When there is pressure in your head, it can become difficult to tell whether it is a normal headache or migraine. Differentiating between migraine and traditional headache is important. Understanding the disease may give you fast relief . It is possible to prevent migraine and its symptoms from occurring in the first place. It can be confusing for anyone to tell the difference but, certain differentiating points may help you. So, before reaching out to the Best Neurosurgeon in Mumbai, you can treat your headache at home while you are waiting for your number in the queue or your appointment.
What is a headache?
Headache is one of the unpleasant pains that causes pressure and aches in the different areas of the brain. The pain can be mild to severe depending on whether you are stressed or if it is occurring itself. Some specific areas of headache include the forehead, temples, and back of the neck. A headache usually may last anywhere between 30 minutes to a week. The common headache is due to tension. Also, the triggers of headaches are anxiety, stress, and muscle strain. But, you may not only have headaches because of this reason.
What are the different types of headaches that may interrupt your lifestyle?
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Cluster headaches
It is one of the painful headaches that occur on one side of the head and come in clusters. You may experience headache attacks followed by headache-free periods.
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Sinus headaches
It is one of the headache types that may often confuse you with cluster headache. The sinusitis infections impacting the nose, ears, and chest or other symptoms may also accompany headaches.
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Chiari headaches
It is the type of headache that occurs because of birth defects. It pushes the skull against the wall of the brain and causes severe pain in the back of the head.
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Thunderclap headaches
It is one of the most severe conditions of headache that may develop within 60 seconds or less. It is one of the serious medical conditions that may affect your health and may give you the worst experience ever. For this, you may require to call your doctor and have an immediate hospital stay.
What is a migraine and how can you differentiate it with other headaches?
This is a headache that is severe and intense in addition to normal head pain. Migraine and its symptoms include:
- nausea
- pain behind one eye or ear
- pain in the temples
- flashing lights
- sensitivity to light or sound
- temporary vision loss
- vomiting
If you compare tension headache and other types with migraine headache, it can be moderate to severe. Some people may occasionally feel the headache that may require them to have an emergency room. A migraine headache typically affects one side of the brain. But, still, it is possible to have pain in both sides of the head. Migraine can take the form of severe conditions when the pain is intense and throbbing. It may take several hours to treat or go away itself.
Migraine headaches are of two types. One is migraine with aura and the other one is migraine without aura. Aura is the feeling of sensation that a person may develop before they get a migraine. It is the kind of sensation that may last 10 to 30 minutes before an attack. This may include:
- having trouble thinking
- seeing flashing lights
- feeling numbness in the face or hands
- having a sensation against lights, smells, etc.
Migraine is one of the serious medical conditions that may affect you badly. For this reason, you may be likely to see the Best Neurosurgeon in Mumbai. Migraine may take one or two days to develop its symptoms completely. It is known as the prodrome stage or phase when the symptoms of migraine are still developing before having a migraine. These symptoms may include:
- constipation
- depression
- frequent yawning
- irritability
- neck stiffness
- unusual food cravings
What may trigger you to have a migraine?
People who may have migraines may have several other factors associated with the disease. These are called the migraine triggers and may include:
- emotional anxiety
- contraceptives
- alcohol
- hormonal changes
- menopause
What can be the ways to treat headaches?
Over-the-counter treatments –
If it is a small headache and you may connect it with tension in your mind, fortunately, you can treat the headache with over-the-counter medications. These medications may include:
- acetaminophen
- aspirin
- ibuprofen
Other techniques –
Headaches are often stress-inducing and may take time to reduce stress and thereby go itself. You can have relieving pain medications and can also reduce the risk of future headaches with the help of the following therapies:
- heat therapy, you can have a warm water bath or can apply a heating pad or compressor below your head
- massage
- meditation
- neck stretching
- relaxation exercises
How can you treat a migraine?
Prevention tips –
Prevention of migraine and its symptoms makes the best option to treat migraine. It is only you who can work in collaboration with your doctor to decide the preventive measures. You may go to Best Neurosurgeon in Mumbai and may ask for the following preventive measures.
- You can make changes in your diet by eliminating the foods that may affect your headache including caffeine and alcohol
- Try to take the prescription of medications such as antidepressants, blood pressure-lowering medicines, and antagonists.
- You can work with your doctor to decide the ways to reduce headaches and pressure in your head. For example, you can have heat therapy in case of emergency or may have over-the-counter medications for aura with different sensations
It is advisable to not use migraine medications more than 10 days a month. This can create additional effects called rebound headaches. This will worsen your medical conditions and instead of giving you better results, it may result in having the worst condition.
Conclusion –
Headaches range from mild to severe and can also be deliberate at certain points. It is you who can identify the headaches early and can minimize the chances of other severe conditions. Distinguishing between migraine and traditional headache can be tricky. But, you may require to pay attention to your body changes. It is you who is going to tell the symptoms and the related facts concerning the headaches. This way your doctor will help you treat the same.
