Health
The 6 most common headache types — and when to see a doctor
Headaches are one of the most common medical conditions, with 96% of people having at least one in their lifetime, according to Cleveland Clinic.
About 40% of people globally experience what are known as “tension headaches” and about 10% suffer from migraines, the same source noted.
There are more than 150 different types of headaches, ranging from a mild annoyance to debilitating pain.
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For some, headaches can be wrongly diagnosed.
Actress Ashley Judd recently shared her story on Instagram how her “epic headaches” went misdiagnosed for eight years.
Headaches are one of the most common medical conditions, with 96% of people having at least one in their lifetime. (iStock)
“For those eight miserable years I had been treated, at some of our finest medical institutions, with medication for a type of headache that I do not have,” she posted on Instagram in October.
Her doctors eventually diagnosed her headaches as status migrainosus, which is a migraine attack that lasts longer than 72 hours.
What is a headache?
A headache is a pain in the head, neck or face that is often described as a sensation of pressure that varies in location, frequency and severity, according to the National Institutes of Health.
“For those eight miserable years I had been treated … with medications for a type of headache that I do not have.”
“Headaches are one of the most common symptoms experienced by many people, often brushed off as just a minor inconvenience,” Dr. Fred Cohen, assistant professor of medicine and neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, told Fox News Digital.
They are divided into two main categories – primary, caused by overactivity or dysfunction in the pain-sensitive areas of the head, or secondary, where an underlying medical condition causes the pain, Cleveland Clinic adds.
Actress Ashley Judd recently shared her story on Instagram how her “epic headaches” went misdiagnosed for eight years. (Getty Images)
Certain types of headaches may be a sign of a more serious condition, such as a brain tumor or aneurysm, especially if the pain is sudden or severe, according to Cohen.
“This highlights the importance of a thorough evaluation to differentiate between primary headaches and secondary causes, ensuring appropriate treatment and management,” he noted.
6 common types of headaches
The three most common types are tension headaches, migraines and cluster headaches, according to Cohen.
1. Tension headaches
“Tension headaches are among the most frequent types and are what most people consider a typical ‘headache,’” Cohen said.
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Many describe the pain as a tight band around the head, often caused by stress and muscle tension.
Treatment typically focuses on addressing the underlying causes, such as reducing stress or doing physical therapy, but prescription medications may be used if the headaches are frequent, Cohen noted.
2. Migraines
Migraines disproportionately affect women – up to 18% in the U.S. — and are the leading cause of disability among females aged 18 to 50 globally, research has shown.
“Migraine is considered a neurological disease, with multiple stages during an attack,” Cohen said.
Migraines disproportionately affect women – up to 18% in the U.S. — and are the leading cause of disability among females aged 18 to 50 globally. (iStock)
People may experience warning symptoms right before the headache, such as excessive yawning, increased hunger or tearing of the eyes.
“Some individuals also experience aura, a neurological phenomenon that can include visual disturbances — like zig-zag lights or blind spots — or sensory changes, like tingling or numbness,” Cohen pointed out.
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Migraine causes a “severe throbbing or pounding headache with light or sound sensitivity and sometimes nausea,” noted Dr. Timothy A. Collins, chief of the Division of Headache and Pain at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina.
These symptoms typically last anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour, but migraine pain can last longer — from four hours to three days, Cohen noted.
A status migrainous is a migraine attack that lasts longer than 72 hours.
When attacks last longer than this, it is known as “status migrainosus,” which is what Judd experienced.
“Unfortunately, many people mistake migraine for ‘regular headaches,’ and are unaware of the many effective treatment options available, including daily medications, supplements, monthly injections and even Botox injections,” Cohen told Fox News Digital.
3. Cluster headaches
Cluster headaches, which are rare, cause severe, overwhelming pain around one eye multiple times a day. The condition is “very disabling,” according to Collins.
The sharp pain is combined with eye redness, tearing, facial flushing and nasal congestion.
The pain can be so intense that it can be mistaken for a brain aneurysm, Cohen noted.
“Cluster headaches usually last from 15 minutes to three hours and tend to occur in cycles lasting days or weeks,” an expert said. (iStock)
“Cluster headaches usually last from 15 minutes to three hours and tend to occur in cycles lasting days or weeks,” he said.
Cluster headaches are commonly misdiagnosed as migraines.
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The main difference between the two is that cluster headaches tend to occur in cycles, while many patients with migraines have headaches for a few days in a row once a month, Collins said.
Treatment options for cluster headaches include medications to abort an attack and preventive therapies to reduce the frequency of cycles, according to Cohen.
4. Rebound headaches
People with headaches often take over-the-counter (OTC) medications, like acetaminophen or ibuprofen, to “abort” the headache, according to Healthline.
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But experts caution that frequent use of these medications may lead to more frequent headaches by causing withdrawal symptoms when they are not taken, the same source noted.
Experts caution that frequent use of these medications may lead to more frequent headaches by causing withdrawal symptoms when they are not taken. (iStock)
People may also get a headache if they consume large amounts of caffeine and then suddenly miss their morning coffee or quit the drug suddenly.
5. Sinus headaches
Sinus congestion from allergies or an infection may cause pain that is localized around the front of the head in the sinuses, according to Healthline.
The pain typically goes away after the sinus congestion is resolved.
6. Exertion headaches
Intense physical activity can trigger this type of headache by increasing blood flow to the brain, per Healthline.
The symptoms usually go away within minutes to hours, but if they last more than several hours or have never been experienced before, it’s best to get checked out by a doctor, experts advise.
When to see a doctor
“Normal” headaches do not cause loss of consciousness, confusion, slurred speech or weakness in one arm or leg, all of which could be a sign of a stroke, experts say.
People should see a doctor if they have headaches that have abrupt change in severity or have come on suddenly. (iStock)
People who experience any of the following warning signs should see a health care provider immediately or call 911 to rule out a more serious medical condition.
– Worst headache of your life
– Headache that has abrupt change in severity or comes on suddenly
– Headache with vision problems (such as double vision)
– Fainting or loss of consciousness with a headache
– Fever and stiff neck associated with nausea and vomiting with headache
– Headache after head injury
– Headache right after weightlifting, exercise or sexual activity
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health
Fox News Digital reached out to Ashley Judd for comment.
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Eating too much salt has long been linked to high blood pressure, but new research suggests it could trick the immune system into prematurely aging the blood vessels.
A preclinical study recently published in the Journal of the American Heart Association has identified a biological chain reaction that links a salty diet to cardiovascular decay.
Scientists at the University of South Alabama observed that mice on a high-salt diet experienced rapid deterioration in their blood vessel function.
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After just four weeks of high sodium intake, the small arteries responsible for regulating blood flow lost their ability to relax, according to a press release.
The team found that the cells lining these vessels had entered a state of cellular senescence, a form of premature cellular aging in which cells stop dividing and release a mix of inflammatory signals that can damage surrounding tissue.
Excess salt has long been linked to high blood pressure, but a new study goes deeper into its effects on the cardiovascular system. (iStock)
The researchers tried to replicate this damage by exposing blood vessel cells directly to salt in a laboratory dish, but the cells showed no harmful effects.
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This suggests that salt isn’t directly causing damage to the vascular lining but that the real culprit may be the body’s own defense mechanism, the researchers noted.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system to release a molecule called interleukin-16 (IL-16), which acts as a messenger that instructs blood vessel cells to grow old before their time, according to the study.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system to release a molecule called interleukin-16, which acts as a messenger that instructs blood vessel cells to grow old before their time, according to the study. (iStock)
Once these cells age, they fail to produce nitric oxide, the essential gas that tells arteries to dilate and stay flexible.
To test whether this process could be reversed, the team turned to a class of experimental drugs known as senolytics.
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Using a cancer medication called navitoclax, which selectively clears out aged and dysfunctional cells, the researchers were able to restore nearly normal blood vessel function in the salt-fed mice, the release stated.
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By removing the decaying cells created by the high-salt diet, the drug allowed the remaining healthy tissue to maintain its elasticity and respond correctly to blood flow demands.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system into stopping the cells from dividing, the study suggests. (iStock)
The study did have some limitations. The transition from mouse models to human treatment remains a significant hurdle, the team cautioned.
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Senolytic drugs like navitoclax are still being studied for safety, and the team emphasized that previous trials have shown mixed results regarding their impact on artery plaque.
Additionally, the researchers have not yet confirmed whether the same IL-16 pathway is the primary driver of vascular aging in humans.
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Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables was found to have a surprising link to lung cancer among younger non-smokers, early research suggests.
The observational study, led by Jorge Nieva, M.D., of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center at Keck Medicine, was presented this month at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting in San Diego. It has not yet been peer-reviewed.
Researchers looked at dietary, smoking and demographic data for 187 patients who were diagnosed with lung cancer at age 50 or younger.
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They found that among non-smokers, there was a link between healthier-than-average diets – rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains – and the chance of lung cancer development.
Young lung cancer patients ate more servings of dark green vegetables, legumes and whole grains compared to the average U.S. adult, the researchers found.
Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables was found to have a surprising link to lung cancer among younger non-smokers, early research suggests. (iStock)
The researchers hypothesized that pesticides applied to conventionally grown produce could be a possible factor in the disease association.
“Commercially produced (non-organic) fruits, vegetables and whole grains are more likely to be associated with a higher residue of pesticides than dairy, meat and many processed foods,” according to Nieva. He also noted that agricultural workers exposed to pesticides tend to have higher rates of lung cancer.
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“There is a large subset of lung cancer patients whose disease is not caused by smoking,” Nieva told Fox News Digital.
The disease is becoming more common in non-smokers 50 and younger, especially women – despite the fact that smoking rates have been falling for decades, the researcher noted.
The researchers hypothesized that pesticides applied to conventionally grown produce could be a possible factor in the disease association. (iStock)
“These patients tend to have eaten much healthier diets before their diagnosis than the average American,” he went on. “We need to support research into understanding why Americans – and women in particular – who no longer smoke very much are still having lung cancer,” he said.
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The study did have some limitations, Nieva acknowledged, primarily that it relied on survey data and was limited by the participants’ memories of their food intake.
“Also, the survey participants were self-selected, and this could have biased the findings,” he told Fox News Digital.
“There is a large subset of lung cancer patients whose disease is not caused by smoking.”
The researchers did not test specific foods for pesticides, relying instead on average pesticide levels for certain types of food. Looking ahead, they plan to test patients’ blood and urine samples to directly measure pesticide levels, Nieva said.
Although the study shows only an association and does not prove that pesticides caused lung cancer, Nieva recommends that people wash their produce before eating and choose organic foods whenever possible.
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“This work represents a critical step toward identifying modifiable environmental factors that may contribute to lung cancer in young adults,” said Nieva. “Our hope is that these insights can guide both public health recommendations and future investigation into lung cancer prevention.”
“It is possible that the increased lung cancer risk could be due to pesticide exposure in whole farmed foods, but is by no means certain,” a doctor said. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, said the study is “interesting,” but that it “raises far more questions than it answers.”
“It is a small study (around 150) and observational, so no proof,” the doctor, who was not involved in the research, told Fox News Digital.
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“It is possible that the increased lung cancer risk could be due to pesticide exposure in whole farmed foods, but it is by no means certain,” Siegel went on. “How much exposure is needed? How much of it gets into food and in which areas? This requires much further study.”
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Kayla Nichols, communications director for Pesticide Action & Agroecology Network, a distributed global network, said the organization agrees with the study’s conclusion that more research should be done on the rise in lung cancer, particularly in individuals eating diets higher in produce and fiber.
“There is a large subset of lung cancer patients whose disease is not caused by smoking,” the researcher told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
“There is a bounty of existing research that already links pesticide exposure to increased risk of multiple types of cancers,” Nichols, who was also not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital. She called for more research on chronic, low-level exposures to pesticides, as well as more effective policies to protect the public from pesticide residues on food.
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The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute, as well as industry partners including AstraZeneca and Genentech, among others.
Fox News Digital reached out to several pesticide companies and trade groups for comment.
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