Headaches 101: Know your type

By Mayo Clinic Staff

Your head hurts. Again. To better understand your headaches, take a close look at your symptoms. Do your headaches feel like a tight band around your head? These are probably tension headaches, easily treated with over-the-counter pain relievers. Do you have headaches nearly every day? Chronic daily headaches may be a rebound phenomenon from daily analgesic use and may improve when you stop your pain relievers. Are your headaches often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, or sensitivity to light or sound? These may be migraines, which often require prescription medication. If your headaches are disrupting your daily activities, talk with your doctor.

April 10, 2019 See more In-depth

See also

  1. Medication-free hypertension control
  2. Alcohol: Does it affect blood pressure?
  3. Alpha blockers
  4. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors
  5. Angiotensin II receptor blockers
  6. Anxiety: A cause of high blood pressure?
  7. Beta blockers
  8. Beta blockers: Do they cause weight gain?
  9. Beta blockers: How do they affect exercise?
  10. Blood pressure: Can it be higher in one arm?
  11. Blood pressure chart
  12. Blood pressure cuff: Does size matter?
  13. Blood pressure: Does it have a daily pattern?
  14. Blood pressure: Is it affected by cold weather?
  15. Blood pressure medication: Still necessary if I lose weight?
  16. Blood pressure medications: Can they raise my triglycerides?
  17. Blood pressure readings: Why higher at home?
  18. Blood pressure tip: Get more potassium
  19. Blood pressure tip: Get off the couch
  20. Blood pressure tip: Know alcohol limits
  21. Blood pressure tip: Stress out no more
  22. Blood pressure tip: Watch the caffeine
  23. Blood pressure tip: Watch your weight
  24. Caffeine and hypertension
  25. Calcium channel blockers
  26. Calcium supplements: Do they interfere with blood pressure drugs?
  27. Can whole-grain foods lower blood pressure?
  28. Central-acting agents
  29. Choosing blood pressure medications
  30. Chronic daily headaches
  31. Chronic pain: Medication decisions
  32. CT scan
  33. CT scans: Are they safe?
  34. Diuretics
  35. Diuretics: A cause of low potassium?
  36. Do you know your blood pressure?
  37. EEG (electroencephalogram)
  38. High blood pressure and exercise
  39. Free blood pressure machines: Are they accurate?
  40. Home blood pressure monitoring
  41. Headaches and hormones
  42. Headaches: Treatment depends on your diagnosis and symptoms
  43. High blood pressure (hypertension)
  44. High blood pressure and cold remedies: Which are safe?
  45. High blood pressure and sex
  46. High blood pressure: Can you prevent it?
  47. High blood pressure dangers
  48. Hypertensive crisis: What are the symptoms?
  49. Integrative approaches to treating pain
  50. Isolated systolic hypertension: A health concern?
  51. L-arginine: Does it lower blood pressure?
  52. Managing Headaches
  53. Mayo Clinic Minute: Prevent migraines with magnetic stimulation
  54. Mayo Clinic Minute Weathering migraines
  55. Medications and supplements that can raise your blood pressure
  56. Menopause and high blood pressure: What's the connection?
  57. Migraine
  58. Migraine medications and antidepressants
  59. Migraine treatment: Can antidepressants help?
  60. Infographic: Migraine Treatments: Botox & Nerve Blocking
  61. Migraines and gastrointestinal problems: Is there a link?
  62. Migraines and Vertigo
  63. Migraines: Are they triggered by weather changes?
  64. Alleviating migraine pain
  65. MRI
  66. Nasal congestion
  67. Nausea and vomiting
  68. Nighttime headaches: Relief
  69. Occipital nerve stimulation: Effective migraine treatment?
  70. Ocular migraine: When to seek help
  71. Pain Management
  72. Pulse pressure: An indicator of heart health?
  73. Red eye
  74. Resperate: Can it help reduce blood pressure?
  75. Runny nose
  76. Seeing Inside the Heart with MRI
  77. Sleep deprivation: A cause of high blood pressure?
  78. Stop your next migraine before it starts
  79. Stress and headaches: Stop the cycle
  80. Stress and high blood pressure
  81. Stress symptoms
  82. Integrative approaches to treating pain
  83. Lifestyle strategies for pain management
  84. Nutrition and pain
  85. Pain rehabilitation
  86. Self-care approaches to treating pain
  87. Treating pain: Conventional medical care
  88. Treating pain: Overview
  89. Understanding pain
  90. Toxoplasmosis
  91. Urinalysis
  92. Vasodilators
  93. How to measure blood pressure using a manual monitor
  94. How to measure blood pressure using an automatic monitor
  95. MRI
  96. What is blood pressure?
  97. Weightlifting: Bad for your blood pressure?
  98. What's your high blood pressure risk?
  99. White coat hypertension
  100. Wrist blood pressure monitors: Are they accurate?