Headaches, known as sinus headache, might mimic a sinus infection (sinusitis). The cheekbones, forehead, and eyes may all feel compressed. Perhaps you have a headache.
However, a migraine might be to blame for this discomfort.
Symptoms
These are some possible signs and symptoms of sinus headache:
- Cheek, brow, or forehead ache, pressure, or fullness
- Discomfort that becomes worse when you lay down or bend forwards
- Clogged nose
- Fatigue
- Toothache in the upper teeth
Migraines Or Sinusitis?
Since the signs and symptoms of the two forms of headaches may resemble one another, migraines and sinusitis headaches are simple to mistake.
When you lean forward, headache pain from sinusitis and migraines often worsens. Numerous nasal signs and symptoms, such as congestion, face pressure, and a clear, watery nasal discharge, may also be present in migraine sufferers. These result from the autonomic nervous system’s participation in a migraine episode. Research has shown that most patients who see a doctor for sinus headache is diagnosed with migraines.
However, unlike migraines, which often include these symptoms, sinusitis is typically not accompanied by nausea, vomiting, or made worse by loud or strong light.
In cases of sinusitis:
- Following a viral cold or upper respiratory illness
- Comprised of thick, coloured nasal mucus
- Is connected to a diminished sense of smell
- Causes discomfort in the upper teeth or one cheek
Sinus headache may last days or more, whereas migraines typically last a few hours to a few days.
When to See a Doctor
Consult your supplier if:
- Your headaches last over 15 days per month, or you often use over-the-counter pain relievers.
- You have a terrible headache, and over-the-counter pain relievers don’t work.
- You often have headaches, which lead you to miss school or work or interfere with your everyday life.
Causes
Sinus headaches often accompany migraines or other types of headaches.
Sinus headaches may result in nasal symptoms and are accompanied by discomfort and pressure in the face and sinuses. Since most of these headaches do not result from sinus infections, antibiotics should not be used to treat them.
Risk Factor
Anyone may have sinus headache. However, some conditions may increase your risk:
- Prior history of headaches or migraines
- History of headaches or migraines in the family
- Alterations in hormones linked to headaches
Prevention
Whether you use preventative medicine or not, you could profit from making lifestyle adjustments that lessen the frequency and intensity of headaches. You may find one or more of these recommendations practical:
Prevent triggers. Avoid them if certain smells or meals appear to have in the past brought on a headache for you. Your doctor could advise you to reduce your coffee and alcohol consumption and quit smoking.
Daily schedule. Create a daily schedule that includes regular meals and sleep schedules. Also, make an effort to manage your stress.
Regularly moving about. Regular aerobic exercise may help avoid headaches and relieve stress. Choose whatever aerobic activity you love, such as walking, swimming, or cycling, if your provider is on board.
Warm up. Warm up gradually, however, since abrupt, intensive activity might result in headaches.
Exercise. Regular exercise may help you maintain a healthy weight or lose weight, and obesity is known to be a contributing factor in headaches.
Reduce estrogen’s adverse effects. You may wish to avoid or take fewer estrogen-containing drugs if estrogen tends to cause headaches or makes them worse. Birth control pills and hormone replacement treatment are some of these drugs. Consult your doctor about the best substitutes or doses for you.
Diagnosis
Finding the source of headaches may be challenging. The doctor will examine you physically and ask you questions about your headaches.
To identify the source of your headache, your doctor could do imaging tests like the ones listed below:
CT scan. In a CT scan, pictures from an X-ray machine around the body are combined to generate cross-sectional images of the brain and skull (including the sinuses).
Magnetic resonance imaging. A magnetic field and radio waves are employed in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to provide cross-sectional pictures of the brain’s structural components.
Treatment
Most individuals who believe they have sinus headache have migraines or headaches of this kind.
Prescription drugs may be using to treat migraines and chronic or recurring headaches. These drugs can be use daily to lessen or prevent headaches or, right away, to stop them from growing worse.
Your doctor could suggest the following to treat these headaches:
Painkillers. Prescription-free medicines, including acetaminophen (Tylenol, others), naproxen sodium (Aleve), and ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others), may be used to treat migraines and other forms of headaches.
Triptans. Migraine sufferers often use triptans to reduce discomfort. Triptans induce blood vessel constriction and should be avoiding if you have a history of heart disease or stroke. They act by inhibiting pain pathways in the brain.
Other medications. These include rizatriptan (Maxalt), almotriptan, naratriptan (Amerge), zolmitriptan (Zomig), frovatriptan (Frova), and eletriptan (Relpax). Sumatriptan is also available under the brand names Imitrex and Tosymra. Triptans are available as pills, injections, and nasal sprays.
Sumatriptan and naproxen sodium (Treximet), taken as a single tablet, are more effective in treating migraine symptoms than alone.
Ergots. Triptans are more effective than ergotamine and caffeine combo medicines (Migergot). Ergots work best for those whose discomfort persists for more than 72 hours.
Ergotamine may exacerbate your migraine-related nausea, vomiting, and other adverse effects. It may also result in headaches from prescription abuse.
Ergot derivative dihydroergotamine (D.H.E. 45, Migranal) is more efficient and less harmful than ergotamine. Both an injection and a nasal spray version are offering. This medicine may have fewer adverse effects and a lower risk of headaches from pharmaceutical misuse than ergotamine.
Dihydroergotamine and other ergots, which encourage blood vessel constriction, should be avoid if you have a history of heart disease or stroke.
Reyvow’s Lasmiditan. This more recent oral pill has been given the green light to treat migraines with or without aura. Like a triptan drug, it inhibits pain pathways but doesn’t tighten blood vessels.
Antagonists of CGRP. Oral CGRP receptor antagonists ubrogepant (Ubrelvy) and rimegepant (Nurtec ODT) are licensed for treating acute migraine in adults, either with or without aura.
Monoclonal antibodies to CGRP. Newer medications for the treatment of migraines include erenumab-aooe (Aimovig), fremanezumab-vfrm (Ajovy), galcanezumab-gnlm (Emgality), and eptinezumab-jjmr (Vyepti). They are injecting monthly or every three months.
Nausea-reducing drugs. Medication for nausea is helpful and is often used with other drugs, as migraines are frequently accompanied by nausea, with or without vomiting. Chlorpromazine, metoclopramide (Reglan, Gimoti), and prochlorperazine (Compro, Procomp) are often given.
lucocorticoids. Glucocorticoids like dexamethasone (Hemady) may be used with other drugs to enhance pain relief. The use of glucocorticoids should not be repeating often due to the possibility of steroid toxicity.