Headache: A daily pain that can make life hell. Knowing all types of headache means being able to run for cover. We commonly call it a headache, but it has numerous varieties that vary in duration, intensity and symptoms. The cluster headache is typical for men, the migraine with aura is the one that scares mostly women. But it is possible to defeat the headache and prevent it from becoming chronic.

Various types of headache

Anyone who has suffered from headaches knows how disabling and often unbearable pain can be, which also brings with it a whole series of unwanted consequences such as irritability, extreme sensitivity to light, the most imperceptible noise, the feeling of confusion. Which do not benefit social life, nor work performance, and the near and dear. Often the causes are psychosomatic: stress, mainly; but having excruciating pain in the eyelids, forehead, temples is a particularly stressful experience. And the cycle, therefore, repeats itself.

In order to intervene quickly and well when the first signs arise, it is important to recognize the type of headache. Those who suffer from it, in fact, know that not all headaches are the same. Not all headaches must be treated in the same way in terms of symptoms, the course and remedies.

Sometimes, in milder cases, natural remedies, a coffee and a lot of rest are enough, more often you need pharmacological help, because everyday headaches can make life hell. But let’s see in detail the types of headaches, their symptoms and various remedies that are available in modern pharmacology. A variety of painkillers for headache and other conditions that require analgesics can be found at Trust Pharmacy, but you need to know your type of headache before you start.

Types of headache

First of all, let’s clear the field of misunderstandings about the name of this malaise: headache is extremely generic and includes a series of annoyances of different intensity, symptoms and prognosis, but we generally intend to describe cephalalgia with the term “headache”. Migraine is a type of headache, which we sometimes use as a synonym for headache.

Experts, however, when classifying headaches refer to an international classification system, the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD), and this should give a measure of how many types of headaches exist.

Tension headache

Tension headache is the most frequent one, usually the one we refer to when we say ‘I often have a headache’. It is a pain of varying intensity that can be localized on both sides of the head, and is described as a clamp on the head, a weight. It lasts from a few hours to a few days. Sufferers describe it as a state of generalized malaise, anxiety, weakness, lack of concentration or depression.

Cluster headache

The so-called “cluster” headache is instead a headache that is not predictable, characterized by periods in which there are very frequent and intense pain attacks and periods of well-being instead. It is a headache more frequent in men than in women, and it is the headache that accompanies ocular disorders (redness, drooping of the eyelid, tearing) as well as dizziness.

Sinus headache

To complete the picture of headaches one should mention sinusitis and drug-related headaches. Sinus headache is the one that derives from sinusitis due to inflammation of the sinuses and consequent neuralgia. It presents with tearing, a sense of facial “weight” and nasal obstruction. Of the same type is that due to the cervical, at the base of which there is the tension of the shoulders and neck and the inflammation of the nerves that connect them.

Sometimes there may be headaches as a result of taking certain medications, so it is important to understand where they come from.

Migraine

Migraine is a form of headache that lasts from 4 to 72 hours, worsens with head movements, such as doing physical activity or even mildly shaking or turning around, and usually ‘throbs’, accompanied by a feeling of nausea or vomiting and hypersensitivity to lights and noise. It can be located on one side of the head or both.

Migraine with aura

The form that includes more visual symptoms such as flashes of light, bright spots and dots, or otherwise lowered vision. It can be really scary for those who have not suffered from it before, because it often also brings with it numbness, tingling and difficulty in articulating speech. The headache appears shortly after the aura.

Menstrual migraine

Women know what this means, it is a malaise that accompanies them once a month for many years of life, even if living with it can still be difficult. In fact, it reaches annoying levels of intensity, sometimes disabling, and is accompanied by other painful states such as back pain or muscle pain.

One last curiosity: migraines can become chronic and become an unpleasant company from an episodic phenomenon for more than fifteen consecutive days within a month. In this case it is good to contact a competent doctor or the headache center of the city, to live a life free from pain.