Primary Vs Secondary Headaches

All headaches fall in to one of two categories: primary headaches and secondary headaches. With primary headaches, the headache itself is the illness rather than a symptom of an illness. A secondary headache, on the other hand, is a headache that is the result of an underlying illness.

Secondary headaches may be caused by a condition as simple as the common cold or as life-threatening as a ruptured brain aneurysm. The more benign causes of secondary headaches include:

-Sinusitis

-Withdrawal from caffeine, opiates (narcotic pain killers), or alcohol

-Osteoarthritis of the cervical spine (neck)

-Temporomandibular joint disorder (abbreviated TMJ or TMD, jaw pain, popping and/or clicking)

-Post-traumatic (following trauma to the head or face)

-Fever

-Eye strain

The potentially debilitating or deadly causes of headaches that are secondary to an illness include:

-Glaucoma (leads to irreversible loss of vision if untreated)

-Meningitis (infection and/or inflammation of the thin membranes covering the brain and spinal cord)

-Encephalitis (infection and/or inflammation of brain tissue)

-Temporal arteritis (inflammation of temporal artery, can cause blindness)

-Subarachnoid hemorrhage (brain bleed, often described as "the worst headache of my life")

-Subdural hemorrhage (bleed in the space between brain and skull)

-Brain tumor

The category of primary headaches is significantly smaller than the long list above. Tension headaches, cluster headaches and migraines are all considered to be primary headaches.

Symptoms of a migraine headache include some or all of the following:

-unilateral head pain

-pulsating pain

-nausea and vomiting

-sensitivity to light and noise

-seeing an aura approximately one hour before migraine onset

Symptoms of a tension headache include some or all of the following:

-bilateral head pain

-tight or pressing pain

-sensitivity to light and noise

-head pain that may worsen through out the day and go away with sleep

Symptoms of a cluster headache include some or all of the following:

-unilateral head pain

-orbital or supraorbital (eye) pain

-pain that lasts seconds to minutes

-pain that often occurs at the same time every day for 6-12 weeks

-ipsilateral lacrimation and conjunctival injection (tearing and eye redness on the same side as the head pain)

There may be many different causes of a headache in an individual. A physician will always rule out the potentially deadly or disabling causes of headaches before diagnosing any other type of headache. Once the exact type of headache is diagnosed, specific treatments can be used to relieve and prevent the pain with a higher likelihood of success.