You may have experienced a tension headache before, feeling a mild to moderate pain on both sides of your head, accompanied by a feeling of pressure or tension. It's not pulsating and usually doesn't prevent you from doing daily activities. But how long can these headaches last?The average tension headache, the most common type of headache, lasts about four hours. However, for some people, severe headaches can go on much longer, sometimes for several days.
These "endless headaches" can even provoke anxiety. In one study, two-thirds of people diagnosed with chronic tension headache had had a daily or almost daily headache for an average of seven years before seeing a doctor. Finding and avoiding the things or triggers that cause tension headaches can reduce how often you have headaches and how severe they are when you have them. However, a proportion of these patients may have developed drug overuse headaches (drug-induced headaches) as a result of their tension headaches. Other names for tension headaches are common headaches, muscle tension headaches, and headaches.
Write down when you have a headache and how severe it is, along with details like what you ate and what you were doing before the headache started. You may be able to prevent or reduce tension headaches by learning what causes your headaches and try to avoid those triggers. Your seasonal headache may be a cluster headache in spring, a summer migraine, or an allergy headache. If tension headaches occur regularly or frequently, therapies such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, relaxation therapy, or biofeedback can reduce or eliminate headaches. Botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) is sometimes injected into the muscles of the face and head to treat headaches.Medication overuse headache is caused by taking pain relievers (or triptan medicines) too often for tension headaches or migraine attacks.
Write down when you have a headache and how bad it is, along with details like what you ate and what you were doing when the headache started. Because tension headaches recur in some people for years and because continued use of medications can cause serious side effects, prevention is a key aspect in the treatment of tension headaches. Chronic tension headache is a condition where you have a tension headache at least 15 days a month for at least three months. They are also the type of pain reliever that is most likely to cause medication overuse headache if used regularly. If over-the-counter medicines don't stop your headaches well enough or if you have a lot of headaches, your doctor may prescribe medicines to prevent headaches.
If tension headaches are life-altering or if you need to take medicine for headaches more than twice a week, see your doctor. In conclusion, the duration of stress headaches can vary from person to person. While the average tension headache lasts about four hours, some people experience severe headaches that last several days or even weeks. To reduce the frequency and severity of these headaches, it's important to identify and avoid triggers as well as seek medical help if needed.
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