Having a headache has become so common that the condition is commonly used as a punch line in many jokes. The pain associated with the condition is not a joke for many people. Many resources will suggest finding the cause of your pain, but with 150 headache types currently used for medical diagnosis, how can you be sure which one you have?
The First String Players – Tension, Migraine and Sinus
The three most common headache types used in medical diagnosis are tension, migraine and sinus. Tension pains are self explanatory and can be associated with stressful changes in life whether those changes are real or assumed through worry. Migraines have no known cause but affect more than 24 million patients in the world today. Sinus pain is directly linked to nasal stuffiness and blockage commonly felt with allergies and the change of seasons from fall to winter and winter to spring.
With three down, there are still 147 headache types. Other common types include mixed, cluster, hormone and chronic progressive.
Primary Vs Secondary Types of Headaches
When pain is diagnosed, there are two types of headaches – primary and secondary. Primary headaches occur without trigger from another medical condition. Secondary are linked to other medical problems.
Tension is not a medical condition so the pain associated with tension is considered primary. Secondary pain can be attributed to many medical conditions including stroke, aneurysm, alcohol, nicotine, caffeine and concussion. Sinus headaches are a prime example of pain being secondary to a medical condition. Migraines are commonly referred to as primary with the exception of the menopause migraine.
Learn more about headache types by visiting http://www.headacheworld.com/
