As a migraine sufferer herself, Dr Sarah Jarvis understands how debilitating they can be. She shares the latest research into the causes and treatments available for different types of headache
If you frequently complain about a sore head, you’re not alone: almost all of us (95%) have experienced a headache at some point in our lives. But while many are a minor inconvenience, others can be extremely painful and some could even be signs of an emergency. Here’s how to distinguish between them, plus new pain solutions.
THE BIG OUCH
The most common kind are tension headaches, which are usually felt as a dull ache over your forehead or as a tight band round your hat band region. They’re rarely severe and don’t cause other symptoms (apart from mild light sensitivity). They can last for several days, and four in five of us get them occasionally. Ibuprofen or paracetamol are usually effective, but avoid taking these more than two days a week long term (see why overleaf).
MIGRAINE: MORE THAN JUST A HEADACHE
The next most common kind of headache is migraine, which affects around 6m people in the UK – up to one in four women and one in 10 men. Lasting anything from four hours to three days, the throbbing headache – often but not always on one side of the head – is commonly accompanied by feeling or being sick and sensitivity to sound and/or light. The pain is more severe than a tension headache, made worse by any activity and, often, the only option involves retreating to a darkened room. As a migraineur myself, I can attest that
CLUSTER HEADACHES
These are uncommon and men are more likely to have them. They’re not life-threatening, but the pain is exceptionally severe and often accompanied by one-sided eye watering, redness and drooping. They often come in clusters over six to 12 weeks. Along with hyperbaric oxygen, new treatments such as stimulation of the vagus nerve and a targeted treatment called galcanezumab are bringing hope to sufferers. they are not pleasant at all.
While seven in 10 sufferers feel lightheaded, only one in three to four gets an ‘aura’ – a warning sign up to an hour before the headache starts, ranging from flickering lights or zigzag lines across your vision to slurred speech or numbness or tingling on one half of the body. Some people who experience migraines only suffer occasionally, but the unlucky 1 in 1,000 with chronic migraine have some form of headache at least half the time, and at least eight days a month are wiped out by migraines.
Fortunately, there have been huge advances in migraine treatment in the last couple of years. Triptan tablets and sprays have revolutionised the relief found by many sufferers, including me. But if you have frequent migraines, a preventative treatment may be recommended by a specialist. Calcitonin gene-related peptide antibodies (CGRP) and mo
