Headaches...

Taking a break from my project right now. Having a headache now, so I tot might as well blog abt the different types of headaches a person can have and how to tell the difference.

I'm sure everyone had headaches at least once before. Especially those living in SG, what's with the ultra fast pace of life we have here. But can you tell whether you are having a headache or a migrane?

Here's a simple outline of the differences:

Common Headache:

Causes: fever, anxiety, long hours, lack of sleep, common cold etc

symptoms: ranges from mild disconfort to throbbing pain

How to tell that it is not too serious:

It is self limited– occurs for a limited duration ; no other side effects like vomiting, nausea, or flashes of light.

Generally relieved with common medications like Aspirin (Disprin), Paracetamol (Calpol).

more on common headache

Migraine:

Every person getting recurrent headache fears whether he/ she has a migraine. Following features are characteristic of a migraine headache:

Affected group: children , young to middle-aged adults.

Clinical features: Throbbing and / or dull ache; nausea or vomiting; worst behind one eye or ear usually on one side of the head.

Duration: 1-2 hrs.

Patterns of occurrence: Irregular, tends to disappear in middle age, during pregnancy and premenstrually i.e. just before the periods.

Aggravating factors: Alcohol, bright light, noise, tension.

What will help : Sleep ( that is if you can get it ), a dark room, relaxation.

more on migrane

Tension headache

Affects: both sides of the head, though it may sometimes be pointed to the neck or the front of the head.

Symptoms: A sensation of fullness or lightness in the head is common.

Characteristic feature: the only type of headache which persists continuously throughout the day and night without any relief in between.

Causes: person under conditions of emotional crises or intense worry.

It is generally, found in patients having associated depression or anxiety.

more on tension headache

Well... just note that if you really do have a headache, do get some sleep. Though I'm definitely no medical authority, I believe that sleep is often the best medicine one can offer himself.

That said, I've gotta get back to my work. Otherwise, I'll never get to sleep tonite. *yawn*