Migraine Vs Sinus Headache
It isnt always easy to tell the difference between a migraine and a headache, much less a sinus headache, but each condition does have its own set of specific symptoms. While some are shared, others are very distinct to the condition. This creates a strong case for keeping a migraine diary and documenting the details of and surrounding your headaches.
According to Dr. Ailani, the symptoms of migraine and sinus headache are similar because of the region of the brain that is activated during an attack:
Migraine can also have associated symptoms, symptoms that come WITH the headache pain that can be confused for a sinus or allergy problem. You can have a runny nose, watery eyes, your eyes can turn red. These symptoms, called autonomic symptoms, come on because of the area in the brain, the hypothalamus, that gets turned on during migraine.
Following this section are common symptoms for migraines as well as sinus migraine, sinus headaches and sinusitis. As you can see, many of them are identical or nearly identical. Its no wonder that patients struggle to describe their head pain and doctors struggle to diagnose it. The problem is, without a proper diagnosis you cant get proper treatment. If you are diagnosed with sinus headaches but you actually have migraines, it could delay your migraine treatment for years.
Other Remedies For Symptom Relief
Staying hydrated can help thin mucus to ease congestion.
Drinking hot liquids such as tea and broth may help relieve your symptoms. Breathing in moist air may also help relieve the discomfort that comes with nasal congestion. Try breathing in steam from the shower, a bowl of hot water, or a mug of tea.
If your voice is hoarse, rest it by avoiding yelling, whispering, and singing.
Placing a warm compress over the inflamed area can help reduce pressure and provide relief.
damages the natural protective elements of your nose, mouth, throat, and respiratory system.
If you smoke, consider quitting. Ask a doctor if you need help or are interested in quitting. Quitting may help prevent future episodes of both acute and chronic sinusitis.
Wash your hands frequently, especially during cold and flu seasons, to keep your sinuses from becoming irritated or infected by viruses or bacteria on your hands.
Using a humidifier during the cooler, dryer months may also help prevent sinus infections.
Talk with a doctor to see if allergies are causing your sinusitis. If youre allergic to something that causes persistent sinus symptoms, you will likely need to treat your allergies to relieve your sinus infection.
You may need to seek an allergy specialist to determine the cause of the allergy. The specialist may suggest:
- avoiding the allergen
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The Cervical Spine And Cervicogenic Otoocular Syndrome
Next, we are going to visit the opinion of a paper presented in The International Tinnitus Journal. Here the researchers sought to make a connection between cervical spine disorders and hearing problems that would eventually result in tinnitus and Ménières disease. Here are the summary learning points:
What is being suggested here? Simply that a functional disorder of the upper cervical spine can cause hearing problems.
A brief discussion of Menieres disease
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I Know What It Is Now What
Once you understand the checklist youll have a much better idea of which category you fall into. Of course, youll want to confirm this with your doctor for an official diagnosis. If you think that you are one of the majority and that your sinus headaches are actually migraine then its time to see a headache specialist. The good news is that with good treatment and support from a specialist you can significantly improve your condition.
Many people with headaches and sinus complaints self-treat with over the counter medications like ibuprofen or acetaminophen/paracetamol. In most cases, migraine-specific medication and personalized strategies are far more effective.
A range of treatment options are available depending on the severity and frequency of your headaches.
One of the most effective types of medicinal migraine treatments are called the triptans. Ninety-two percent of people from the SAMS study were candidates for triptans, but only 12% were using them.
Triptans require a doctors prescription and can be very useful if headaches are not very frequent. For more severe and frequently recurring cases there are preventative treatment options which help prevent attacks before they occur. There are medicinal and non medicinal preventives which you should explore with your doctor.
A word of caution: migraine overall is poorly managed.
Many people still havent been diagnosed. Fewer receive quality treatment.
IF YOU HAVE MIGRAINE DO THIS NEXT BEFORE THINGS GET WORSE
Chronic Sinus Headache Symptoms
The symptoms of different kinds of headaches may overlap a lot, but the causes can be very different. If you’ve been having frequent pain in your head and face, you may be surprised to learn that the issue may be your sinuses. Figuring out the source of your pain can help you find lasting relief from your sinus headache.
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What Is Sinus Headache
A true sinus headache, called rhinosinusitis, is rare. The cause is a viral or bacterial sinus infection characterized by thick, discolored nasal discharge. Youll get symptoms like possibly weaker smell or no smell, facial pain or pressure and commonly, fever. Facial pain and headache should resolve within seven days after viral symptoms improve or after successful treatment with antibiotics . If pain continues, then your diagnosis should be reconsidered.
The Curvatures Of The Neck
What are we seeing in this image?
In our practice, we see problems of cervical spine instability caused by damaged or weakened cervical spine ligaments. With ligament weakness or laxity, the cervical vertebrae move out of place and progress into problems of chronic pain and neurological symptoms by distorting the natural curve of the spine. This illustration demonstrates the progression from Lordotic to Military to Kyphotic to S shape curve.
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Sinus Headache And Nausea
When suffering from sinus infections one of the symptoms is sinus headache. Nausea when accompanied with headache is actually a symptom of migraine. Read on, to distinguish between these two conditions.
When suffering from sinus infections one of the symptoms is sinus headache. Nausea when accompanied with headache is actually a symptom of migraine. Read on, to distinguish between these two conditions.
The symptoms of sinus headache and nausea-related headache are similar. However, the headache that causes nausea, and the headache experienced during sinus infection is due to different causes and need different treatment. During sinus infection a person will experience a stuffy nose and headache in the facial region like behind the eyes and teeth pain. Another type of sinus headache occurs when one is on the airplane and is landing and has a cold allergy. This is called vacuum headache and causes the frontal sinuses to close up leading a vacuum effect throughout the sinus cavity, that causes a lot of pain.
These were the different sinus-related headaches. The headache that is accompanied by nausea is migraine. Migraine headache gives severe pain and causes visual disturbances and nausea. It can also cause vomiting and many people experience a throbbing pain on one side of the head, when suffering from migraines. Many tension type of headaches, apart from causing headache can also give a slight stuffy or runny nose.
What Is The Prognosis For A Sinus Headache
Sinus headaches are short-lived temporary problems associated with colds or hay fever. They recover quickly, once the underlying condition resolves.
Certain people develop chronic sinus inflammation and more long-standing symptoms associated with their sinusitis. Once the underlying condition is identified, preventive measures may be available and future recurrences of the sinus headache may be minimized. If the headache symptoms are not associated with inflammation of the sinuses, the underlying cause needs to be adequately addressed to relieve symptoms.
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Treatment For Sinus Pain
If you have pain thats caused by sinusitis, the following self-care measures may help ease your symptoms:
- Inhaling steam.Inhaling steamy air may help loosen mucus and ease inflammation. You can do this by draping a towel over your head and leaning over a bowl of warm water. Standing in a warm, steamy shower may also help.
- Using a nasal wash. A nasal wash is a saline solution and helps to flush out your sinuses. You can buy saline washes over-the-counter or make your own at home.
- Taking OTC medications. Various OTC medications may help relieve symptoms like pain, inflammation, and sinus congestion:
- pain medications like ibuprofen , naproxen , and acetaminophen
- nasal decongestants, such as Sudafed and Mucinex Sinus Max
- nasal corticosteroids like Flonase and Nasacort
What Are The Most Common Odd Head Sensations
When we talk about strange sensations in the head, each of us might refer to different experiences. Often, people describe the sensation as strange because its not exactly painful or comparable to the typical types of headaches that most of us are familiar with.
Among the weird head sensations might experience include:
- Head pressure as though youre underwater
- Feeling like your head is in a clamp
- Your head feels heavy
- Feeling like your head is full of cotton wool
- Your head feels spacey or puffy
If you feel any of these or anything similar, know that you are not alone. Many people also complain and wonder about these strange sensations. Now, what could they mean and when is it time for you to be alarmed?
Because we are surrounded by COVID-19 24/7 in the media, it is natural to think that your symptoms may be related to that. However, before jumping to conclusions, you should first consider that your symptoms may in fact be the result of other unrelated conditions, which we will now outline below:
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In This Video Dmx Displays Prolotherapy Before And After Treatments
- In this video, we are using a Digital Motion X-Ray to illustrate a complete resolution of a pinched nerve in the neck and accompanying symptoms of cervical radiculopathy.
- A before digital motion x-ray at 0:11
- At 0:18 the DMX reveals completely closed neural foramina and a partially closed neural foramina
- At 0:34 DXM three months later after this patient had received two Prolotherapy treatments
- At 0:46 the previously completely closed neural foramina are now opening more, releasing pressure on the nerve
- At 1:00 another DMX two months later and after this patient had received four Prolotherapy treatments
- At 1:14 the previously completely closed neural foramina are now opening normally during motion
Treating Cervical Ligaments With Prolotherapy Published Research From Caring Medical
Prolotherapy is an injection technique that stimulates the repair of unstable, torn, or damaged ligaments. When the cervical ligaments are unstable, they allow for excessive movement of the vertebrae, which can stress tendons, atrophy muscles, pinch on nerves, such as the vagus nerve, and cause other symptoms associated with cervical instability including problems of digestion among others.
In 2014, we published a comprehensive review of the problems related to weakened damaged cervical neck ligaments in The Open Orthopaedics Journal. We are honored that this research has been used in at least 6 other medical research papers by different authors exploring our treatments and findings and cited, according to Google Scholar, in more than 40 articles.
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Can Blocked Sinuses Cause Head Pressure
Sinus headaches are headaches that may feel like an infection in the sinuses . You may feel pressure around your eyes, cheeks and forehead. Perhaps your head throbs. However, many people who assume they have headaches from sinusitis, including many who have received such a diagnosis, actually have migraines.
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Summary And Contact Us Can We Help You How Do I Know If Im A Good Candidate
We hope you found this article informative and it helped answer many of the questions you may have surrounding Chronic Sinusitis and Eustachian Tube Dysfunction in your complicated neck pain case. Just like you, we want to make sure you are a good fit for our clinic prior to accepting your case. While our mission is to help as many people with chronic pain as we can, sadly, we cannot accept all cases. We have a multi-step process so our team can really get to know you and your case to ensure that it sounds like you are a good fit for the unique testing and treatments that we offer here.
References
1 Zannolli R, Acquaviva A, DAmbrosio A, Pucci L, Balestri P, Morgese G. Vagal and hypoglossal Bells palsy. Journal of child neurology. 2000 Feb 15:130-2. 2 Franz B, Altidis P, Altidis B, Collis-Brown G. The cervicogenic otoocular syndrome: a suspected forerunner of Ménières disease. International Tinnitus Journal. 1999 5:125-30. 3 Petersen SM, Jull GA, Learman KE. Self-reported sinus headaches are associated with neck pain and cervical musculoskeletal dysfunction: a preliminary observational case control study. Journal of Manual & Manipulative Therapy. 2019 Aug 8 27:245-52. 4 Steilen D, Hauser R, Woldin B, Sawyer S. Chronic neck pain: making the connection between capsular ligament laxity and cervical instability. The open orthopaedics journal. 2014 8:326.
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How Long Does A Sinus Headache Last And Do Sinus Headaches Go Away On Their Own
Sinus headaches caused by sinus infections can last up to two weeks or more, depending on the severity of your sinus infection. Although some sinus infections go away on their own, leaving a sinus infection untreated comes with potential complications, including the spread of the infection, loss of smell, and in extreme cases, meningitis and brain abscess.
Why Sinus Pressure Without Congestion Is Unique
It seems like everyone can remember at least one morning where they wake up and just dont feel good. The pressure in their nose paired with the struggle to breathe properly is something we have all experienced at some point.
This issue is known as congestion, and it is that feeling you have when your nose feels blocked. In most cases, you will also experience sinus pressure when you deal with congestion.
Sinus pressure and congestion go hand in hand as congestion is caused by the nasal cavities in your head getting backed up. When these cavities fill up, your sinuses feel the pressure of the added fluid and tend to feel uncomfortable. This is why so often you will see people dealing with both sinus pressure and headaches at the same time.
Just because these two symptoms go hand in hand does not mean that they cant exist in isolation. As we will see, there are many causes of sinus pressure and dizziness that often dont come with added congestion.
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What Tests Diagnose The Causes Of A Sinus Headache
It is important that the cause of the headache be diagnosed. Many patients who believe that they have sinus headaches may instead have migraine or tension headaches.
The health-care professional will likely begin by taking a history of the symptoms to help come to the diagnosis. Contributing factors in the development of sinusitis and headache may include a recent cold or upper respiratory tract infection, history of smoking, environmental allergies to dust or molds, as well as recent airplane travel, swimming or SCUBA diving, or other activities involving air pressure changes within the facial sinuses.
Physical examination may reveal tenderness to percussion, or tapping, over the affected sinus that reproduces the pain. Examination of the ears may reveal a serous otitis, or fluid levels behind the eardrum in the middle ear, that may suggest drainage problems in the face and sinuses. Examination of the nose may reveal swollen nasal passages and discharge. Evaluation of the mouth and teeth may find a source of infection, and the back of the throat may be examined for signs of postnasal drainage.
Can Sinus Headaches Be Prevented
Sinus headaches are due to inflammation of the sinuses and their ability to drain to the back of the nose.
- Avoid smoking, secondhand smoke, and other allergens because they may decrease the risk of developing sinusitis and a sinus headache. Smoking reduces the ability of the sinuses to clear mucous and fluid.
- Avoid colds and other respiratory infections because it may decrease the risk of sinus inflammation, for example, frequent hand washing, and avoiding people who are sick.
- Flying is not recommended if you have a cold, sinus infection, or an upper respiratory infection because of the pressure changes in the face that occur with flying.
- Maintaining adequate hydration and breathing humidified air at home and work will allow the normal mucus that is produced in the sinuses to drain more easily.
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