About the condition
What Are The Types Of Headaches?
»Tension Headache
Tension headaches are characterised by a dull, aching sensation and can affect anyone. They are often triggered by stress.
Risk factors causing tension headaches:
stress, sleep apnea, lack of sleep, clenching the jaw, hunger, depression, anxiety, arthritis, poor posture, bending or straining the neck
»Migraines
Migraines usually hurt worse on one side of the head. You may experience light sensitivity, aura, or bright lines or dots in your field of vision. Migraine headaches significantly limit your ability to carry out your daily routine.
Risk factors causing migraines:
having a family history of migraines, being female, mood disorders (depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorders), sleep disorders
»Cervicogenic Headache
Cervicogenic headache appears when pain is referred from a particular source in the neck up to the back of the head. It is usually one-sided. Pain can also be felt in the areas such as: forehead, temple and around the eyes and/or ears.
Risk factors:
neck trauma, whiplash, strain, chronic spasm of the scalp, neck, or shoulder muscles
»Cluster Headaches
Cluster headaches are characterised by severe burning and piercing pain, like you’re being stabbed in the eye. During a cluster, most people experience 1-4 headaches a day, one after the other.
Risk factors causing cluster headaches:
being man, having a family history of cluster headaches, being between 20 and 50 years old, being a smoker (quitting smoking in most cases has no effect on the headaches), drinking alcohol
»Allergy / Sinus Headaches
These headaches occur as a result of an allergic reaction. The pain is caused by the build up of pressure.
Risk factors causing allergy / sinus headaches:
allergies, a week immune system, nasal growths, sinusitis, weather allergic
»Caffeine Headache
Caffeine affects the blood flow to your brain, and as a result, consuming too much can cause a headache. You can also get a caffeine headache from quitting caffeine as it changes your brain chemistry, and withdrawal from it can trigger a headache.
Risk factors causing caffeine headaches:
too much caffeine, quitting caffeine
»Hormonal / Menstrual Headache
These headaches are caused by fluctuation in hormones.
Risk factors affects oestrogen levels, such as:
birth control pills, being pregnant and menstruation
»Hemicrania Continua
A moderate headache on one side of the head that is continuous for at least three months. This type of headache may also be accompanied by: tearing or eye redness; nasal congestion or runny nose; eyelid drooping; forehead sweating; miosis; restlessness or agitation.
Risk factors:
There are no known causes for hemicrania continua.
»Hypertension Headache
This type of headache is caused by high blood pressure. This kind of headache signals an emergency. It occurs when your blood pressure becomes dangerously high.
Risk factors:
high blood pressure, Pheochromocytoma, pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, the use of or withdrawal from drugs
»Rebound Headache
This type of headache is caused by medication overuse. You may be more likely to develop a rebound headache if you frequently use over-the-counter pain relievers.
Risk factors:
frequent or excessive use of pain-relieving
»Post-Traumatic Headache
This type of headache develops after any type of head injury usually after 7 days. They can become chronic.
Risk factors:
head trauma
»Exertion Headache
This type of headache develops during or after physical activity. May cause neck pain.
Risk factors:
coughing or sneezing, strenuous exercise, running or doing aerobics, having sexual intercourse, weightlifting, straining to go to the bathroom
»Thunderclap Headache
This type of headache is an extremely severe headache that comes on rapidly, reaching peak intensity in under a minute. Some of the symptoms may include: numbness, weakness, speech problems, nausea / or vomiting, confusion, vision changes.
Risk factors:
There is no obvious cause for this type of headache. Some of the risk factors may be:
»primary headache:cough, heavy exercise, exertion or sexual activity
»secondary headache (health conditions):
»Ice Pick Headache
This type of headache is characterised by short, intense stabbing pains. Ice pick headaches could feel like a single stab or multiple stabs in succession.
Risk factors:
There is no obvious cause for this type of headache. Some of the risk factors may be:
life-style factors (primary conditions – i.e. lack of sleep or changes in sleep pattern, cold, heat, fatigue, alcohol consumption), secondary conditions: stroke, miltiple sclerosis, meningioma, herpes zoster meningoencephalitis (complication of shingles)
- Located on one or both sides of the head or neck
- Lasts 2 hours to days
- Mild to moderate intensity
- Located on one or both sides of the head
- Lasts 4-72 hours
- Mild, moderate, or severe intensity
- Located on the neck and the head
- Lasts 1 hour to 1 week
- Mild to moderate intensity
- Located on one side extending from the eye
- Last 30-90 minutes
- Severe intensity
- Located on the face, foreheads and between the eyes
- Lasts days, if untreated
- Mild to severe intensity
- Starting behind the eyes, it can move up to the front of the head
- Lasts 2-9 days
- Mild intensity
- Located on one side of the head
- Lasts hours to days
- Mild to severe intensity
- Located on one side of the head
- Lasts at least three months continuously
- Mild intensity
- Located on both sides of the head
- Lasts less than one hour
- Mild intensity; worse with any activity
- Located on front of the head or the back of your neck
- Lasts 6-24 hours
- Mild to severe intensity
- Located on on head pending where the injury was
- Lasts 6-12 months after injury
- Mild to moderate intensity
- Located on one or both sides of the head
- Lasts 5 minutes to 48 hours
- Mild to moderate intensity
- bleeding in the area around brain (subarachnoid hemorrhage – the most common issue);
- sudden constriction of the vessels that supply blood to brain (reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome);
- bulging / bleeding blood vessel (brain aneurysm)
- head injury causing a brain bleed;
- blocked / bleeding blood vessel (stroke),
- sudden, severe increase in blood pressure;
- late-term pregnancy complications i.e. rise in blood pressure (eclampsia) and bleeding in pituitary gland during pregnancy or after delivery;
- carcinoid tumors and pheochromocytoma;
- a blockage in blood flow / bleeding in pituitary gland (pituitary apoplexy)
- Located on the back of the head
- Lasts 60 seconds to an hour
- Severe intensity
- Located all around the head
- Lasts a few seconds, multiple times a day
- Mild to moderate in severity
