The 5 Most Common Headaches

By Emily Jacobson

If you’re like millions of Americans, you may find that you suffer from recurring or chronic headaches. What you may not know is that it’s very important to figure out the type of headache you’re experiencing so that you can get the proper treatment. Here’s what you need to know about the most common headaches, and how to treat them:

Tension Headaches

This is the most common type of headache among adults, and occurs daily for many people. They can be caused by a variety of things, including stress, contraction of head and neck muscles, and chemical changes in the brain. The pain level has been described as ranging from mild to moderate, and doesn’t usually interfere with normal functioning. The pain usually exists near the forehead or the back of the head and is fairly steady. The good news is that most tension headaches can be easily treated with over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen or aspirin.

Migraines : Many people live in fear of the migraine, which is often described as a throbbing, severe pain. These monster headaches, which can last from four to 72 hours, affect about 28 million Americans. In addition to the pulsing pain, they can be accompanied by nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, and sensitivity to sound and light. While the cause of migraines is unknown, it’s been established that it has to do with blood vessel contractions and possibly certain brain abnormalities. Migraines also run in families – if both of your parents have migraines, you are 70 percent likely to be afflicted with them. Among adults, migraines are much more common among women than men, as 3 out of 4 migraine sufferers are women. According to a UCLA study, this could be because women might have a faster trigger for activating the brain waves that underlie migraines. A variety of preventive, prescription and as-needed treatments have been designed specifically for the treatment of migraines, such as pain killers, triptans, opiates, and beta-blockers.

Cluster Headaches While cluster headaches don’t occur very often (less than 1 in 1,000 people get them), they are the most debilitating form of headaches. Nicknamed the “suicide headache,” the pain from a cluster headache involves a constant burning or throbbing pain on one side of the head, often near the eye. They tend to occur several times per day for a “cluster” period that can last from a couple weeks to several months. They can be accompanied by a watery eye, nasal discharge, light sensitivity and sweating. During these cluster periods, the person affected will often be unable to sit still, due to the severity of the pain. The headache attacks may disappear for several years, only to come back again. Treatment for cluster headaches involves abortive and preventative medications, as well as surgery.

Sinus Headaches This headache occurs when a sinus becomes inflamed and causes pain. It will usually be accompanied by a fever and facial swelling, and generally involve pain in the cheekbones, forehead and nose. When you move your head suddenly, bend forward, or lie down, the pain intensifies. Sinus headaches are often mistaken for migraines, since the symptoms are similar, but unlike migraines, sinus headaches don’t involve nausea, vomiting, or light sensitivity. Headaches from sinus infection can be treated with decongestants, antibiotics, over-the-counter pain medications and nasal irrigation.

Rebound Headaches When you use headache medication too much, your body adapts to it, causing your headaches to reappear with more frequency. Rebound headaches can occur with any type of pain-relief medication from ibuprofen to opiates. They tend to happen every day, beginning in the morning, and then go away when you take medication, only to come back when the medication wears off. Rebound headache symptoms may be accompanied by anxiety, neck pain, restlessness and poor concentration. The cause of these headaches could be that too much medication causes the brain to become overly stimulated, which leads to more headaches, but the more likely option is that the increase in headaches is due to withdrawal from the medication. If you take headache medication more than twice per week, or if you’re taking more than the recommended dose, see your doctor to make sure you don’t overdo it.