Below is a list of some Common Headaches taken from the American Migraine Foundation and the Coalition of Headache and Migraine Patients (CHAMP)
Additional information on the following headache disorders below, can be found in the Living with Migraine Section and in the Recommended Websites section of this website.
Additional information on the following headache disorders below, can be found in the Living with Migraine Section and in the Recommended Websites section of this website.
Headache Types
Tension-type Headache
OVERVIEW: This headache type is a dull, non-throbbing pain. It is frequently bilateral, associated with tightness of scalp or neck. The degree of severity remains constant. These headaches are often caused by emotional stress and depression. TREATMENT: Rest; avoidance of stress; relaxation techniques; aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, naproxen sodium; combinations of analgesics with caffeine; ice packs; muscle relaxants; antidepressants if appropriate; biofeedback; psychotherapy; temporary use of stronger prescription analgesics. |
Post Traumatic Headache
OVERVIEW: This is localized or generalized pain. It can mimic migraine or tension-type headache symptoms. It usually occurs on a daily basis. Headaches are frequently resistant to treatment. Pain can occur after relatively minor traumas; however, the cause of the pain is often difficult to diagnose. TREATMENT: Use of anti-inflammatory drugs, propranolol or biofeedback 
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New Daily Persistent Headache
OVERVIEW: This is best described as the rapid development (less than three days) of unrelenting headache. Typically, it presents in a person with no past history of headache. It does not evolve from migraine or episodic tension-type headache. It begins as a new headache. This may be the result of a viral infection. TREATMENT: It can resolve on its own within several months. Other cases persist and are more refractory. This does not respond to traditional options; however, anti-seizure medications, such as Topamax or Neurontine, can be used. |
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Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension
OVERVIEW: This is a condition that occurs when pressure inside the skull increases for no obvious reason. Idiopathic intracranial hypertension is most common in obese women of childbearing age. The symptoms mimic a brain tumor; however, no tumor is present. They may include headache behind the eyes, ringing in the ears in time with the heartbeat, and brief episodes of blindness. TREATMENT: The first drug is usually a type of diuretic that may reduce the production of spinal fluid. Surgery may relieve pressure. Weight loss can improve cardiovascular health and reduce the risk of complications related to obesity. |
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Migraine With Aura
About a quarter of people who experience migraine also experience aura. Auras can take the form of changes in vision that range from seeing sparkling lights, bright dots or zig zag lines, sometimes with areas of blindness, or they may involve tingling on one side of the body or the inability to speak and understand clearly. Aura usually sets in before the headache phase of a migraine attack and can last anywhere from five to 60 minutes. Aura is the second of migraine’s four stages, and anyone who experiences it will confirm it is an unmistakable warning sign that severe head pain is on its way. 
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Typical Aura Without Headache
Aura is a recurrent attack that features temporary visual, sensory and/or speech/language symptoms that last between 5 and 60 minutes. Typical aura without headache, also called silent migraine, is a migraine aura that lacks the accompanying headache. The aura symptoms also usually happen before migraine symptoms, like nausea and sensitivity to light and sound, appear. 
Migraine Without Aura
About 70-75% of patients with migraine do not experience aura. Instead, their symptoms include pulsing or throbbing pain (like a heartbeat) on one or both sides of the head, together with sensitivity to light and sound (photophobia and phonophobia) and/or nausea and vomiting. Untreated, or incorrectly treated, an attack of migraine can last from four hours to three days. A diagnosis is reached by reviewing a patient’s personal and family medical history, studying symptoms and conducting a general and neurological examination. |
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Chronic Migraine
More than four million American adults live with chronic migraine—meaning they experience 15 or more headache days per month for more than three months with at least eight of those headache days being a typical migraine attack. Chronic migraine often appears in people whose less frequent episodic migraine has worsened, so addressing risk factors early can help prevent a patient’s migraine transforming into chronic. |
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Hemicrania Continua
OVERVIEW: Hemicrania means one side of the head, and continua means continuous. As the name implies, hemicrania continua is a one-sided headache that is daily and continuous. It’s a primary headache disorder, which means nothing else causes it. A similar but separate disorder, paroxysmal hemicrania, also includes a one-sided headache; however, this disorder causes five or more attacks of severe pain that last up to 30 minutes a day. People with paroxysmal hemicrania usually have no pain between these attacks. Those with hemicrania continua always have some level of pain. It can be difficult to distinguish between the two disorders. The main difference is the duration of pain. Hemicrania continua needs to be present for at least three months before doctors can confirm a diagnosis. |
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Retinal Migraine
Patients with retinal migraine experience visual symptoms ranging from kaleidoscope-like changes and areas of greyed out vision to complete loss of vision. The symptoms typically evolve over minutes and last 5-60 minutes. Unlike visual symptoms with migraine with aura, retinal migraine symptoms are only in one eye. Because they are rare, and because similar symptoms may accompany a more serious illness, if you experience these one-sided vision changes, you should have your eyes checked as soon as possible. |
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Cluster Headaches
Cluster Headache: at its worst, cluster headache are the most painful version of all headache disorders. They tend to occur in cyclical patterns. The pain is commonly felt in or around one eye, or on one side of the face. Cluster headache may occur frequently, for weeks or months. It is common for them to be chronic for a few weeks or month, then disappear for a few months to years, then may return without warning. Sometimes cluster periods never come back.
Cluster Headache: at its worst, cluster headache are the most painful version of all headache disorders. They tend to occur in cyclical patterns. The pain is commonly felt in or around one eye, or on one side of the face. Cluster headache may occur frequently, for weeks or months. It is common for them to be chronic for a few weeks or month, then disappear for a few months to years, then may return without warning. Sometimes cluster periods never come back.
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