headaches : find out how to prevent or treat tension headache, cluster and migraines

Headaches of all types plague people at different points in their life. Cluster headaches, sinus headaches, and tension headaches may share some symptoms, but are triggered by and may result in very different outcomes. Below are some of the different characteristics of cluster, sinus, and tension headaches:

Cluster Headaches: These headaches typically last anywhere from fifteen to ninety minutes. Cluster headaches tend to be triggered by REM sleep, and people with cluster headaches will often wake up at the same time every night with a full-blown attack. Cluster periods, in which an average person may have one or more attacks per day, may last one month to several months.

Cluster Headaches are always one-sided. The pain is usually in or around one eye and the pain is accompanied by redness or tearing of the eye, drooping of the lid, nasal stuffiness and other similar symptoms.

Cluster affects perhaps two in every 100,000 people, and are excrutiatingly painful, but thankfully, there are methods to partially prevent and treat them. The usual initial treatment for cluster headache is prednisone, and usually people would also be started on a calcium channel blocker. The two most important acute medications are injectable sumatriptan and high-flow oxygen. (as reported from www.headache.net)
Tension headaches: These headaches make up 90% of all reported headaches. Also known as muscle contraction headaches, tension headaches are the most common of all headaches Tension headaches occur as the muscles of the back of the neck closest to the spine and at the base of the head become excessively tense. The tension of these muscles pulls upon the scalp and, according to recent medical research, upon the inside lining of the skull, resulting in pain.

Tension headaches tend to be localized in nature, such that if the tension you are experiencing is on one side of the head or neck, it is highly likely that side of the head will be affected with a tension headache. As muscles relax and this tension eases, the tension headache decreases in size and intensity, then fades out.
. A tension headache is known by the following characteristics:

• Tension headaches are often located in the forehead, back of the head and neck, or often in both regions.
• Tension headaches are commonly described as a tight feeling, as if the head were in a vise. Soreness in the shoulders or neck is common.
• Depression, anxiety, and sleeping problems may accompany persistent tension headaches.
• Sufferers of tension-type headaches are more sensitive to light than the general population, even between attacks. They also may suffer from visual disturbances; however, neither is as intense as in people with migraines. Tension headaches also do not cause nausea or limit activities as migraine headaches do.
• Tension-type headaches can last minutes to days.
Sinus headaches: These headaches are also one of the three most common headache types, and are often misdiagnosed as a tension or migraine headache. Sinus headache sufferers tend to have pain and pressure around the nose, under and around the eyes, or at the top of the head. Sometimes those who suffer with sinus headaches also complain of jaw pain resonating up through the sinus cavities.
A sinus headache can mean that you have a sinus disorder; however, this is not always automatically the case. Sinus and nasal passages can become inflamed leading to a headache. Headache is one of the key symptoms of patients diagnosed with acute or chronic sinusitis. In addition to a headache, sinusitis patients often complain of:

• Pain and pressure around the eyes, across the cheeks and the forehead
• Achy feeling in the upper teeth
• Fever and chills
• Facial swelling
• Nasal stuffiness
• Yellow or green discharge

It is important to note that there are some cases of headaches related to chronic sinusitis without other upper respiratory symptoms. When this happens, it is recommended that an examination for sinusitis be considered when treatment for a migraine or other headache disorder is unsuccessful.

Sinus headaches are associated with a swelling of the membranes lining the sinuses (spaces adjacent to the nasal passages). Sinus headaches tend to worsen as you bend forward or lie down. The key to relieving the symptoms is to reduce sinus swelling and inflammation and facilitate mucous drainage from the sinuses.

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