What is the difference between a tension headache and a migraine? How can migraine be diagnosed?
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1. Tension headache feels like a tight band around your head and throbbing in your temples. Migraine is usually familial. It also feels like a tight band, but it is more severe. There is nausea and vomiting. There is photophobia. You feel better lying down in a dark room. Sleep relieves the headache or makes it better. There are triggering factors for migraine such as ajinomoto ( chinese salt) and chocolate.2. A tension headache will generally go away in a matter of minutes. It can often be treated with food or mild medication (OTC pain medication).
Migranes have multiple symptoms, and some are universal. Other symptoms vary by type (Cluster, Grand Mal, etc). Some of the universal symptoms: Persistent pain that cannot be killed by OTC medication, nausea, sensativity to sound or light (some people have both when they have them), sensativity to certain condiments (sugar). A doctor, of course, must diagnose them. Headaches that carry the symptoms previously named and lasting 5 hours are more, providing there are no other medical symptoms (ie: sinus infection), are usually diagnosed as migraines.
3. Migraine feels like this throbbing sensation that's usually worse in one side of the head. The pain lasts from 6-48 hours. It is usually companied by nausea, vomitting and sensitivity to light or sound. Some people experience warning signs (aura) that a migraine is on the way. It can be seeing zig-zag lines or stares or funny tingeling feeling in a body part eg. an arm. The diagnosis is usually made based on the symptoms and response to treatment.
In tension headaches the pain is pressure-like all over your head. It doesn't go away in matter of minutes but usually hours. Nausea is uncommon and there are no warning signs. It respons quickly on ibuprofen or acetaminophen or walk outside in the fresh air.
4. There is a new development in migraine therapy:
http://www.neurologyreviews.com/feb04/nr_feb04_foramen.html
