Font Size
A
A
A


Mild Headache

Mild Headache Overview

Headaches are common but usually do not represent a serious illness. Even when headaches do not have a serious cause, they may be quite painful and disrupt your daily activities.

There are many different causes of headache. The pain in different types of headache varies in intensity, location, and duration. Another important feature that helps distinguish among different types of headache is the quality of the pain: whether it is sharp, dull, constant, intermittent, or pounding. Additional symptoms may accompany a headache:

  • Dizziness

  • Numbness or weakness

  • Changes in vision

  • Difficulty with balance

  • Eye, ear, or facial pain

  • Cold symptoms

  • Fever

All these factors help determine whether or not a headache needs emergency treatment. Ultimately, the cause of the headache determines the best treatment.

  • Headache can affect anyone, of any race, socioeconomic status, age, and gender.

  • Stress and anxiety are reported to trigger some people’s headaches. Others find no apparent reason for theirs.

  • The most common types of headache are known as tension-type, while the next most common are called migraine. What most people consider to be a mild headache is most often tension-type headache or a mix of tension-type and migraine.



Next: Mild Headache Causes »

Viewer Comments & Reviews

Headache - Effective Treatments

The eMedicineHealth physician editors ask:

What kinds of treatments have been effective for your headache?

Anonymously share your comment to help others. Viewer Comments FAQs
See 2 Viewer Comments & Reviews

Submit Your Review


Printer-Friendly Format  |  Email to a Friend

Living Better

Find the secrets to longer life.

Are You Depressed? Take the Quiz


Read What Your Physician is Reading on eMedicine

Facial Pain and Headache »

Headache and facial pain are common complaints in the emergency and outpatient setting.

Read More on eMedicine »

Medical Dictionary