What is the difference between migraines and other headaches?

When we talk about common headaches, we often mean tension headaches, which affect 30% of the population. When we talk about migraines, we mean a characteristic throbbing headache

Tension headaches come in many forms. A mild attack can be a short hour of mild discomfort. A more severe attack can be a week of moderate pain. What they have in common is a pressing or tightening feeling on both sides of the head.

Tension headaches are not made worse by movement or light physical activity, and nausea or vomiting are not common. If you experience them, you may have a migraine.

To distinguish a migraine attack from other headaches, you can look for the following characteristic symptoms.

With a migraine, you have pulsating pain on one side of the head. The pain is moderate to severe.

You may be sensitive to sound and light, and need to lie still. You may feel nauseous and vomit.

Not all symptoms are always present, but if it is a migraine attack, you will always experience some of the symptoms above.

If you have migraine with aura, aura symptoms before the headache are a good indication that it is a migraine. Sometimes aura occurs without a headache.