In general, there are five types of headaches:
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Chronic Tension-Type Headache
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Migraine Headache
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Cluster Headache
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Hormone Headache
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Other Types of Headache
Chronic Tension-Type Headache
Chronic tension-type headaches may be the result of stress or fatigue, but more than likely, they can be attributed to physical problems, psychological issues, or depression
Chronic tension-type headaches affect both men and women, but women do have a greater incidence of them. This prevalence among women, however, may be due to the fact that women seek medical help and report headaches more frequently than men.
A pattern of chronic tension-type headaches generally begins between the ages of 20 and 40, and every personality type can experience them.
Migraine Headache
The term migraine is originally derived from the Greek word hemicrania, which means “half of the head.” And, for 70 percent of migraine sufferers, the headache is unilateral or occurring on one side.
Migraine is considered a vascular headache because it is associated with changes in the size of the arteries in and outside of the brain. Prompted by biochemical changes in the brain, one of the larger nerve branches (the trigeminal nerve) in your head triggers a chain reaction: the changes in serotonin in the blood vessels and the brain lead to shifts of blood flow, bypassing the capillaries and going through shunts to the veins.
The distention of these vessels contributes to the pain of migraine. The nerves around the blood vessels release chemicals which cause a sterile inflammation eliciting pain signals into the brain.
Cluster Headache
They are called cluster headaches because the attacks come in groups. The pain arrives with little, if any, warning, and it has been described as the most severe and intense of any headache type. It generally lasts from 30 to 45 minutes, although it might persist for several hours before it disappears.
Unfortunately, it can reoccur later in the day. Most sufferers experience one to four headaches a day during a cluster period.
Hormone Headache
The word hormone is derived from a Greek word that means to “set in motion.” Hormones initiate and regulate many of your body’s functions. For example, metabolic hormones regulate the way your body turns food into energy. Growth hormones control childhood development and maintain certain tissue structure in adults. Regulating hormones determine your femininity, masculinity and sexuality.
Although only women suffer from “hormone headache,” both men’s and women’s headaches are prompted by hormones. You would not feel pain without them, because it is the hormones that induce the pain response. Actually, the headache may be protecting you or warning you of something more damaging in the same way that touching a hot stove alerts you to the heat and protects you from burning yourself.
Other Types of Headache
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Rebound Headache
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Sinus
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Organic