Understanding Frequent Headaches: Causes, Types & Treatment

Frequent headaches can cause missed work, school time or other activities. The key to the proper treatment of a headache is knowing the underlying type and cause. There are different types of headaches and they are not all treated with the same medications.

• Headache

Features

• Types of headaches include migraine, sinus and tension. Of the three, a migraine tends to be the more severe in terms of pain, lasting for hours and sometimes days. Tension headaches occur due to stress, while a sinus headache is brought on by sinus pressure.

Treatment

• Treatment options

  Migraine treatment is two-fold. Medication is taken at the onset of a migraine and daily preventive medication is taken to lesson the occurrences. Tension headaches are treated with ibuprofen, acetaminophen and relaxation. A sinus headache is treated with nasal sprays or an antibiotic if an infection is present.

Significance

• Migraines tend to run in families. Tension headaches appear to be the most common.

Considerations

• More women than men tend to suffer from migraines and tension headaches, while sinus headaches appear to affect men and women equally.

Warning

• People with continual headaches should see a doctor to rule out serious causes and to find other treatment options.