Mild Headache

1. A Visual Guide to Migraine Headaches Slideshow Pictures
2. Headache and Migraine Triggers Slideshow Pictures
3. Take the Migraines Quiz

Medical Author:

Mark Langdorf, MD

Coauthor:

Aaron Bright, MD

Medical Editor:

John P. Cunha, DO, FACOEP

John P. Cunha, DO, FACOEP

John P. Cunha, DO, is a U.S. board-certified Emergency Medicine Physician. Dr. Cunha's educational background includes a BS in Biology from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and a DO from the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences in Kansas City, MO. He completed residency training in Emergency Medicine at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, New Jersey.

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• Mild Headache Overview
• Mild Headache Causes
• Mild Headache Symptoms
• When to Seek Medical Care
• Mild Headache Diagnosis
• Mild Headache Treatment
• Mild Headache Self-Care at Home
• Mild Headache Medical Treatment
• Mild Headache Medications
• Mild Headache Prevention
• Mild Headache Prognosis
• Synonyms and Keywords
• Authors and Editors
• Read more on Mild Headache from Healthwise
• Viewer Comments: Headache - Effective Treatments

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 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. Some headaches seem to have no apparent cause.
• 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.

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