If you wake up with throbbing head pain, you may be questioning if it’s a headache or a migraine. However, people often don’t recognize that migraines are far different than the everyday headache.
Today, we’ll discuss three of the most common headache types and how they compare to migraines, plus advice for when you should seek medical care for a migraine attack.
3 Common Types of Headaches
1. Tension headache
Tension headaches, also called stress headaches, are the most common type of headache. Often, tension headaches are brought on by emotional, mental, or physical stress. They typically manifest as a tight band around the forehead area, cause mild to moderate pain, and can last anywhere from two hours to a week.
Other common symptoms of a tension headache may include:
- Tiredness
- Trouble focusing
- Mild sensitivity to light or noise
- Muscle aches and soreness around the head and neck
2. Sinus headache
Unlike tension headaches, sinus headaches tend to be caused by allergies, infections, or changes in weather or altitude. They often manifest as pain or pressure between the eyes or around the entire face. While they’re typically not severe, sinus headaches can last anywhere from two to three weeks without medication or treatment.
Other common symptoms of a sinus headache can include:
- Runny or stuffy nose
- A feeling of fullness in the cheeks, brow, or forehead
- Fatigue
- Jaw or upper teeth pain
- Head pain or pressure with sudden movement such as bending over, lying down, or standing up
3. Cluster headache
Cluster headaches are known for being incredibly painful, with tension or sharp stabbing pain localized around one eye or temple. In line with their name, these headaches often occur in cluster periods that can last weeks to months. Cluster periods tend to happen around the same time each year. For example, these headaches may pop up in the spring or summer and go away for the rest of the year.
Other common symptoms of a cluster headache may include:
- Restlessness
- Redness and swelling of the eye on the side that’s in pain
- Forehead sweating
- Drooping eyelid
Due to their severity, cluster headaches are commonly confused with migraines — but they aren’t the same thing. We’ll explore what makes a migraine a migraine below.
What is a Migraine?
A migraine isn’t just a common headache. They can occur in four stages: podrome, aura, attack, and post-drome, but not everyone experiences all four stages. Migraines can significantly affect or hinder daily activities without treatment or medication.
During the prodrome stage a day or two before a migraine, you may experience food cravings, neck stiffness, fluid retention, or frequent yawning. These are warning symptoms that a migraine may surface soon.
Right before a migraine begins, some people experience what’s called an aura sensation. Auras can include visual symptoms like flashes of light or blind spots in your vision or tingling on one side of the face or body.
During a migraine attack, symptoms can vary widely from person to person. You may have a throbbing or pulsing pain on one side of your head, light sensitivity, or nausea. After the attack is over, you may feel drained, tired, or washed out during the post-drome period.
Migraines can be caused by many things, but they often begin because of hormone changes, stress, lack of food or hydration, or weather changes. Without proper treatment, they can last anywhere from hours to days.
Anyone can experience a migraine, but they’re more common in women than men. It’s also important to note that migraines appear to be hereditary — so if you know someone who experiences migraines in your family, you may be more prone to experiencing one at some point.
Common symptoms of a migraine attack
- Blurry vision or seeing dark spots at the bottom and around the sides of your vision line
- Pain on one side of your head
- Sensitivity to light, touch, smell, or sound
- Nausea or vomiting
- Dizziness or lightheadedness
- Rarely, migraines can even cause weakness on one side of your face or body. If this occurs, it’s worth a visit to an emergency care center or ER to make sure your symptoms aren’t caused by something more serious like a stroke or heart attack.
How to prevent migraines
The best migraine treatment is a proactive one so that you can stop the migraine attack altogether. Often, migraines can be prevented with lifestyle changes or avoiding triggers. Some ways to prevent migraines before they begin include:
- Establish, and keep, regular sleep hours
- Don’t skip meals
- Stay hydrated
- Manage stress
- Exercise regularly
When to See a Doctor for a Headache or Migraine
Often, over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen (Advil) or acetaminophen (Tylenol) are enough to relieve pain from a mild to moderate headache or migraine. However, it may be worth a visit to the doctor if you’re experiencing any of the following:
- Your symptoms become more severe than usual.
- You begin having more frequent headaches than normal or they last longer than 72 hours.
- You lose consciousness or vision during a headache.
- Your headache happens following a concussion or fall.
- Appropriate use of over-the-counter medications isn’t helping relieve headache pain or symptoms.
- You begin missing out on work, sleep, or normal activities because of headache pain.
A doctor can investigate what causes your migraines, and can prescribe medication to help prevent or treat future migraines.
Rarely, severe headaches can be a symptom of a serious condition like a stroke or meningitis. If you’re experiencing the worst headache of your life or a headache accompanied by a high fever, confusion, or fainting, call 911 to seek emergency medical care.
Community Access Network is here for you.
Community Access Network understands that you shouldn’t have to put your life on pause to deal with a headache or migraine. If you’re experiencing frequent headaches and over-the-counter medication isn’t relieving symptoms, Community Access Network can help.
Regardless of age, income, or insurance status, Community Access Network is here to serve you. We understand that no two people—and no two migraine cases—are exactly the same, and our team of qualified providers will work with you to develop a comprehensive, compassionate care plan for you.
For more information or to schedule an appointment with one of our providers, call us at 434-818-7880. We also offer convenient walk-in services at our 5th Street location.