Guest Author - Melissa Weise

Almost everyone on the planet experiences a headache at least once in their lifetime. Contrary to popular belief, most headaches happen outside the skull – in the nerves, muscle and skin on the head. So, despite the fact that it feels like elephants are playing soccer with your eyeballs or an ice pick is tickling your brain, a headache usually isn’t anything serious at all.

There are several types of headaches and each one has a different feeling and cause. Tension headaches are just like they sound. They are caused by an increase in stress and tension in your life. They are usually located in the neck or lower skull and sometimes into the shoulders as well.

Sinus headaches are caused by excess pressure in the sinuses. Sinuses are cavities in the skull around the nose and eyes. Sinus pressure and discomfort can be caused by many things: changes in weather, allergies, colds, food sensitivities (usually to milk or milk products), or even a change in temperature. Actually, “brain freezes” are a particular kind of sinus headache caused by sinus cavities getting cold very quickly when you eat ice cream or other cold things really fast.

Cluster headaches are groups of headaches that come in quickly right after one another in different parts of the head. They can last for anywhere from five minutes to hours. Usually, they don’t happen to people under the age of 25, but sometimes start in the teen years. Individuals who get cluster headaches are prone to have them happen again but sometimes not for years.

Rebound headaches are a newly identified form of headache that is actually caused by overusing pain killer for headaches! Doctors are discovering that using pain killers like Advil and Tylenol every day or more often than recommended can cause daily headaches. So always read the bottle and follow the directions!

Migraine headaches are a particularly debilitating form. Migraines are incredibly intense and usually start with a halo feeling for sometimes hours before they start. They are often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, light and sound sensitivity. In other words, if you are wondering if you are having a migraine, you aren’t. You would know. More than other types of headaches, migraines will sometimes not respond to regular over the counter medication and may require a prescription medication to be treated. While they do not indicate anything any worse than a regular headache, the reason why they are so bad is because people who suffer from them can rarely go to work or school and can end up losing grades or even jobs because of them.

Headaches are caused for a variety of reasons including strong scents, certain food allergies, hormonal changes, tension, too much time staring at a screen (tv, video game), problems with eyesight, overuse of caffeine, weather, the flu cold or other infections. If you have headaches frequently, watch for what triggers them and try to avoid it.

You should call your doctor if you have headaches daily that won’t go away or if they are accompanied by a fever, neck pain or stiffness, difficulty standing or walking, weakness, rashes, vomiting, decreased level of alertness, visual changes, or following a head injury.
“For more than occasional headaches, the American Headache Society advises that you tell your doctor all symptoms that accompany a headache, such as nausea or vomiting; how fast headaches arise; how disabling they are; and any other illnesses.”