What Can I Do About Recurring Sinus Headaches
Many sinus headaches, especially those that recur, are actually migraines. But its smart to see your healthcare provider to figure out the cause of your headaches.
You may find that the best long-term solution is figuring out what triggers your migraine headaches so you can avoid them. Its helpful to keep a headache diary to track potential triggers. Triggers you can control include:
- Alcohol.
- Specific foods, such as chocolate, red wine or strong cheese.
- Lack of sleep.
You’re Also Experiencing Sensory Or Gastrointestinal Symptoms
Though headaches sometimes present as one of the earliest symptoms of coronavirus, there are two other types of symptoms that often follow suit. “COVID-19 related headaches were more closely associated with anosmia/ageusia and gastrointestinal complaints,” the study explains.
If you notice that your headache is paired with even mild iterations of these symptoms, it’s definitely time to get a COVID test. And to decode your gastrointestinal issues, check out This Is How to Tell If Your Upset Stomach Is COVID, Doctors Say.
How Do I Get Rid Of A Sinus Headache
To get rid of a sinus headache, you have to treat the underlying cause. But you can take steps to ease sinus pressure and pain at home:
- Apply a warm compress to painful areas of the face.
- Use a decongestant to reduce sinus swelling and allow mucus to drain.
- Try a saline nasal spray or drops to thin mucus.
- Use a vaporizer or inhale steam from a pan of boiled water. Warm, moist air may help relieve sinus congestion.
Sinus infection
Viruses, bacteria and sometimes fungi cause sinus infections. Viral infections often go away on their own. But if your infection is bacterial or fungal, you need antibiotics or antifungal medications. Your healthcare provider may also recommend other medications to ease discomfort, such as:
- Antihistamines to prevent allergy symptoms.
- Pain relievers to ease headache pain.
- Steroids to reduce inflammation.
Migraines with sinus symptoms
Sinus headaches that are actually migraines need a different type of treatment. The first step is to relieve your pain. You should know that frequently using over-the-counter medications when you have a headache can cause even more headaches .
Your provider may recommend prescription medication for migraine pain. You may also need a preventive medication that helps you have fewer migraine attacks.
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Dos And Donts To Ease General Headaches
If youre experiencing primary headaches for any reason, even without a cough, there are a few things you should and should not do if you want to give yourself the best chance of feeling better.
You should:
- Drink plenty of fluids
- Get plenty of rest if related to a cold or flu symptom
- Relax
- Try to avoid stressful situations
Conversely, if youve got a headache, its wise to avoid:
- Alcohol
- Soda and other sugary or carbonated beverages
- Skipping meals: Even of you dont feel like eating, you should get your food in. Insufficient food will leave you lacking healthy nutrition and possibly worsen the headache.
- Sleeping too much: Rest is important if youre fighting an illness, but could be counterproductive for a stress headache.
- Spending time in front of screens
For Someone Whose Migraines Are Triggered By Stress How Do They Deal With That During The Unsettling Times Of A Pandemic
We’re all weathering the storm and each person’s weathering it differently in terms of the degree of stress they’re facing. It could be a family members illness, or themselves, financial stressors, etc. Theres a lot on people’s plates. Managing stress levels and focusing on mindfulness can be extremely important in that setting. In the beginning of this in March, I personally was very, very stressed about the pandemic itself. I have several family members very important to me, who are immune compromised. So, my profound level of worry was beyond a normal stressor, I recognized that was a toxic stress level. I started doing more practice of yoga and of mindfulness, meditation, deep breathing, because I knew that I needed to do that.
Sometimes that’s not enough. Although I think that’s an important first mainstay of treatment, we need to recognize when we need to treat patients with medication and with psychotherapy to help. If the stressors are the biggest cause of the uptick of headache, addressing stress and mental health, rather than just throwing more medications at the headache, is going to be extremely important. As with any health condition, treating the underlying cause of uptick is more important than putting a bandage on it.
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Hypertension Headache: How To Identify If High Blood Pressure Is The Cause
Written byEmily LunardoPublished onJuly 21, 2017
More than 410,000 Americans died from high blood pressure complications in 2014, attributing to more than 1,100 deaths per day.
High blood pressure can also lead to a condition called hypertension headache. Often occurring in episodes, headaches due to high blood pressure are typically quite severe and occur when blood pressure is 200/100 or higher. Blood pressure reaching these heights can develop into malignant hypertension: a medical emergency.
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, affects about 75 million Americans todayroughly one in three adults. Blood pressure is exerted against the walls of your arteries, which carry blood from your heart to the other parts of the body. Blood pressure is a dynamic measurement, having high and low fluctuations throughout the day. Generally, there is a small range where blood pressure is considered optimal.
Those who have high blood pressure exceeding the normal range are exposed to constant levels of damaging force on their blood vessels. Over time, high blood pressure can put you at risk for heart disease and stroke.
How Barometric Pressure Affects Your Body
With all that pressure around us, why arent our bodies being crushed? Because, although we are not aware of it, our bodies are actually pushing back against the pressure in the air. And as our bodies move up and down along the column, the pressure in our bodies must also adjust to match. If our bodies move quickly up and down the column, we often feel the effects of those changes. For example, imagine driving through the mountains, or flying in an airplane. During these actions, our bodies are moving from a high-pressure area to a low-pressure area. Outside our bodies, the air pressure has decreased, but inside our bodies, the air pressure hasnt had time to adjust and is still pushing out with a force that matches the previous, higher air pressure.
The build-up and release of this extra pressure are what causes our ears to pop! After our ears pop, the difference forces pushing out from the body and pushing in towards the body become closer to being equal in pressure. This phenomenon exemplifies only one way that changes in barometric pressure can affect the body. Changes in barometric pressure have also been linked to changes in the frequency of migraines, the severity of joint pain, and the level of blood pressure.
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What Are The Symptoms Of Sinus Headaches And Migraines
Sinus headaches and migraines have the following symptoms in common:
- Pain in the head especially the forehead
- Itchy, watery eyes
- Worsening pain when you move
Migraines tend to also have some of the following symptoms:
- Nausea or vomiting
- Sensitivity to light or sound
- Severe pain located on one size of the head
Sinus headaches and migraines are often confused, and its important to know which type you have so you can receive treatment thats more likely to help.
If youre experiencing headaches, make an appointment today for an evaluation at Houston Sinus Surgery at the Yeung Institute. Well correctly diagnose the type of headache you have as well as any underlying issues that are causing them and devise an effective treatment plan.
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Common And Rare Causes Of Frontal Headaches
Claudia Chaves, MD, is board-certified in cerebrovascular disease and neurology with a subspecialty certification in vascular neurology. She is an associate professor of neurology at Tufts Medical School and medical director of the Lahey Clinic Multiple Sclerosis Center in Lexington, Massachusetts.
You have a headache smack dab on your foreheadwhat is it? Forehead headaches are common and here are some potential culprits.
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Intense Pressure And/or Pain In Head When Bending Over
Various reasons can lead to a sensation of intense pressure in head when bending over, often accompanied with a headache as well. It could be a symptom of cold, neuropsychiatric problems or even disorders of the cardiovascular system. The most common causes are as follows:
1. Sinus Headache
A sinus headache is usually worse in the morning, located only on one side of the head around the eyes, forehead or cheeks, which tends to get better during the day. A sinus headache tends to get worse when moving the head, especially when bending down. Intense pressure in head is often felt.
Besides, other signs and symptoms of sinusitis include high fever, green or yellowish mucus discharged from the nose, a swollen face, a tenderness of the face to the touch, etc. Sometimes, the headache can even radiate into the teeth, upper jaw as well as other parts of the head.
Remedy
You already know sinus headache could be causing intense pressure in head when bending over, a sensation like your head is going to explode. How is sinus headache treated?
In mild to moderate cases of sinus headaches, you dont need to go and visit a doctor. You can treat it at home with over-the-counter painkillers such as acetaminophen or paracetamol. Other effective remedies include drinking plenty of fluids during the day, bed resting, nasal sprays with decongestant effect, applying a warm cloth directly over the affected sinuses a couple times during the day, etc.
2. Brain Tumor
Remedy
Sinus Infection And Neck Pain: Is There A Correlation
People with allergies or chronic colds understand that sinus infections can be a real pain in the neck. Most cases of acute sinusitis get better on their own. Your doctor may recommend treatments to help relieve sinusitis symptoms, but acute sinusitis can cause potentially dangerous complications. Read on if youre wondering if sinus infections can cause neck pain.
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An Overview Of Sinus Headaches And What They Feel Like
Sinus headaches are caused by an inflammation of your sinuses, the air-filled cavities around your nose, eyes, forehead and cheeks that help to humidify the air you breathe in and secrete mucus. This swelling may decrease the ability of the sinuses to allow mucus to drain, increasing pressure around your nose and eyes and leading to a sinus headache. Common causes of sinus inflammation include allergies or colds.
Sinus headaches can feel like a vise is squeezing the inside of your head behind your nose, eyes, and forehead. They may occur on one side or both sides of the head and the neck is typically not involved. Sinus headache sufferers may also experience nasal congestion, thick nasal discharge, watery eyes, internal ear pressure, swelling in the face, fever, chills, and sweats.1 Pain often worsens when you bend forward, cough, or when you wake up first thing in the morning because mucus may have collected in your sinuses during the night.
Many people confuse a sinus headache with a migraine because pain and pressure in the sinuses, nasal congestion and watery eyes often occur with both conditions.1 Sinus headaches, however, usually arent associated with nausea or vomiting or aggravated by noise or bright light all common symptoms of migraines.
References:
Sinus Headache: Signs Symptoms And Treatment Options
Around 70% to 80% of the population in the United States experience headaches, with 50% experiencing a minimum of one headache each month, 15% a minimum of one a week and 5% every day. The occurrence of headaches increases dramatically when you’re in your 20s. After that it levels off until you reach between the age of 40 through 50 years old, after which it reduces.
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Risk Factors For Dehydration
Anyone can experience dehydration. Most people will experience mild dehydration. However, some individuals are at higher risk, including:
- people who live at higher altitudes
- infants and young children
- people with chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and kidney disease
- people who take medications that increase urine output
- endurance athletes or people engaging in strenuous physical activity
- people who live in hot climates
These groups of people should take special care to stay properly hydrated.
The best way to relieve a dehydration headache is to address both the pain and the loss of fluid.
If a person has a dehydration headache, they should:
- Increase fluid intake by drinking water or other healthy fluids.
- Suck on ice cubes.
- Replace lost electrolytes with a sports drink.
- Temporarily decrease physical activity and avoid heat to reduce sweating.
- Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
While the above measures may treat dehydration, it can take a while for this type of headache to go away.
A person may take acetaminophen or ibuprofen to help manage the pain.
Where Is Sphenoid Sinus Pain Felt
The main symptom of sinusitis is a throbbing pain and pressure around the eyeball, which is made worse by bending forwards. Although the sphenoid sinuses are less frequently affected, infection in this area can cause earache, neck pain, or an ache behind the eyes, at the top of the head, or in the temples.
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Diagnosing A Sinus Infection
To diagnose a sinus infection, your doctor will feel for tenderness in your nose and face. They will also look inside your nose and can usually make a diagnosis based on a physical exam. To visually inspect your sinuses, the doctor may use a nasal endoscopy, where they insert a thin, flexible tube into your nostril.
For more severe cases, your doctor may recommend imaging studies like a CT scan. These are less common and typically only used when the doctor suspects complications or abnormalities. If you have chronic sinus infections, your doctor may want to examine your sinuses for deformities or damage.
To diagnose a sinus infection, your doctor will feel for tenderness in your nose and face. They will also look inside your nose and can usually make a diagnosis based on a physical exam.
If the treatment for your sinus infection doesnt seem to be working or if the infection comes back, the doctor may take tissue samples from your nose and sinus cavities. While lab tests arent generally necessary for an initial diagnosis, these cultures may help a doctor check for indications of a more severe bacterial infection.
If your persistent sinus infections arent caused by damage or deformity to the sinuses themselves, you may be referred to an allergist for allergy testing to help pinpoint the allergens responsible and help you avoid them or take medications to control the reactions.
How Does High Blood Pressure Cause Headaches
Pain levels depend on how high someones blood pressure is. Hypertension headaches may range from mild to severe and are regulated by how much blood is reaching the brain. During times of high blood pressure, blood vessels running through the tissue under the skull constrict or tighten, leading to headache development.
It is also possible for blood pressure medication to cause headaches. Checking blood pressure during headaches can be a good indicator of whether it is caused by abnormal blood pressure levels.
Some medical professionals believe that having a headache due to high blood pressure is a sign of a hypertensive crisis, which is when blood pressure spikes to critical levels.
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What Are The Symptoms Of An Untreated Sinus Infection
Pain Or Pressure In Your Sinuses
Facial pain is a common symptom of sinusitis. You have several different sinuses above and below your eyes, as well as behind your nose. Any of these air-filled cavities can hurt when you have a sinus infection.
Inflammation and swelling can cause your sinuses to ache with dull pressure. This is because inflammation may alter the typical path of mucus from the nose to the back of the throat.
You may feel pain in:
- your forehead
- on either side of your nose
- in your upper jaws and teeth
- between your eyes
This may lead to a headache. Headaches caused by sinus infections can occur where the sinuses are or in other places.
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Get Ahead Of Cold Symptoms
Though theres no promise youll escape cold and flu season without a runny nose or sore throat, there are some steps you can take to increase your chances of staying healthy.
- Wash your hands frequently to help prevent coming into contact with or spreading harmful germs.
- Disinfect your environment and frequently clean commonly touched surfaces such as sink handles, doorknobs and handrails.
- Avoid sharing personal items, especially those that come in contact with your eyes, nose or mouth like utensils, washcloths or cups.
- Do not come in close contact with people who have colds or other upper respiratory infections.
Overall, pursue a healthy lifestyle to boost immunity by eating nutritious food, sleeping eight hours, drinking water, exercising and managing stress.
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