What Type of Headache do I Have?
Last Updated on Wednesday, 02 June 2010 18:16
Research shows that over 90% of us suffer from headaches at one time or another, however for some people it is a way of life. People not only live with recurrent episodes of severe pain and temporary disability but they live with an ongoing fear of when they may be struck out of the blue.
It seems that every one has a different way to describe their headache. "It feels like my head is in a vice", "it seems like I'm being hit by a hammer". Those phrases may help to identify what type of headache you are suffering from.
If we look at the primary headache there are four major kinds, migraine, tension type headaches, cluster headaches and the fourth group of miscellaneous and more uncommon headaches.
What's the difference?
To identify your headache you need to ask yourself a number of questions.
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One is the quality of pain, is it throbbing, is it steady ache, is it piercing?
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Another is the location of the pain, is it in the eye, is it on one side of the head, is it on both side of the head?
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Also the frequency and duration of the pain, do attacks last 10 minutes, two days, do they occur every day, do they occur only occasionally?
Features that go along with the headache are very important. Each headache typically has a distinctive profile:
Cluster Headaches
Individual cluster headaches attacks tend to last between 15 and 90 minutes. Cluster periods where you may have one or more attack per day can last from one month to several months.
Cluster headaches tend to be triggered by REM sleep. People with clusters will often awaken at the same time every night, with a full blown attack. Three am is quite typical.
Cluster headaches are extremely painful, they are always one sided, the pain is usually in or around one eye, and the pain is often accompanied by redness around the eye and nasal stuffiness. Cluster headaches only affect 2 in 100,000 people, and given the severity it’s a good thing that they are relatively uncommon.
Cluster Headache Treatments
Treating cluster headaches is part preventative and part pain relief. The usual initial treatment is prednisone and usually people will also be started on calcium channel blocker.
The two most important medications for acute attacks of cluster headaches are injectible sumatriptan and high flow oxygen.
Mirgaine Headaches
The headache which tends to get the most press is the dreaded migraine. Migraine headaches typically affect about 12% of the population. Migraines tend to be one sided with throbbing pain and can range from mild to excruciating. Migraines headaches are usually accompanied by two or more of the following; nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, sensitivity to sound, aura and visual symptoms.
What sets of a Migraine?
Migraines have a number of triggers; diet, weather, for women certain times of the month. Hormonal factors are an important trigger, many women find they get migraines they day before or the day they start menstruating. This effect is believed to be due to oestrogen withdrawal. More on Migraine Causes and Triggers
Migraine Treatments
There are a range of medications that can ward off attacks and when a migraine does strike there are some new approaches.
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Preventative Measures; Beta Blockers, Calcium channel blockers, antidepressants, seizure medications.
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Pain Relief; Over the last 10 years the development of a class of compounds called triptans has been a boon for migraine sufferers. Triptans are migraine specific drugs, meaning that they were designed specifically for the treatment of migraine headaches. Other treatments include:NSAID's, Asprin and ibuprofen, Acetaminophen, Caffeine-containing combination products.
- More on Migraine Treatments
Tension Headaches
The more common tension headaches can be just as frustrating. Tension headaches typically begin towards the end of a stressful day, around 4 or 5 in the afternoon. They typically last for around one hour but can last up to 6 hours. Tension headache pain tends to be felt on both sides of the head, tends to be mild or moderate and the pain is usually described as steady ache or a pressure.
Tension Headaches Treatment.
The most common treatment for tension headfahces are over the counter medications and there are a broad range of analgesic type medications that have been shown to work very effectively.
Treatmenst include; NSAID's, Asprin and ibuprofen, Acetaminophen, Caffeine-containing combination products.
What about Stress?
Although stress doesn't directly cause headaches it can make them worse and for that there are calming activities. There are a wide range of stress management techniques, everything from progressive relaxation exercises that you can do at home, to biofeedback, to cognitive behavioural therapy where you essentially learn about the ideas you have that make your life more stressful and how to manage those ideas better.
Warning signs that a headache may be a more serious problem.
Sometimes a headache is symptomatic of a more serious underlying disorder. One red flag is the sudden onset of headaches after the age of 55. Another is a sudden change in the intensity or frequency of headaches.
Headaches associated with fever and stiff neck may reflect an infection that requires medical attention.
Weakness or difficulty moving one side of the body, double vision, if you go from having no pain at all to having very severe pain, can be a first manifestation of stroke. In this case it's critical to seek medical attention as soon as possible.
Don't let headaches run your life.
Headaches aren't usually a serious health threat but they can if left untreated be a threat to our wellbeing. The message to take away is that there is help for most types of headaches. Headaches are not a problem that you need to learn to live with, they are a problem that you need to manage and learn to live without.
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Related Articles:
- Overview of Migraine Headaches
- Migraine Symptoms
- Migraine Treatments
- Herbs for Migraine
- Common Questions about Migraine
