Migraine vs. Headache: know the difference

How to differentiate between a migraine and headache?

When you feel pain or pressure in your head, it may become difficult for you to assess whether you are experiencing a common headache or a migraine. Let's understand how different they are from each other.

A typical headache usually affects both sides of your head and varies from a mild to moderate pain. It can last from 30 minutes to up to a period of one week.

Some specific areas which get affected by a headache are:

  temples

  forehead

  back of your neck

Factors that trigger this headache type are a muscle strain, stress or anxiety. 

A migraine, on the other hand, is also a type of a headache which results in an acute throbbing sensation in one part of your head. Usually, migraine headaches are highly painful. Migraine pain makes it difficult for a person to carry out his/her daily tasks. Symptoms or signs associated with migraine attacks are:

  vomiting

  nausea 

  sensitivity to sound or light

  pain in the temples

  temporary loss of vision

  pain behind your ear or eye

What are the common causes of a migraine?

  hormonal imbalances in women - fluctuations in oestrogen, especially during menopause or pregnancy seem to trigger a migraine

  drinks like wine and extremely caffeinated beverages 

  foods such as salty foods, aged cheese as well as processed foods can trigger the migraine attack.

  medications - vasodilators such as nitroglycerine and oral contraceptives can intensify migraine pain.

How to treat a headache?

Fortunately, you can get rid of stress-induced headaches through over-the-counter treatments, which include:

  aspirin

  acetaminophen

  ibuprofen

How to treat a migraine?

If you experience migraine attacks less frequently, these medicines may give you quick relief:

  triptans, such as rizatriptan (Maxalt) or almotriptan (Axert)

  antinausea medicines, such as chlorpromazine (Thorazine), promethazine (Phenergan) or prochlorperazine (Compazine)

  non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as acetaminophen, naproxen sodium, aspirin or ibuprofen

Some preventive tips:

  make changes in your diet such as avoid such foods, including caffeine and alcohol which are believed to trigger headaches.

  you can also try muscle relaxation exercises, yoga or meditation to ease the migraine attack. 

If you would like to consult with me privately, please click on 'consult'.
Related Tip: 8 Common Migraine Triggers You Must Stay Away From

Migraine Vs. Headache: Know the Difference

Headaches on their own are quite a pain, but headaches can also be a symptom of a more serious illness. Most headaches are caused by the disturbance of pain sensitive structures around the brain. This can be inside or outside the cranium. Headaches can be seen as a sign of stress, anxiety, lack of sleep, food allergies etc. Thus, it can be considered a warning that you need to change your lifestyle or diet and relax. Depending on what causes the headache, a number of homeopathic remedies can be used to treat it.

1. Aconite: this is effective if the headache comes on suddenly and is worsened by cold. Another symptom of headache, which can be effectively treated by aconite is the accompanying of the headache by the feeling of a tight band over the head.

2. Belladonna: a throbbing headache that is centered on the front or right side of the head can be treated with belladonna. This sort of headache is usually accompanied by shooting pains, dilated pupils and aggravated by the slightest movement, sound or draft of air. It is also usually worse in the afternoons.

3. Nux vomica: this is an effective cure for headaches caused by excessive alcohol or coffee, indigestion and hepatic insufficiency. It is usually centered over the eye and can persist all day or all night.

4. Cocculus: symptoms of headaches that can be treated with cocculus are first, pain that extends from the back of the head to the nape of the neck, motion sickness and a tendency to worsen by thinking too much. Such types of headaches improve when the patient is indoors and resting.

5. Sanguinaria: a headache, which begins at the back of the head and settles over the right eye can be treated with sanguinaria. These headaches usually start in the morning and intensify as the day progresses. It is often experienced by women who bleed excessively during menstruation. Lying down can relive this sort of headache.

6. Spigelia: a headache that settles over the left eye can be treated with spigelia. Such headaches usually begin in the morning, reach their peak in the afternoons and subside by the evenings. Noise, movement or a change in weather can aggravate such headaches.

7. Cimicifuga: headaches caused by fatigue and exhaustion can be treated using cimicifuga. This sort of pain is associated with sharp pains over the years and a shooting pain at the top of the head. You may feel like a bolt being driven through the head.

How Homeopathy Helps in Relieving Headache

Eye Strain is an umbrella term that denotes a number of symptoms that relate to the extended use of eyes as well as discomfort that may come from excessive smartphone and computer use. This condition may or may not lead to significant eye damage and is usually characterised by blurry vision, headaches and a feeling of dryness in the eye as you blink less which creates less tears. This may happen due to the extended use of the eye when you are following objects on a screen or staring at a screen for too long. So, is eye strain the cause of your headaches? 

Find out more in this article.

Causes: Eye Strain or Asthenopia is caused by concentrating on visually intense tasks like reading from texts that have a fine print, the use of computers and other screens for prolonged periods, and trying to focus on objects in the dark. This can lead to distress of the muscles in this area which can also cause eye strain leading to a variety of symptoms including double imagery and even headaches and mild migraine like conditions.

Eye Muscle Imbalance: When there is eye strain which leads to headaches, it can also give rise to eye muscle imbalance which makes it difficult to concentrate with both eyes at the same time. In such cases, one may need bifocal glasses so as to fix the issue and prevent such debilitating headaches to remain on a persistent basis.

Diagnosis: Digital eye fatigue and ocular eye strain leading to headaches can be diagnosed by a doctor with the help of regular eye examinations. In any case, one should have the eyes checked at least once a year. This is especially important if your job involves sitting in front of the computer screen for prolonged hours.

Symptoms: There are a variety of symptoms of these headaches that are caused by eye strain. Apart from blurry vision which does not allow the patient to see properly and clearly without glasses, it can also cause headaches with symptoms like nausea and sensitivity to light. Retinal or eye migraines do not necessarily have to come with headaches, but the pressure can be painful enough.

Treatment: To begin with, the best form of treatment for headaches born from eye strain includes prevention which can be done by getting plenty of rest and sleep even as we limit the hours spent in front of the screen. One can also lower the resolution of the screen and make it more ambient. Also, the screen should be placed at a considerable distance from the eyes. The doctor can also prescribe glasses and eye drops for better eye lubrication.

Headache - Can Eyestrain Be the Reason Behind it?

Headache or cephalgia, though is not a serious disease, but the condition has become a part of our daily life for most most of us. Homeopathy form of medicine classifies the headache into two major types i.e. primary headache and secondary headache. Sinusitis, excessive stress and strain to spinal cord or neck due to improper posturing are the major cause for primary headaches. 

Secondary headaches are just the warning signal of any other serious pathological disease condition in our body. It might be because of any trauma in head, craniotomy surgeries, and compression of nerve endings because of growing tumour in neck or brain.

Homeopathy is an ancient form of medicine which identifies the exact cause of headache for the person and treats accordingly. Thus, the treatment modalities change from one individual to the other.

Homeopathic medicines for headache:
Belladonna, Pulsatilla, Nux vomica, Bryonia, Gelsemium,iris, Sanguinaria and spigelia are the commonly used homeopathic medicine to treat any type of headache even if it is migraine.

Homeopathy also advices certain self care remedies to relieve headache

Exercises and massage: Doing exercises and massages improve the circulation and thereby relieve the headache.
Proper posturing: Identify the postures that causes excessive muscle contraction and strain to the neck and spinal cord. Maintaining good posture helps in relieving headache because of muscle contractions.
Rest: Headache indicates that your body is lacking adequate rest. Relax and sleep to relieve headache is the best natural way to calm your body from stress.
Eat small frequent meals: Headache sometimes may also occur as a result of low glucose level so split your meals and have as small frequent feeds. Include foods such as spinach, olive oil and tofu or pumpkin seeds for person who get headache as a result of hypoglycaemic effect.
Cold compress: Applying ice pack over your forehead helps in relieving the nagging type of headache.
Stay hydrated : Dehydration is the main cause of headache so have frequent sips of water to maintain the hydration status.

Headache - Homeopathy Is the Perfect Cure!

A headache can be a hindrance to any person at any time. It can either occur on left or right side in case of a migraine, be isolated to a point or radiate across the entire head. The pain can be sharp, throbbing or dull. It can either develop gradually or suddenly and can last for few hours to several days. Headaches need not arise due to a factor or condition of or in the head alone, they can be triggered because of other disorders or diseases in the body.

What are the different causes of a headache?
There are different kinds of headaches. Based on the symptoms, a doctor can diagnose the causes and the best treatment option for it. Not all headaches indicate serious illness. On the other hand, some headaches can be life-threatening as well. Primarily headaches can be divided into two broad categories- a primary headache and secondary headaches.

Primary headaches: A primary headache is caused due to conditions or factors associated with the pain-sensitive structures of the head. These types of headaches do not result from underlying illness. Muscles of the neck and head, blood vessels and chemical activity in and around the skull are the reason for primary headaches. Even certain genes could be responsible for triggering the pain. Some of the types of primary headaches include a cluster headache, tension headache, migraine, paroxysmal hemicrania etc. There could be primary headaches that last for a very long time such as sex headaches, cough headaches, chronic migraine, hemicranias continua etc. Typically, primary headaches are often triggered by poor posture, alcohol, lack of sleep, irregular food timings, processed meats etc.
Secondary headaches: Secondary headaches are the symptoms of a disease that can activate the pain-sensitive nerves of the head. The severity of the pain varies greatly. Some of the possible causes of secondary headaches include arterial tears, acute sinusitis, brain aneurysm, brain tumour, dehydration, ear infection, carbon monoxide poisoning, dental problems, glaucoma, hangovers, flu, hypertension, stroke, panic attacks, toxoplasmosis, post-concussion syndrome, trigeminal neuralgia, monosodium glutamate, meningitis, giant cell arteritis etc. Some of the common triggers of secondary headaches include ice cream headaches, compression headaches, thunderclap headaches, sinus headaches, rebound headaches, spinal headaches etc.
When to seek emergency care for headaches?
Headaches could indicate serious disorders such as encephalitis, stroke or meningitis. It is advisable to seek immediate medical care for an unbearable headache which also includes the inability to understand speech, stiff neck, trouble in vision, vomiting accompanied with nausea, trouble in speaking, high body temperature, greater than 104 F. A doctor should be consulted if the pain occurs multiple times in a short duration, keeps one from working or performing daily activities, the pain doesn t improve even after the consumption of over the counter medicine and disturbs sleeping.


Headache - Why You Must Consult For It?

Almost everyone these days is familiar with headaches. The throbbing pain that invades your headspace when you are in the middle of your meeting or work   where you need to focus. It is unforgiving and a big nuisance.

Mostly common conditions like fatigue, lack of sleep, stress, sinus and migraine cause pain in the head. But recent studies show that high blood pressure, or what is commonly known as hypertension, may also lead to severe headaches. Most of the time high blood pressure do not exhibit any symptoms and hence is referred to as  the silent killer . More often than not people do not even realize how a mild headache can be a result of hypertension.

The Link between Hypertension and Headaches
Hypertension or high blood pressure usually occurs when the force of the blood flow in the arteries increase. A headache resulting from high blood pressure usually affects both sides of the head, particularly the temple regions. One major and common cause of high blood pressure is stress. Although people may not be able to find a relationship between the two, one may experience mild but steady pain throughout the head particularly in the forehead or at the back of the head. 

In high blood pressure, a palpitating sensation in the temple region often accompanies the sensation of pain in the head. Pain in the temple region is usually accompanied by mild headaches for which you should seek medical attention. Hypertensive emergency is normally considered when the blood pressure reaches above 180/110. Besides headaches, high blood pressure can also take a serious toll on your health leading to stroke or heart attack, if not treated on time.

There are three types of hypertension conditions that are followed by mild to severe headaches:

Malignant Hypertension- Sudden or rapid increase in blood pressure causes malignant hypertension, which requires medical attention. This is more common among young adults and women with pregnancy-induced high blood pressure.
Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension- This condition is characterized by increased blood pressure around the brain and is commonly diagnosed with symptoms like vision problems, shoulder pain, thumping noise in the ears, nausea, and severe headaches almost every day.
Hypertensive Encephalopathy- An extreme version of elevated blood pressure, can cause swelling in the brain, severe headaches that may worsen, nausea, dizziness, seizures and even coma.
Uncontrolled high blood pressure can be deadly, and is more common among smokers and older people. The condition can be controlled by adopting certain dietary measures- diet rich in vegetables and fruits, but low in fat, salt, sugary and sweetened beverages, and red meat. However, with proper medications and a balanced diet, one may be able to keep their blood pressure in check. Once the blood pressure normalizes, the headache also disappears in no time.

High Blood Pressure And Headache - Is There A Relationship?

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