5 Types of Headaches and What They can be a Sign of

Headaches are common, especially during busy days. They can be painful and uncomfortable. However, you don’t have to fret because there are many approaches to healing them quickly. There are more than 150 types of headaches. Most of these headaches are not triggered by severe health conditions. Moreover, many people tend to feel better by taking some over the counter medicines or changing their lifestyles.

However, some types of headaches can be an indication of a severe health issue. Here are some types of headaches and what they might be signifying.

1.   Tension Headaches

These headaches tend to begin slowly and persist in the middle of the day. You can tell that you have this type of headache if you feel; a dull ache on both sides of the head, pain that spreads from the neck, and a feeling of a tight band around the head. These types of headaches can be classified as either chronic or episodic. Chronic headaches, which can be very devastating, can last between 15 days and three months.  Episodic headaches can last a few hours to several days. For both types of headaches, you should consult a health care professional to give you a direction on what to do.

2.   Rebound Headaches

This is one of the common types of headaches that most people are not familiar with. It stems from frequent use of medication aimed at treating headache symptoms. These headaches commonly begin at the start of the day and may persist throughout the entire day. Rebound headaches can cause restlessness, reduced sleep quality, and neck pain. Although pain medication can reduce the headache, it might worsen when the effects of the medicine wear off. You should reduce the intake of headache medicines these winter holidays and opt for other ways of treating pain.

3.   Migraine Headaches

Have you ever felt throbbing pain on one side of the head, nausea, blurred vision, and light-headedness? Well, that was a migraine headache. It is also a common type of headache that can affect your ability to engage in your day to day routine. It can last from a few hours to three days.

4.   Thunderclap Headaches

As the name suggests, they occur suddenly and are very severe. You can easily identify these types of headaches because they reach maximum intensity in less than 60 seconds. Unlike the previously discussed headaches, these signify life-threatening conditions such as meningitis, pituitary apoplexy, ruptured aneurysms, cerebral venous thrombosis, and intracerebral hemorrhage. If you experience this type of headache, you should seek professional evaluation as soon as possible.

5.   Cluster Headaches

The type of pain associated with these headaches is severe, one-sided, sharp, and occurs around one eye. The affected region becomes swollen and red. Moreover, the eyelid droops and the nasal passage becomes runny. These types of headaches occur suddenly and can occur once a day to several months.

Regardless of the type of headache, you should seek medical evaluation if the symptoms persist.

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