HEADACHE VS MIGRAINE

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TENSION

HEADACHE AND MIGRAINE

Let's first have a look on headache. Pain or stress in the head is known as headache. It is a serious health issue of all times. Headache himself is not a diseases but signals a serious condition sometimes. You may consider it as a warning for:

• Stress level has risen too high as seen in depression.
• Need change perhaps to rest.
• Struggle with an emotional conflict.
• Change your diet.
• Fix a problem in your environment at home or work.

Every human have one or more “weak links” parts of the body. For example some people are sensetive from cold, other have poor digestion and many of us faces psychological stress. These reasons create pressure on CNS, which is sometimes appear as a  headache.

TYPES OF HEADACHE

Health experts of modern era classifies headache according to the immediate cause of painful stimulation of nerve endings. These may include:

• Tension headache or Muscle-contraction headaches
• Migraine 
• Inflammatory headache
• Headaches caused by structural conditions

In this artical we will talk only on Tension headache and migraine.

Tension Headaches or Muscle-Contraction

Each of us faces muscle-contraction headache, we also call it tension headache. This type of headache we see due to:

• Emotional stress
• Burden of work e.g in students, offices
• Being stuck in traffic jam
• Extremes of heat or cold
• Due to hunger
• Loss of sleep
• Etc.

SYMPTOMS

The pain of a muscle contraction cerebral pain emerges from tightening of the muscles of the upper back, neck, and scalp, and this may result from any sort of stretch, whether physical or passionate.

OVERVIEW

Tension headache himself is not harmful. This is mostly a temporary condition and immediately relieved by pain relief medicines, rest or remove the reason by which it was begun.

HOW IS HEADACHE DIFFERENT FROM MIGRAINE?

MIGRAINE

Migraine is headache of half or side of head. It can caused serious throbbing pain or beating sensation, primarily on one side of the head. It is regularly related with sickness, heaving, and extraordinary affectability to light and sound. The duration of an attack can last for hours to days, and for weeks. The pain can be so severe that it can suspend your daily activities.

CAUSES OF MIGRAINE

The actual causes of migraine are unknown  but scientists says there are some genetics and environmental factors responsible for migraine.

Amid a headache, the blood vessels to begin with gotten to be excessively constricted and after that extend unusually. This arrangement of constriction and broadening influences the blood vessels on one side of the head more heightening, and frequently it is particularly articulated in a particular area of the brain. Alterations within the brainstem and its intuitive with the trigeminal nerve (The most tangible nerve of the face and motor nerve for the muscles of mastication) is the pain pathway, might be involved. Imbalances in brain chemicals including serotonin and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) also consider for one sided headache.

SYMPTOMS OF MIGRAINE

Migraine is mostly begin in childhood, adolescence or early adulthood. It can progress through four stages:

• Prodrome
• Aura
• Attack 
• Post-drome

But every patient of migraines does not face all stages.

1. PRODROME

Prodrome is characterized as an early side effect that an infection is creating or that an assault is approximately to happen. One or two days before from starting migraine following symptoms are noted.

• Constipation
• Changes in mood from depression to euphoria 
• Food cravings 
• Neck stiffness 
• Increased thirst and urination

2. AURA

Aura is the 2nd phase of warning symptoms appear before migraine. An aura include:

• Disturbance of vision
• Cloudy vision
• Flashing lights
• Slurred speech
• Dizziness
• Weakness or numbness of one side of the body
• Neurological unfitness

Symptoms of aura usually begins one by one and are lasts for 20 munites to an hour. An aura occurs before or sometimes during migraine. All symptoms including in aura are reversible.

3. ATTACK

An attack have a period of 4 hours to 3 or days and a week sometimes. Duration of attack also varies from person to person. 

During an attack, the patient might have following symptoms.

• Pain on one side of head and often on both sides. 
• Throbbing and pulsing pain
• Sensitive to light
• Sensitive to sound
• Nausea and vomiting 
• Sensation to smell and touch but sometimes

IFRAME SYNC IFRAME SYNC

4. POST-DROME

After a migraine attack, patient might feel drained, confused and washedout for up to a day or two. This period is known as post- drome stage.