What the Location of Your Headache Can Actually Tell You - Article Health

There are 300 different types of headaches, and there’s a lot of overlap in where they cause their particular brand of pain. However, there are also subtle differences in headache location and other symptoms that can help distinguish one type of pain from another. And knowing what type of headache you’re dealing with is important so you can get the right treatment—pronto.

Even though location is less important for headaches than it is for real estate, it can still matter. Here’s a guide to what the location of your pain might mean.

If the pain is around your eye
Head pain in and around your eye can be a classic sign of a cluster headache, so named because these headaches tend to occur in groups over a period of weeks or months before going away for a while. Usually just one eye is affected (though not always the same one), and that eye may also be red, teary, swollen, or droopy.

If the pain is in your neck
Neck pain may not be the first thing you think about when it comes to migraines, but they are a common feature of the condition.

“About 75% of people with migraines get neck pain, which is something many people don’t realize,” says Dr. Green.

If the pain is on your scalp
Tension headaches don’t cause actual pain in your scalp, but they may cause that area to feel tight, almost like a band is being pulled around it.

If the pain is in your sinuses
Many so-called “sinus headaches” are actually tension headaches or migraines, the first and second most common types of headaches, respectively. In fact, says Dr. Green, a true “sinus headache” probably doesn’t really exist. “Most headaches are referred to the sinus region,” he says.


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