Head pain is associated with all headaches, but different types of headache have specific symptoms.
Tension headache symptoms usually start slowly and build. They include:
- Constant, steady pain and pressure
- Dull and achy pain
- Pain felt on both sides of the head (90% of cases), in the forehead, temples, and the back of the head
- Pressure may feel like a tight band around the head
- Intensity that ranges from mild to severe and can vary during the day
- Tightness in head and neck muscles
- Difficulty concentrating
- First felt soon after waking
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- Grinding teeth
Migraines occur in phases that may include the following:
-
A warning in the hours or days before the headache (in 50% of all cases) that may include:
- A change in mood
- Fatigue
- Bloating
- Tense muscles
- Yawning
- Food craving
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An aura that lasts about 15-30 minutes and may produce the following sensations:
- Flashing lights or spots
- Temporary, partial loss of vision
- Speech difficulties
- Weakness in an arm or leg
- Numbness or tingling first in hands then spreads to arms and finally to the face and mouth, including the lips and tongue
- Restlessness
- Confusion
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Migraine pain that starts within an hour of the aura ending:
- A headache, usually on one side but may involve both sides
- Typically, the headache feels intense, throbbing, or pulsating and is more severe with movement
- Nausea or vomiting
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- Sensitivity to light or sound
- Sore or achy muscles
- Lightheadedness or dizziness
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A post-headache period that usually lasts for 4-72 hours and often goes away with sleep. After the headache, you may experience:
- Food intolerances or cravings
- Trouble concentrating
- Fatigue
- Sore muscles
Cluster headache involves stabbing, penetrating, burning, or explosive head pain that:
- Is on one side of the head, but not both
- Often starts around the eye and spreads to the same side of the head
- Occurs daily or almost every day for 4-8 weeks
- Can occur 1-6 times per day
- Often occurs at about the same time each day
- Increases in intensity over time
- May start within two hours of going to sleep
- Can awaken you from sleep
- Usually lasts 30-45 minutes, but may last up to three hours
- May be accompanied by restlessness and agitation
- May be accompanied by nausea
During the headache other symptoms may occur on the affected side, including:
- Stuffy or runny nose
- Redness or watering of the eye
- Droopy eyelid
- Constriction of the pupil of the eye
- Facial swelling
Sinus headache symptoms include:
- Pain and tenderness behind the forehead and cheeks and around the eyes
- Pain in the back of the neck or upper teeth
- Pain ranging from mild to severe
- Pain that is more intense first thing in the morning
- Pain that may worsen when you bend over
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Headache occurring with other symptoms of sinusitis, including:
- Nasal stuffiness and congestion
- Thick nasal drainage
- Post-nasal drip
- Fever
- Fatigue
- Stuffy ears
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-
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- Puffiness around the eyes
- Daily or near daily generalized headaches with fluctuating intensity
- Nausea may or may not occur
- Transient obscurations of vision—a greying out of vision that only lasts a few seconds, tends to occur with coughing, sneezing, bending down
- Diplopia—double vision
- Pulsatile intracranial tinnitus—whooshing noise in ear
- Pain behind the eye
- Visual loss—advanced case
- Pain with eye movement
Last reviewed December 2008 by
]]>Rimas Lukas, MD]]>
Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care
provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a
substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER
IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the
advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to
starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a
medical condition.
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EBSCO Publishing All rights reserved.