This Is Doing My Head In
Many people don’t know that their headaches are happening because of their sinuses and not stress. In fact, it’s the other way around; it may be causing the stress! Let’s take a look at what a sinus headache really is and how to address it so you can worry about one less thing.
Caving To The Pressure
There are many types of headaches in the world – over 200! Trying to figure out which one you have can be, well… a headache. They generally come in two flavors, primary and secondary.
A primary headache is the one we most often associate with. They are varied and happen frequently. Usually, they aren’t tied to any underlying condition. Secondary headaches, on the other hand, can be directly linked to an existing disease or problem. Our friend the sinus headache is one of the latter.
A whopping 28.5 million people have sinus headaches every year. These kinds of headaches affect the front of the face and usually worsen as you bend downward or experience cold and wet weather. Like all things truly terrible, they’re there to welcome us in the morning.
Things Have Come To A Head
As a secondary headache, sinus headaches can be traced back to an existing problem. The culprit, in this case, is sinusitis. This is the inflammation of your sinuses is either due to infection or as a reaction to something like an allergy.
Your sinuses are located in cavities behind your forehead, eyes, cheek and nose. They serve an important role in breathing, its regulation and the manufacturing of mucus.
Heads Up!
It’s not much of a stretch to point out the obvious and say that the primary symptom of a sinus headache is you know, ache. Some other symptoms are:
- Pressure – Typically around sinus cavities such as the forehead, eyes and nose.
- Sensitivity – The areas under pressure are usually tender and painful to touch.
- Movement – Changing positions can usually make things hurt more.
- Morning Severity – Because your sinuses have been draining all night, you usually start off waking up on the wrong side of the bed.
I wish I could say that was it but due to the fact that sinus headaches are so related to sinus infections, you may experience the following:
- Discharge – Yellow or green, straight from the nose. I know, lovely.
- Fatigue – You’re going to feel like the wind’s been taken right out of your sails.
- Ears – Really, the whole face wasn’t enough? Your ears are going to feel blocked and ‘full’.
We’ve left little room for doubt as to whether you have a sinus headache. Now that we’re sure, we can look at what to do about it.
This Is Making My Head Swim
We’ve got two things to worry about when thinking about how to deal with our sinus headache. One is the pain itself. The other is the cause. We’ve decided we’re not going to be one of those people who just wait for this thing out so we’ve got a few options.
First and foremost, we can dull the pain. Most over the counter pain relievers will do the trick. Decongestants and Antihistamines will also help clear the sinuses. There are plenty of other options to open the sinuses up, luckily.
An interesting solution from Jessie of WifeLife Blog. She’s got a neat video on how you can use essential oils and water to clear your passages and breathe easier. At the end of the day though, our sinuses are pretty complicated and we often need to reach out to better understand them.
Let’s Put Our Heads Together
That reaching out should be to someone informed. Our sinuses, being the complex and sticky sources of misery that they are can be quite mysterious. Among the uninitiated, the fumbling, desperate searches for a solution could even make things worse! For our own sakes, its best we turn to qualified doctors who can diagnose what’s happening and offer lasting solutions!
Don’t just sit there and pile these headaches on top of all of your other worries. I know it’s not going to fix how busy or hectic things are but at least you won’t have to feel it in your face.