Common Symptoms?

Tension Headaches: The most common type, tension headaches are characterized by a dull, aching sensation.

• Pain location: Pain is often felt on both sides of the head, sometimes spreading to the back of the head, neck, and shoulders.

• Pain sensation: Feels like a tight band or vice squeezing the head.

• Severity: Pain is usually mild to moderate and constant.

• Other symptoms: Unlike migraines, they typically do not cause severe sensitivity to light or sound, nausea, or vomiting.

Migraines: Migraines are a neurological condition that causes more intense and debilitating symptoms than tension headaches.

• Pain location: Throbbing or pulsing pain, typically on one side of the head, though it can affect both.

• Severity: The pain can be severe enough to disrupt daily activities.

• Other symptoms: nausea and vomiting, extreme sensitivity to light, sound, and sometimes smell and touch, dizziness and fatigue.

Cluster headaches: Cluster headaches are rare but are considered one of the most painful types of headaches.

• Pain location: Intense, sharp, or stabbing pain is centered around one eye, temple, or on one side of the head.

• Pattern: Headaches occur in "clusters" or groups, with daily attacks for weeks or months, followed by periods of remission.

Prevalence and Age Distribution?

• In 2018, the age-adjusted prevalence of migraine and severe headache in the US was 15.9% across all adults.

• Women are twice as likely to be affected by migraine as men, with 21% of women and 10.7% of men affected in 2018.

• Migraine most commonly affects people aged 35 to 45 but can impact younger individuals.

The information is for general awareness and not a substitute for medical evaluation. If symptoms are severe or concerning, a healthcare professional can help assess them.