Sinus Headache … Or Is It?

WebMD

2 days ago

For many years, I thought I had all the headaches of the rainbow. Migraine? Yes. Tension? Absolutely. Sinus? Without fail. Add in the headaches you get during a major bout with a cold, flu, or COVID, and I pretty much thought I had a degree in headaches.
My medicine cabinet also represented the many treatments for any type of headache on any given day. I often smiled, knowing I would have something to barter in the apocalypse. I'd be the medicine woman trading Tylenol PMs for bread!
Now let's be clear, I've been that chick!
From an early age, I was the one who (when I was old enough to do so) had headache medication for anyone who needed it. I felt valuable being able to help someone escape a pain that I was all too familiar with.
This system has made me a little scattered when planning, especially for travel. I've had to make sure I have my prescription migraine medication, some type of painkiller for a 'regular' headache, some sinus headache medication if we're talking March through early June, and then again in late September through early November. Right when the fall allergy season ends, I'm armed with headache medication for the cold and flu season.
I'll also improvise when I need to. In the past, if I'd been caught off guard with what I believed to be a sinus headache, I'd take a Tylenol and then some generic sinus medication or do a neti pot. The goal was to attack it from the side if I couldn't attack it head-on.
But as things commonly go with me and migraine, I learned something new recently that blew my mind.
I was speaking to a neurologist about migraine (shout-out to Dr. Paul Mathew), and he said, 'You know, many people will think they're having a sinus or tension headache when it's actually a migraine.'
Wait, what?!
You mean all of these years, I've been walking around with an entire drugstore in my purse for no reason? But being a natural skeptic, I had to look it up myself. Sure enough, studies show that 90% of self-diagnosed sinus headaches are migraine attacks. I hate to be known as someone who follows the crowd, but dang it, I've been living in that 90%!
For years, I wondered why traditional sinus medications would do nothing for my sinus headaches. I'd up the dose, I'd switch brands. I'd take a steam shower. I'd do all the things! Still, my 'sinus' headache would hang around for days. I'd be miserable. I'd call out of work sometimes. I'd be bedridden for days sometimes. I hated the spring. All along, I was dealing with a migraine.
Honestly, I should have known. I mean, I had the classic migraine symptoms – sensitivity to light, nausea … oh, the nausea! I used to walk around God's green earth telling other people that my sinus headaches felt 'a lot like a migraine.' It's almost funny now. Almost.
Beyond sounding very headache illiterate, the worst part of it all was that I was delaying my treatment. I was suffering for days sometimes, never once glancing at my migraine medication.
But if you've been confused like me about how sinus and migraine headaches are different, don't feel bad. It seems they can have similar symptoms and triggers.
Changes in weather and seasons can trigger both migraine attacks and sinus headaches.
Both can have pain behind the eyes.
Both can have a runny nose and watery eyes.
It's no wonder most of us get it wrong when it comes to these types of headaches. The same nerves are involved in the face, mouth, jaw, head, and sinuses. But I've been reading that sinus headaches are pretty rare.
We're nose-deep in allergy season where I live. Thankfully, I'm not in a place where yellow pollen covers the cars anymore, but the dry (sometimes dusty) air can kick up all kinds of allergens. All I know is I used to hate the spring and all its flowery-ness. I would gear up for days – sometimes weeks – of what I now know are migraine attacks.
But as the old folks say: 'When you know better, you do better.' Now, when I feel a migraine attack coming on, I will treat it as such … and quickly! After all, there are roses to smell and long days to enjoy.