Headache Symptoms for Migraines, Tension and Cluster Headaches

Headaches come in different forms and have different symptoms. Tension headaches are the type people experience the most and they result from tension in the neck, shoulder, and face muscles. Migraines affect less than 15% of people, more of which are women, and they are very painful and can be long lasting. Cluster headaches are headaches that occur in patterns of varying lengths.

Tension Headaches

Most adults have had a tension headache and know how it can cause pain around the eyes and forehead. If your back and neck muscles are tense, the headache may be centered further back. The location of tension headache pain usually is localized in one spot. Tension headache symptoms can include watering eyes and a running nose. The symptoms can also include redness in the eyes. These headaches don't usually cause people to vomit or have light and sound sensitivity like migraines do. Tension headaches do not usually require any serious treatment and often go away on their own. Relaxation exercises can help get rid of these headaches.

Migraine Headaches

Migraine headaches are unique and especially painful. It is thought that genetics plays a part in the development of migraine headaches but no one knows the exact cause. Scientists are constantly working towards new treatments for migraines. Migraine symptoms include throbbing pain usually focused on one temple or alternating between temples.

The pain can be so severe that it feels like your whole head hurts. With migraines, blood vessels in the eye can swell and cause pain behind the eyes. If the pain does not alternate, it may be that you have a secondary headache caused by something as serious as a brain tumor.

Other migraine headache symptoms include sensitivity to lights and sounds. They can last just a couple of hours or a couple of days. Many people are warned of a migraine by feeling sleepy, weak, or having certain food cravings. As the migraines get worse, people often feel sick and may even vomit or have diarrhea. They can also feel like their hands and feet are very cold. For some people, triggering a migraine headache is as easy as climbing a flight if stairs.

Cluster Headaches

Cluster headaches are just a basic headache but one that occurs in a pattern. Often, the headaches last 30 to 60 minutes, go away briefly, and come back the next day around the same time. People usually have these cluster headache patterns for several weeks and then not at all for several months. The cluster headache symptoms are like those of tension headaches but more severe.