Can someone tell me the difference between a migraine and a headache?
Sunday, May 2nd, 2010 at
6:13 pm
Every site I look at says the same symptoms for both. I need a strict distinction between the two so I can take the proper medicine. Thank you.
Tagged with: between • difference • headache • Migraine • someone • tell
Filed under: Migraine Headache Symptoms
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
Migraine is a debilitating condition marked by intense, throbbing pain on one side of the head that becomes worse with movement and often involves nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound. One attack can last several hours to several days.
Headaches just hurt for a little while.
If you’re a migraine sufferer, you’ll know. Migraines make you sensitive to light, smell and the pain is one of the most severest known to man. It’s like a drill boring into your eye or temple.
Headaches are mostly band type caused by tension.
alright,
a headache is a slight pain in your head that is annoying and that will go away with some advil or tylonal. (i have these quit often)
A mirgrain(Which i have only had once) is extremely painful, alot worse than a headache,
sometimes it may hurt to open your eyes or blink. It may hurt so much that you cry or cant stand up without getting dizzy.
The typical migraine headache is unilateral and pulsating, lasting from 4 to 72 hours; symptoms include nausea, vomiting, photophobia (increased sensitivity to bright light), and hyperacusis (increased sensitivity to sound)…taken from wikipedia…
a headache will just give u sharp pains, none of the vomiting etc and wont last as long…
dont worry scream, both are curable, trust me, i’m a doctor *kisses ur head better*
Sometimes telling the difference between a Migraine attack and a headache can be difficult. Migraines can come on suddenly, or have clear cut cues that an impending attack is on the way. Headaches are different in a few ways. They may be slow and steady, or short and stabbing. Either way, Migraines and headaches are not fun.
A Migraine attack has four possible phases. Prodrome, aura, headache, and postdrome. Not everyone will experience each of these phases with every Migraine. In fact, only about 25% of Migraineurs have aura at all. During the prodrome phase one may feel irritable, tired, depressed and may have food cravings. This may be our bodies way of telling us an attack is on the way and now is the time to take an abortive medication -such as the Axert I take.
The aura phase has many interesting possible symptoms: flashing lights, blurry vision, and partial loss of sight can be part of it. Others include difficulty finding words, olfactory and auditory hallucinations (smelling things that aren’t there), confusion, dizziness and hypersensitivity to feel and touch.
During the headache phase, it’s not just the head that hurts; the entire body may be affected. Hot flashes, chills, runny nose, nausea and vomiting are just some of the ways the body responds to a Migraine attack. Head pain during this phase may be unilateral (one sided) or bilateral (both sides) is mild to severe and many times is pulsating and potentially debilitating. Sensitivity to light and sound is common. The pain is made worse by activity.
Postdrome is the last phase of a Migraine. Migraineurs may feel “hung over” or totally out of it. Confusion, depression, fatique and difficulty concentrating have also been reported. Others experience a euphoric-like state. This phase can last for up to 24 hours after the headache phase. Anatomy of a Migraine will provide you with the details of a Migraine attack.
Headaches do not have four phases. Tension-Type Headaches (TTH) are the most common type of headache affecting people’s social activity and work capacity. Tension-type headaches are bilateral, can be mild to moderate in intensity, and may feel like a band or vise around the head. TTH is not made worse with activity, and usually there is no nausea or vomiting. One can either have sensitivity to light or sound, but not both.
How do we tell the difference between a headache and a Migraine? The bottom line is that Migraine pain tends to be pulsating rather than band-like. During a Migraine, light and/or sound may bother us. Any type of physical activity such as climbing stairs or bending over will make Migraine pain worse. A quick way to see if you have a Migraine or headache is to bend over and put your head between your knees. If your head pain is worse, you probably have a Migraine rather than a headache.
migraine – aura (the colours u see)
sharp headache
numbness on one side of the body
slurred speech
werid taste in mouth
confusion
fainting/ dizziness
and other neurological symptoms
headache – sharp pain
If you had a migraine, you would know it. A simple headache is much less painful and only lasts for a while.
A migraine attack is something that comes back frequently. Usually you can see it coming, with symptoms like sensitivity to light and noise, pain in your jaw, distorted sounds.
A migraine will last from 2 hours to 3 days in some cases. The pounding pain is intense and sometimes unbearable.
.-= Julia@home remedies for migraines´s last blog ..Natural Remedies For Migraine Headaches =-.