It can be difficult to recognize for every one whether they are experiencing a typical headache or a migraine when there is pressure or pain in head. It is very important to recognize a migraine headache from a traditional headache, and vice versa to get faster relief through better treatments and it can also help prevent future headaches from occurring in the first place.
Often most assume any severe headache is equated to migraine as both share common symptoms when it comes to these both. Checking with few listed symptoms in here would help, and a physician advice would help in understanding better with migraine to a headache.
What is a Headache?
Headaches so common, all most every individual may have effected often sometimes due to any stress, muscle strain and anxiety at least once or many a times. These are the pains ranging from mild to moderate occurs on both sides of head and mostly last from few hours to a day.
Types of Headache
- Cluster Headaches: These occur in recurrent manner with headache-free period mostly on one side and having burning or piercing feeling during day.
- Tension Headaches: In this type of headaches, pain is like a band squeezing the head. Tension headaches are caused by tight muscles in your shoulders, neck, scalp or jaw.
- Sinus Headaches: Whereas these often confused with migraines as the pain severity in head due to nasal congestion and facial pressure.
What is a Migraine?
Migraine is a medical condition, where there is intense pain behind eye or ear, often sometimes on one side or both sides of head along with nausea, vomiting and extreme sensitivity of light and sound. Women are more prone to this condition than men due to menstrual hormonal changes. Some foods and drinks we consume may trigger migraine, which contain tyramine. Mostly affects people with age range of 15-55 and has a family history of migraine.
The exact reason for migraine is still not known, most findings on migraine cause is due to abnormal changes in levels of substances that naturally produced by the brain. But the incidence of this migraine is high due menopause and menstruations.
These are few factors that can potentially trigger migraine and differ from person to person and kind of headaches.
- Irregular and lack of sleep or too much sleep.
- Aspertame and tyramine in fast foods and drinks.
- Extreme bright lights, loud noises or even strong odours.
- Excessive consumption of alcohol and beverage like caffeine intake.
- Hormonal changes in women due to menstrual cycles.
- Foods that contain mono sodium glutamate like flavour enhancers if fast foods, seasonings and spices.
Headache Vs Migraine
- Headaches mainly causes due to strain and anxiety whereas Migraines has no single and exact reason in unknown
- In headaches, pain may be mild to moderate whereas in migraines, pain may be moderate to severe/intense
- Headaches can be seen most common in both genders whereas in migraines, Women are more prone in this condition.
- In headaches, one can tolerate sounds and lights to an extent whereas in migraines one can extremely sensitive to light and sounds.
- Headaches occurs in all irrespective of age group whereas migraines mostly seen in the age group of 15-55
- Headaches are never hereditary whereas migraines can be hereditary
Treating Headaches:
- With Medication: Treating a headache with medication with any pain killers like Acetaminophen, ibuprofen and aspirin, is common these days.
- By Relaxation Techniques: Preventing headaches is easy and advisable, with massages, meditation. Stress management is an important aspect to stay healthy and fit.
- Healthy lifestyle: Enough and regular sleep pattern at nights, staying physically active, staying hydrated with plenty of water and fluids intake. Stay away from alcohols, smoking and fast foods whenever possible.
Treating Migraines:
- Prevention Tips: Migraine has no appropriate cure as such, prevention is often the best treatment for migraine headaches but this condition can be managed with doctor’s help for a relief when this occur, so as make situation less frequent and severe.
- Avoid alchohol or caffeine and making changes to your diet, such as eliminating foods known to cause headaches.
- Taking steps to reduce stress.
- Taking prescription medications, such as antidepressants, blood pressure-lowering medicines, or antiepileptic medications.
- With Medications: Triptanslike almotriptan (Axert), rizatriptan (Maxalat) and Ergot derivatives work by balancing chemicals in the brain and are widely prescribed by doctors for any acute migraine conditions.