Different types of headaches and what they mean.

by Ana Mepham
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Once again I find myself witting about a subject that has come up and keeps coming up.
 
Headaches! The dreaded sensation of a headache coming on. Headaches can mean a number of things. You know how we say “tis the change in the weather” or “the weather is awful heavy”. This most defiantly can be a reason behind the heaviness in your head or around your eyes. The weather can most certainly change and effect your head. For some people weather change may cause a imbalance in the brains chemicals, including serotonin, which can prompt a migraine. Headaches and migraines can also be caused by the lack of water intake. First thing I do when I feel a headache is drink lots of water. Hydrate!
 
Here is a list of different types of headaches. Some are self explanatory. Some I will explain a little.

• Tension headaches
• Migraine headaches
• Cluster headaches
• Allergies or sinus headaches
• Hormone headaches
• Exertion headaches
• Hypertension headaches
• Caffeine headaches
• Post traumatic headaches
• Rebound headaches

 
Before I get into the above we must understand the basics.
 
Primary headaches occur when the pain in your head is the condition. In other words, your headache isn't being triggered by something that your body is dealing with like a particular illness or allergies.
 
These headaches can be episode or chronic.
 
Episode headaches may occur every so often or even just once in a while. They can last anywhere from a half hour to several hours. That when we realize the water intake isn't making a difference and worst case scenario we need a pain killer.
 
Chronic headaches are more consistent. They occur most days out of the month and can last for days at a time. Yup, you heard me. Days! In these cases perhaps pain management plan is necessary from your local doctor.
 
Now we know the difference between Episode headaches and Chronic headaches lets get back to some of the ones I have listed above.
 
Tension headaches
You may feel a dull, aching sensation all over your head. Tenderness around your neck, forehead, scalp or shoulder muscles also might occur. The headaches are mainly caused by stress. When I have clients suffering from these types of headaches. Working on a cranial head massage and a facial massage is great to incorporate in with their treatment. A technique I use is light pulling of the hair right by the scalp to allow movement and blood flow. This can really help relieve built up tension.
 
Cluster headaches  are characterized by sever burning and piecing pain. They occur around or behind one eye. Or one side of the face at a time. Most common effects can be watering eye. Also with that can trigger nasal congestion. There headaches occur in a series. Each individual headache can last from fifteen minutes to three hours. As you can imagine this can be very draining emotionally and physically. Most people experience one to four headaches a day. This can happen around the same time everyday with cluster. After one headache resolves another will soon follow. Cluster headaches are more common in the spring and fall. They are also three times more common in men.
 
Migraine, Migraine pain is an intense pulsing from deep within your head. This pain can last days. This is a headache that can significantly effect your ability to carry out your daily chores. I find when I suffer from a migraine the only thing that helps me is to be in a dark room and taking a nap. Light and sound can really effect a migraine and some migraines can lead to vomiting or nausea. It also effects your eyesight for example, stars, flashing lights and blind spots. Migraine can run in the family or be associated with other nervous system conditions. Women and there rimes more likely to develop migraine that men. If you are suffering from these headaches that are debilitating more than three days a month then I recommend talking to a doctor.
 
Allergy or Sinus, as you know when the pollen count is high allergies can lead to sinus problems. Perhaps you have an allergy issue. Most commonly migraine headaches are misdiagnosed as sinus headaches. Up to 90 percent or “sinus headaches” are actually migraines.
 
The most common secondary headaches. These headaches is your body telling you something else is going on with your body. If you are constantly triggering this it can then lead to chronic headaches. Finding the primary cause is key to treating the headache. I would say nine out of ten times you know the cause of this. So before you pop a pain killer
Take some deep breaths and give yourself a moment to listen to your body.
Ask yourself:

• Am I hydrated enough?
• Do I need to eat?
• Do I need to slow down?
• Take some breaths?
• Ground myself?
• Do I need to exercise/ get some fresh air?
• Do I need to get off the laptop?
• Do I need to stretch?

 
Take these steps towards finding out what it is your body needs. You can cure your headache yourself without having to take a pain killer. Obviously if the pain is to much and you have tried these steps but yet the headache still persists, then take some pain relief. Overall so many things can cause a headache and hopefully now with this information you can take from it what you will and this will help you.