| Symptoms of Headache
In order to help assess your headaches, the following questions need to be answered: How long do your headaches last?
- Do your headaches interfere with your appetite or cause nausea?
- Are you experiencing any numbness or weakness in your extremities?
- Are you experiencing any problems with your eyesight?
It’s not uncommon for patients to suffer from both migraine and chronic tension-type headache. This “mixed” headache type can be difficult to diagnose and manage. Be sure to check the chart below for symptoms that match the type(s) of pain you are experiencing and discuss this at your appointment.
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Tension |
Dull, steady pain
Does not throb
Intensity that ranges from mild to severe and can vary during the day
Tightness in head and neck muscles
Difficulty concentrating
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Cluster |
Excruciating pain
Usually located around or behind one eye
Nasal congestion or watery eyes
Pain often develops during sleep
Headaches may not occur for up to a year, then appear daily for extended periods
Can occur 1 to 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 to 45 minutes, but may last up to three hours
May be accompanied by restlessness and agitation &
nausea
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Migraine |
Severe, throbbing pain
Usually on one side of the head or behind one eye
With or without aura (visual disturbances, numbness in arm or leg)
Sensitivity to light and sound
Nausea and/or vomiting
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Menstrual (sometimes characterized as migraine) |
Most often occurs during ovulation or immediately before, during, or after menstruation
Migraine-type pain
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Sinus |
Deep, dull ache
Thick nasal discharge
Often located around the nose, but can extend to forehead and ears
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Allergy/Sinus |
Sinus congestion
Watery, itchy eyes
Pain and tenderness behind the forehead and cheeks and around the eyes
Pain in the back of the neck or upper teeth
Ranges from mild to severe
more intense first thing in the morning
may worsen |
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Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) |
Pressure or "tight" feeling head pain
Painful "clicking" of the jaw
Pain located in the neck or at the back of the head
Tenderness at jaw joint just in from of the opening of ear
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Other types of headache pain:
- Associated with caffeine withdrawal: characterized by throbbing pain
- Associated with exertion: Pain is general to the head, not limited to a specific area
- Associated with arthritis: pain often increases with movement
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