicle
• visual
• bright or flashing light
• computer screen
• glare
• fluorescent light
• sun exposure

Headache - Overview (types, signs and symptoms, treatment)