Are you getting sinus headache symptoms?

It's important to tell the difference between sinus headache symptoms and migraine symptoms. The solution will be quite different for each!

A doctor may prescribe antibiotics for a sinus headache, and occasionally in severe cases the sinuses need to be drained. Antibiotics do take a while to work, so if your headache is gone within a day or so, consider the possibility that you had had a
migraine. If you get a cold or an allergy attack which simply doesn't seem to go away, it may be sinusitis.

What are sinus headache symptoms?

When you get an infection and your sinuses become inflamed, that's sinusitis. You may begin to feel like you have a cold or the flu.

With a sinus headache, you will often deal with post nasal drip, which is a collection of mucus in the back of your throat when you're lying on your back. You may also be congested. These symptoms are also typical of migraine. However, a sinus infection will last considerably longer, and if it becomes worse you may feel generally sick and even have a fever (with migraine you may feel like you have a fever, but you usually don't). Fatigue is common. You may also find that your mucus is thicker than normal and discoloured.

The pain in a sinus headache is usually localized around the eyes, and you may actually feel some tenderness.

It is important for a sinus infection to be treated, because over time the infection can spread to the brain or to the membranes covering the brain. Be sure to give your doctor as much information as possible if you think you have sinus headache symptoms, so that he doesn't give you antibiotics that you don't need (and that won't help you anyway!). There are different types of sinusitis as well, and your doctor will help you decide which one you're suffering from. For more information on sinus headache symptoms, read this article from the The American Academy of Otalaryngology.

If you're feeling congested, in the early stages you may be able to avoid sinusitis by drinking plenty of fluids and using a warm steam spa (such as the Conair MDF2R Facial Sauna - pretty good excuse to pamper yourself when the pain is gone, too!) Some migraineurs also find relief using items such as a facial sauna.

It's not always simple, but it's very important to understand what type of headache you have. It helps to know the difference between sinus headache symptoms, migraine symptoms and the symptoms of many other headaches.

If you think migraines may be part of the picture for you, browse this site to learn more, or get your hands on a helpful resource for differentiating between headaches, such as Migraines for Dummies. You'd be smart if you listen to what your body is trying to tell you! :-)

Quick stats: In April 2003, WebMD reported that half of the people who get migraines don't know they have migraines. 42% think they have sinus headache but haven't been diagnosed, but a whopping 43% have been misdiagnosed by a doctor as having sinus headache! It has been estimated that as many as 3/4 of those who think they have sinus headache often have migraine!

If you've found this article helpful, be sure to check out our FREE e-zine, HeadWay!

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