There are two things in life that a sage must preserve at every sacrifice, the coats of his stomach and the enamel of his teeth. Some evils admit of consolations, but there are no comforters for dyspepsia and the toothache. Henry Lytton Bulwer
Common Headache Symptoms
There are a large number of symptoms associated with common headaches. Probably the most common type is the tension headache, usually resulting from muscle tension in the shoulders and neck, or around the face. Migraines, affecting about 6 to 13 percent of people (approximately 6 percent of men and 13 percent of women), is much higher in intensity and length. Cluster headaches, often listed as another type, exhibit a pattern - headaches that occur for short periods per day, sometimes lasting for weeks or months.
Tension headaches are familiar to just about every adult, with pain in the head sometimes diffuse, but often focused around the eyes or temples. When the result of inflamed neck or back muscles, the pain will often be further back. In practice, the pain can be nearly anywhere above the neck, but is typically more localized.
Tension headaches are frequently accompanied by watery eyes, sometimes even a runny nose. Perceived as a pressure around the eyebrows, a tension headache can produce pain that migrates further down, causing reddening in the eyeballs. Fortunately, they are rarely severe enough to cause vomiting or excessive sensitivity to light and sound, as migraines can.
Migraines are an entirely separate class of headache, as their unfortunate sufferers can attest. Though the causes are still only partly understood, there is a strong genetic component and those who suffer from them often do so for years. In many cases the condition is nearly lifelong, though treatments have improved.
In a migraine, intense, throbbing pain is felt - usually around one temple or the other. These so-called 'unilateral attacks' will often alternate between temples. Because the pain is so intense, however, the effects can be perceived to spread to other parts of the head. Pain behind the eyes is common, sometimes accompanied by inflamed eye blood vessels.
When there is no alternation, the headache may have an entirely different cause, such as being what is named a 'secondary headache' - one caused by some underlying condition, such as a brain tumor.
Migraines are often accompanied by other symptoms, as well. Hyper-sensitivity to light and sound are commonly reported. Attacks can last as 'short' as a few hours, to as long as a few days or more. They're often preceded by warning symptoms that hint at a coming episode, such as sleepiness and fatigue or craving for sweets.
When the attack arrives, the intense pain often produces nausea and vomiting. Sometimes diarrhea results, and others suffer cold hands and feet, along with the light and sound sensitivity. In some cases, attacks can be triggered by something as simple as walking upstairs.
Cluster headaches are not defined by the specific symptoms of pain, but by the existence of a pattern. Cluster headaches often last from a half-hour to an hour. The headaches will usually re-occur during the same time of day each day. The cluster headache cycle may occur for weeks and even months at a time then suddenly disappear.
Sleep deprivation can accumulate over time and it contributes to and heightens stress as well.
Simple everyday activities, such as walking up stairs or other intensive physical exertion, can trigger an attack. It may be something as minor as the odor or taste. This is among the so-called 'abortive' treatments, since it only works after the onset of symptoms. In the interim, the common treatments continue to apply for the vast majority of tension headache sufferers - which is just about everyone at one time or another. But they have the tools that can narrow them down.
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