Types of headaches and how to tell them apart
Headaches are really common, yet few of us know much about them. We only know that they hurt and that we’d rather do without them. Understanding our headaches is an important step towards treating them, and the first thing to know is that there are really only two types.
Migraines: with and without auras
We all dread migraines — the throbbing pain, sensitivity to light and sound, nausea, and the crushing feeling that they have no end. But few of us know there are two types and that telling them apart is critical to managing them.
What are primary headache disorders?
Secondary headaches follow a cause. Primary headaches, on the other hand, are not symptoms. They are disorders that cause a range of symptoms, one of them being pain. Migraines, cluster headaches, and tension-type headaches are all primary headaches, but there are a bunch more: four main types, 25 subtypes, 47 subforms, and 18 sub-subforms, give or take an ache or two.
