Types of Headache

Headache is one of the most common health related conditions in Australia, with around 15 per cent of us taking painkillers for a headache at any given time.

Below lists some of the major headache types:

Migraine
Muscle Contraction Headache/Acute Tension Type Headache
Chronic Daily Headache
Cluster Headache
Ice Pick/Ice Cream Headache
Sinister Headache: Meningitis/Subarachnoid Haemorrhage/Cranial Arteritis
Facial Headache: Acute Sinusitis, Post Herpetic Neuralgia, Trigeminal Neuralgia, Temporomandibular Joint

Today, despite the toll headaches still take on millions of people around the world, we have made enormous progress in treating them. New medications, combined with nondrug therapies, are preventing, stopping or managing some of the toughest headaches around.

Tension headache
Tension headache is the most common type of headache. Two out of three people will have at least one tension headache in their lifetime.

Sinus headaches: Sinus headaches are associated with a deep and constant pain in the cheekbones, forehead or bridge of the nose.

Ice-cream headache
Eating something very cold can cause a sharp pain in the middle of your forehead or over one temple. People who get migraines may be more likely to get an ice-cream headache — so-named because it comes on immediately after eating ice-cream.

Migraine headache
Three times as many women (15 per cent) as men (5 per cent) suffer from migraine, and hormones are thought to play a significant role.

Cluster headache
Cluster headaches are relatively uncommon and tend to mainly affect men.

Vascular headaches
Vascular headaches are related to blood vessels; includes migraines and cluster headaches.

Secondary headaches
A secondary headache is a side effect of another disorder.

Hormone headache
Some women experience severe headaches including migraines at times when their hormones fluctuate, for example, around the time of their period each month or around the time of ovulation.

Chronic progressive headaches
Also called traction or inflammatory headaches, chronic progressive headaches get worse and happen more often over time.

Eye strain headache
If you have visual problems that have not been addressed by prescription glasses or contact lenses, you can get an eye strain headache, which typically causes pain and a weighty feeling around the eyes.

Temporo-mandibular joint headache
Some people may get muscle tension and pain related to a disorder of the temporo-mandibular joint (TMJ), the joint just in front of each ear, where your jaw bone connects to your skull.

Acute headaches
Seen in children, these are headaches that occur suddenly and for the first time and have symptoms that subside after a relatively short period of time.

Mixed headache syndrome
Also called transformed migraines, this is a combination of migraine and tension headaches. Both adults and children experience this type of headache.