Nine out of 10 Americans experience at least occasional headaches. Usually, stress, sinus infections, or muscle tension is the cause. The headache’s location, severity, and accompanying symptoms can help you put a name to your pain.
Also, be aware that rare, medically related headaches demand immediate attention from a doctor. Here’s how to tell what type of headaches you get and whether you need medical attention.
Sinus Headaches
When you have a cold, the flu, or a sinus infection, your sinuses may become inflamed and irritated, resulting in a headache. The pain is usually confined to the areas above, below, and between your eyes, since this is the location of your sinus cavity.
Because you get them when you’re sick, sinus headaches are usually accompanied by a fever and nasal congestion. The painkillers, antihistamines, and decongestants in cold medicine can help ease your symptoms until you get well.
Cluster Headaches
This type of headache affects more men than women. It appears suddenly and is characterized by debilitating pain on one side of the head. Other symptoms, such as a watery eye and nasal congestion or a runny nose, often occur on the same side as the headache.
A person experiencing a cluster headache often feels restless. Unlike someone with a migraine, a cluster headache sufferer is unlikely to seek relief by lying down. The cause of cluster headaches is unknown, but genetics may be a factor.
Tension Headaches
The most common type of headache causes constant pain or pressure all around your head, especially at the temples or base of the neck. Fortunately, tension headaches are often relatively mild, so you can treat them with over-the-counter painkillers such as ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and aspirin.
As the name suggests, muscle tension in the neck and scalp is to blame for tension headaches. Tense muscles often result from stress, prolonged mental concentration, and changes in brain chemicals.
Migraine Headaches
Migraines are the most severe type of headaches. The pain lasts longer than four hours, often lingering for days, and tends to affect only one side of the head. Potential causes include skipping meals, exposure to bright flashing lights, or smelling strong odors.
About 15% to 20% of migraine sufferers experience aura, or visual distortions, leading up to the migraine attack. Sensitivity to bright light, loud noises, and certain smells are common during a migraine, and nausea and vomiting sometimes occur as well.
Medically Related Headaches
A whopping 95% of headaches are primary headaches, meaning there isn’t another medical condition to worry about. However, the remaining 5% are warning signals of an underlying disease. Here are the types of headaches that could be medically related:
- Thunderclap headaches: When severe pain develops within just 60 seconds, it’s considered a thunderclap headache. Bleeding in the brain from an aneurysm, stroke, or injury is the likely cause.
- Morning headaches with vomiting: If you wake up every day with a headache and feel the urge the vomit, you should seek medical attention. Your headache may dissipate as the day goes by, but morning headaches with vomiting could indicate a brain tumor.
- Headaches with strange symptoms: Almost everyone knows how an ordinary headache feels. However, if yours hampers your vision or speech, occurs after exercise, makes you lose your balance, is accompanied by seizures, or limits your ability to work, you should consult a healthcare professional.
Even though medically related headaches are rare, it’s worth visiting Spine Correction Center in Fort Collins for a medical assessment if any of these symptoms sound familiar.
Visit Spine Correction Center for Headache Relief
When you visit Spine Correction Center for headache treatment, you’ll have access to several effective, non-invasive treatment methods, including spinal manipulation, disc decompression, vibrational traction, and more. We’ll rule out the possibility of medically related headaches and tackle the primary cause of your pain directly.
If you’re ready to stop living with mysterious headache pain, please contact Spine Correction Center in Fort Collins at (970) 658-5115 to schedule your free consultation.
