Headaches come in various guises. Primary headaches are not related to an underlying condition, but may be triggered by food or stress. Secondary headaches, like sinus headaches, are a sign that something else is wrong.
CLUSTER HEADACHES
About 1 in 1,000 people suffer from cluster headaches. As the name suggests, these intensely painful
episodes tend to arrive in groups - sometimes two or three in quick succession. Sufferers may be
completely incapable of doing anything for weeks or months.
Norwegian researchers have recently tried treating them by shooting Botox up patients’ noses to paralyse a bunch of nerves involved in transmitting the pain. It’s thought that treatments that help migraine sufferers could also help those who with cluster headaches.
MIGRAINES
Migraines are often divided into those with and without aura – visual or other kinds of sensory disturbances, such as weird smells. An aura might arrive before the migraine itself, giving the sufferer due warning of the impending headache.
However, not all migraine sufferers experience headaches themselves. Other symptoms include nausea and heightened senses despite a desperate desire for sleep, which may relieve the pain. Migraines affect more women than men, perhaps due to hormonal differences.
SINUS headaches
This rare type of headache is felt as a constant throbbing pain in the face, usually under the eyes or just above the teeth. Sufferers will often find that their faces feel unusually sensitive to touch and that moving their heads or bending down may cause the pain to intensify.
They are caused by an underlying infection in the sinuses, that fortunately can be treated with decongestants, antihistamines or nasal sprays.
TENSION-TYPE HEADACHES
These are your bog-standard, run-of-the-mill, garden variety headaches. They can manifest as an ache on both sides of the head or pressure behind the eyes.
Usually less painful than a migraine, a tension-type headache probably won’t keep you from working or whatever else you should be doing. For some people, however, tension headaches can last for days or return several times a week.
At least 1 in 50 people suffer chronic tension-type headaches, which means they recur more than 15 times a month.
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