Is a Tension Headache Also a Migraine?
Headaches are mysterious. Why, you may ask? They appear out of the blue and they may disappear in the same way.
Where do they come from?
It is still very difficult to know where they come from. Why they happen. There are many different types of headaches.
The tension headache is often described as something that strings the head around the front and the back of the head.
Sometimes people speak about a hammering pain just above the ears. Scientists speak not of tension headache, but of tension-type of headache. Apparently there are so many types that the ordinary people cannot distinguish and it is even difficult for the physician if he/she does not have a clear description of what a patient is feeling. There are patients that suffer from headaches every single day. If you suffer from a headache more than 15 days a month, your headache is considered a chronic headache.
The form of the pain may vary not only from person to person but also within the same person. One day the pain is on the front of the head, the next day it is at the back of the head. It is very difficult to tell and to know in advance where it will hit. Tension type headaches are probably mainly due to stress. Tensions do not appear in a completely relaxed person.Often tension type headaches are considered as being migraines. Tension headaches can be cured with a combination of drugs and relaxation, with meditation and sometimes just with a walk, if possible in a park or in the woods.
The two types of headache cannot be compared. A migraine sufferer will tell you why. He/she not only suffers an ache, he or she also suffers from nausea. Often accompanied by vomiting. The vision is disturbed, there may be flies before their eyes. Migraine sufferers cannot stand light nor do they want loud sounds around them. They are often weak and can hardly stand on their feet. The pain appears on one side of the head. It is not diffused as in tension headaches.
The best thing for a migraine sufferer is to stay in bed and have the shutters closed. There exist specific drugs for migraine sufferers.
Not all of them are safe in the sense that they might cause difficulties of conscience. These difficulties disappear within a short period of time. Other drugs are just not strong enough to combat the pain. Also in migraine sufferers, relaxation is a good means to control the pain, but it has to be exercised every that migraine has no chance to show up, or at least to not show up often. And possibly with less intensity. A migraine can last from some minutes to several days.