Headache Types

There are four types of headaches:

Tension-Type Headache

Migraine Headache

Cluster Headache

Hormone Headache

There are four types of headache:  vascular, muscle contraction (tension), traction, and inflammatory.  The most common type of vascular headache is migraine. Migraine headaches are usually characterized by severe pain on one or both sides of the head, an upset stomach, and, at times, disturbed vision.   Women are more likely than men to have migraine headaches.    After migraine, the most common type of vascular headache is the toxic headache produced by fever.  Other kinds of vascular headaches include “cluster” headaches, which cause repeated episodes of intense pain, and headaches resulting from high blood pressure.  Muscle contraction headaches appear to involve the tightening or tensing of facial and neck muscles.  Traction and inflammatory headaches are symptoms of other disorders, ranging from stroke to sinus infection.  Like other types of pain, headaches can serve as warning signals of more serious disorders. This is particularly true for headaches caused by inflammation, including those related to meningitis as well as those resulting from diseases of the sinuses, spine, neck, ears, and teeth.

Chronic Tension-Type: Description

Chronic tension-type headaches may be the result of stress or fatigue, but more than likely, they can be attributed to physical problems, psychological issues, or depression

Chronic tension-type headaches affect both men and women, but women do have a greater incidence of them. This prevalence among women, however, may be due to the fact that women seek medical help and report headaches more frequently than men.

A pattern of chronic tension-type headaches generally begins between the ages of 20 and 40, and every personality type can experience them.

MIGRAINE Description

Migraines deserve the attention they receive; one headache can put your life “on hold” for a few hours or several days. Migraine is responsible for more job absenteeism and disrupted family life than any other headache type. 

According to estimates, approximately 29.5 million people in the United States suffer from migraines. Four out of five of them report a family history of migraine, but scientists are not sure if this is genetic or a family predisposition. Some experts consider migraine to be an inherited malfunction of the brainýs normal pain-generating system.

 CLUSTER Headache Types

They are called cluster headaches because the attacks come in groups. The pain arrives with little, if any, warning, and it has been described as the most severe and intense of any headache type. It generally lasts from 30 to 45 minutes, although it might persist for several hours before it disappears. Unfortunately, it can reoccur later in the day. Most sufferers experience one to four headaches a day during a cluster period.

Cluster headaches frequently surface during the morning or late at night; the cluster cycle can last weeks or months and then can disappear for months or years. Clusters often occur during spring or autumn and, thus, are often incorrectly associated with allergies. Approximately 10 percent of the sufferers, however, experience chronic cluster headaches that occur all year long.

Headache Types | HORMONE

You would not feel pain without them, because it is the hormones that induce the pain response. Actually, the headache may be protecting you or warning you of something more damaging in the same way that touching a hot stove alerts you to the heat and protects you from burning yourself.

The word hormone is derived from a Greek word that means to “set in motion.” Hormones initiate and regulate many of your body’s functions. For example, metabolic hormones regulate the way your body turns food into energy. Growth hormones control childhood development and maintain certain tissue structure in adults. Regulating hormones determine your femininity, masculinity and sexuality.

Hormones are manufactured and secreted by your endocrine glands, which include the pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, thymus, adrenals, pancreas, gonads and other glandular tissues located in your intestines, kidneys, lungs, heart, and blood vessels. The endocrine system works with your nervous system to keep your body in balance within a constantly changing environment.

 

As they interact, your endocrine and nervous systems are responsible for the thousands of automatic responses that regulate your bodily functions. They decide, for example, whether you will respond to a potential headache trigger with an actual sensation of pain.