Different Types Of Headaches

“Ouch, I have a terrible headache today”, is a phrase that is heard quite often, but what most people realize is that there are many different types of headaches.

Tension Headaches

Tension headaches are about how the most common, striking between 30 to 80% of adults and typically happening to those between 20 and 40 years of age.  These are moderate headaches which can cause pain around the front of the head or the back of the head.  Sometimes this can be caused by muscle strain which pulls and constricts on the muscles around the head, thus the name tension headache.

There are actually two types of tension headaches chronic and episodic with the chronic ones happening more than 15 days a month and the episodic ones happening less than 15 days a month.  This type of headache can last from half-hour too many days and they usually start off as a dull ache often starting in the middle of the day.

Tension headaches can be caused by a number of things including stress and tension, of course, poor posture, not getting enough sleep, hunger, excessive exercise, depression and anxiety.

Cluster Headaches

One of the different types of headaches that a lot of people are unfamiliar with are cluster headaches.  That’s probably because not very many people get them - less than 1% of the population.  However for those that do these headaches can be debilitating and actually more painful than migraine headaches causing a sharp searing pain that can last for several hours.

These headaches usually happen at the same time every day and will go on for weeks or months but then will disappear for months or even years only to return again out of the blue.

These headaches seem to be somewhat of a mystery and no one really knows why they happen although some theorize it might have something to do the with the hypothalamus gland.  Some of the same treatment for migraine headaches can be used successfully on cluster headache sufferers and for very severe cases surgery may also be an option.

Migraine Headaches

About 10% of the population is affected by migraine headaches which can be very severe and debilitating.  Headaches can last from a few hours to three days and consists of severe pain sometimes accompanied by nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light and even vision problems.  Some people see auras before an attack while others simply get a headache with no warning.

Certain foods, stress and other things could trigger migraine but at other times there may be nothing that triggers them, or so it seems.  Some researchers believe that it is usually a combination of things that will bring one on which makes it even harder to pinpoint a certain trigger.

While aspirin will do nothing to reduce the pain of the migraine, there are other medications out on the market that can help relieve symptoms and if the headache can be caught early enough these medications can be taken at the onset with good results.

Other different types of headaches include a rebound headache which is from over medicating, sinus headache which happens if your sinuses become inflamed due to an allergy or infection and hormonal headaches which are caused by hormones.