Headache Types (Sar Dard): Tension, Migraine or Sinus? (Video)

2:14 min

Read the full written guide: Headache Types (Sar Dard): Tension, Migraine or Sinus? →

Learn how to spot the three most common headache types, tension, migraine, and sinus, using simple questions about location, feeling, and triggers. We also explain why many so-called sinus headaches are really migraines.

Get quick home-relief tips and a single easy test that can help you identify a migraine at home. This video is for general information only and not a substitute for professional medical advice.

Show the full transcript

Transcript

Did you know most 'sinus' headaches are actually migraines?

Did you know most 'sinus' headaches are actually migraines?

Headache Types Quick Guide

In the next few minutes you'll learn how to tell tension, migraine, and sinus headaches apart, and discover the one simple test that can spot a migraine fast.

How to tell a headache

Doctors ask four things: where it hurts, how it feels, what came before, and how long it lasts. Stress, screen time, and poor posture often trigger tension. Match your answers to a band on both sides for tension, a throbbing one-sided pain for migraine, or eye pain for cluster.

Cluster duration

Cluster attacks are brief but intense, usually lasting from fifteen minutes up to three hours.

Sinus pain often migraine

Migraine often sits over the cheekbones and forehead, where the sinuses are, and it can make your nose run and your face feel full, mimicking a sinus problem. That's why many reach for decongestants, which only mask the pain.

Brain pain source

Did you know? The brain itself can't feel pain. Headache comes from the blood vessels, the covering of the brain, the muscles and the nerves around it.

Home help for tension

For tension headaches, a warm cloth on the neck, a short walk, water and a snack, and gentle neck stretches can help. For migraine, retreat to a dark, quiet room, a cold cloth on the forehead, and rest. Consistent sleep and regular meals also keep both types at bay.

Migraine movement test

A quick movement test: walk up ten stairs at a normal pace. If the pain spikes with each step, that's a classic migraine sign. Do it in a well-lit room to avoid extra glare.

The one simple test

The one simple test to spot a migraine at home is to climb ten stairs and notice if the headache worsens with each step.

Like, subscribe and comment

Useful? Like and subscribe, and tell us in the comments what we should check next.

Read the full guide

The full guide is on thecareonline.com. General information only, so check with your doctor for your own case.

Nothing on The Care Online is medical advice. Traditional practices are described as tradition, not as fact. Take a persistent or serious concern to a qualified professional. See how videos and posts are made on our methodology page.