Vascular Headache

Common migraines generally cause intense pain that is either one-sided or bilateral and is located in the temporal or frontal areas. They most often begin in the morning or on weekends and is associated with nausea and vomiting, photophobia, red and tearing eyes, and understandably moodiness and irritability. Initially, the pain is more often unilateral and throbbing, but later, it becomes more constant and generalized. The duration of most migraines is a few hours to a few days, and the frequency is usually one to three per month, depending on the presence and intensity of precipitating factors.

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Classification of headaches :

1. Vascular headache (migraine type)

2. Nasal vasomotor reaction headache

3. Classic or common migraine.

4. Psychogenic headaches: depression,

5. Hemiplegic or opthalmoplegic migraine

6. Hypochondriasis, conversion, psychotic (delusional)

7. Cluster headache

8. Traction headache

9. Nonmigrainous vascular headache

10. Secondary to cranial inflammation

11. Muscle contraction (tension) headache

12. Secondary to disease of other cranial or neck structures: dental, ocular, aural, nasal, sinuses

13. Combined vascular-muscle contraction headache

14. Cranial neuritides of neuralgias

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Cluster headaches :

As their name implies, these headaches tend to occur in clusters of one or more daily for a period of several weeks. They are relatively short in duration- that is, usually 20 minutes to 2 hours-- unilateral, almost always occur on the same side, and re without prodromata. Severe, boring, piercing pain usually occurs in the orbital of forehead areas and a may be associated with nasal congestion, tears, and a partial Horner's syndrome.

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Tension (muscle contraction) headaches :​

Emotional stress is often associated with prolonged contraction of head and neck muscles, which, over several hours, may cause constriction of the blood vessels and result in ischemia. A dull, aching pain often begins suboccipitally and may spread over the head, sometimes feeling like a tightening band. The scalp may be tender to the touch, and in contrast to migraines, the headache is usually bilateral and not associated with prodromata of nausea and vomiting. The onset is often toward the end of the workday or in early evening.