How common are headaches in adults?
According to the National Headache Foundation, more than 45 million Americans
suffer from chronic, recurring headaches and of these, 28 million suffer from
migraines. About 20 percent of children and adolescents also have significant
headaches. About 70% of
headache sufferers are women.
Headaches are the most common cause of absenteeism from work and school.
Migraine sufferers lose more than 157 million work and school days annually
because of headache pain.
What are the types of headaches?
A comprehensive headache classification guide was established by the
International Headache Society and includes more than 150 diagnostic headache
categories.
Based on research, a practical headache classification includes primary and
secondary headaches.
Primary Headaches
- Primary headaches - those that are not the result of another medical
condition. Include tension, migraine, mixed headache syndrome and cluster
headaches.
- Tension headaches: the most common type of primary headaches, accounting
for about 90% of all headaches diagnosed. Tension headaches are also called
chronic daily headaches or chronic non-progressive headaches. These muscle
contraction headaches cause mild to moderate pain and come and go over a
prolonged period of time. Tension headaches are not usually associated with
sensitivity to light or noise. Tension headaches can be classified as chronic,
occurring more than 15 days per month, or episodic, occurring less than 15 days
per month.
- Migraines: the second most common type of primary headaches. The exact
cause of migraines is unknown, although they are neurovascular in nature and are
related to changes in the brain as well as inherited abnormalities in certain
areas of the brain. Migraine pain is moderate to severe, often described as
pounding, throbbing pain. Migraines can last from 4 hours to 3 days and usually
occur 1 to 4 times per month. Migraines are associated with symptoms such as
sensitivity to light, noise or odors; nausea or vomiting; loss of appetite; and
stomach upset or abdominal pain.
- Mixed headache syndrome: the combination of migraine and tension
headaches.
- Cluster headaches: the least common, but most severe, type of
primary headache. The
pain of a cluster headache is intense and may be described as having a burning
or piercing quality that is throbbing or constant. The pain is so severe that
most cluster headache sufferers cannot sit still and will often pace during an
attack. The pain is located behind one eye or in the eye region, without
changing sides. The term "cluster headache" refers to headaches that
have a characteristic grouping of attacks. Cluster headaches occur one to three
times per day during a cluster period, which may last 2 weeks to
3 months. The headaches may disappear completely (go into "remission")
for months or years, only to recur.