Types of Headaches

• Headaches can originate from a variety of causes. Stress, diet, smoking, exposure to chemical fumes or organic contaminants, eye strain, congestion due to colds or allergies, hormonal changes, medications, injuries, certain conditions and diseases, and even sex can cause headaches. Some of the most common types of headaches include 1) migraines and cluster headaches, which are vascular headaches that involve the dilation of blood vessels in the head, 2) tension headaches, which involve muscular contractions, 3) sinus headaches, which are caused by sinus congestion, and 4) dehydration headaches, such as those caused by reactions to drugs or alcohol. But this list is by no means complete.
  
  

What's happening?

• In most instances, when you get a headache, the pain is located in the nerves attached to the muscles and blood vessels of the head. Something irritates those nerves, whether it's inflammation, the contraction of the muscles, or the chemical irritants of some food or drug you ingested.
  
  

The Onset of Pain

• Headaches often begin mildly. Classic migraines may begin with the sensation of an "aura" and visual disturbances within a half hour of the pain's starting. Chronic migraines may start mildly as a dull throbbing ache. Tension headaches may begin as small bands of tension around the head and down the neck. Sinus headaches and dehydration headaches can begin with a feeling of eye strain or congestion. In contrast, cluster headaches, which afflict mostly men, often start suddenly and are excruciatingly painful.
  
  

The Peak of Pain

• Headaches differ in intensity and duration. The always-disconcerting "ice cream headaches" that follow the swift ingestion of something cold usually disappear within a minute and are rarely very painful. Migraines, on the other hand, can last hours, days or even weeks and be incapacitating. Headaches can occur on-and-off for a few days, then never be seen again until next year, or they can occur with predictable regularity associated with events such as the menstrual cycle or the ending of the work week. The pain of headaches may be sharp, stabbing, throbbing, dull, constricting, or pounding, and often, but not always, fluctuates during the course of the headache. Partly because of this tendency to fluctuate, headaches often go untreated until they become severe, as people may decide to "work through them." However, you'll have the most luck treating a headache when you catch it early.
  
  

After the Pain

• Many headache remedies are available to treat the pain of headaches. Pain-killing medication, whether over-the-counter or by prescription, along with other treatments can usually ease the pain of a headache. These "other treatments" usually involve addressing the causes of the headaches, whatever they may be. You'd treat a tension headache, then, by getting the muscles of the head to relax, and a sinus headache by eliminating the sinus congestion. Once the pain begins to ease, you may feel sleepy or tired and fall asleep, allowing the muscles in the head to relax completely. When you wake up, the pain may be gone.
  
  

Warning

• You should call your doctor in the event your headache comes on suddenly, is not typical for you, or is excruciatingly intense.