A very severe headache might be mistaken for a migraine but there are some specific differences. However, they are triggered by different factors and people feel distinctive symptoms. What happens immediately before the patient experiences pain and during the attack can help in making a diagnosis. The tension headache, the most common kind and a migraine are compared to show how they impact the patient
What the pain is like
A tension headache gives the patient a feeling that an elastic band is squeezing his or her head. The headache is caused by the contraction of muscles between the head and neck. The dull pain, experienced across the head, is usually mild to moderate, although it can, in extreme cases, last for days. It more commonly lasts half an hour to a few hours.
A migraine, in comparison, tends to range from moderate to very severe throbbing pain at the front or the side of the head. It can be unrelenting and carry on for days and is accompanied by other symptoms sometimes described as the ‘aura’.
Symptoms before the attack
The tension headache gives no warnings before it happens.
A migraine gives warning signs or auras beforehand. Aura symptoms can be visual, auditory, psychological or physiological. This is due to changing neurological effects and reactions in the brain.
Visually aura symptoms can present as an alteration the patient’s perception by causing: wavy or jagged lines, flashing lights, dots, dark or coloured spots, stars or ‘sparkles’. These are usually accompanied by a sensitivity to light, which can exacerbate the problems.
Auditory symptoms include speech and hearing disturbances. These are usually accompanied by a sensitivity to loud or complex sounds.
Psychological symptoms include sudden change in mood, tiredness, thirst, hunger, confusion, feelings of fear, lack of control and memory changes.
Physiological symptoms include numbness, tingling, the sensation of spinning or vertigo, increased urination, weakness and fainting.