Primary Versus Secondary Headaches

The 150+ types of headaches can be divided into two large categories: primary and secondary.

Primary headaches are caused by dysfunction or overactivity of pain-sensitive structures in your head and are not a symptom of an underlying medical condition. Primary headaches generally aren’t dangerous, but they can be very painful and disrupt your daily life.

Some primary headaches can be triggered by lifestyle factors or situations, including:

• Alcohol, especially red wine
  Processed meats containing nitrates or foods with added MSG (food-triggered headaches)
  Using nicotine (nicotine headache)
  Change in sleep habits or lack of sleep
  Poor posture
  Physical exercise (exertion headaches)
  Skipped meals (hunger headache)
  Coughing, sneezing, blowing your nose, or straining during a bowel movement

The best-known of the primary headaches are:

• Tension-type headaches (most common type of headache)
  Migraine (a neurological disorder)
  Cluster headaches
  New daily persistent headaches (NDPH)

We’ll discuss each one of these in its own post.

Secondary headaches are caused by an underlying medical condition and are considered a symptom or sign of that condition.

Some common and non-dangerous types of secondary headaches that resolve once the underlying condition is treated include:

• Dehydration headache
  Sinus headaches (results from underlying infection)
  Medication overuse headaches (overtreating a headache with medication)

There are, however, types of secondary headaches that may indicate a serious or potentially life-threatening condition:

Spinal headaches

Spinal headaches occur when spinal fluid leaks out of the membrane surrounding your spinal cord, usually after a spinal tap. While you can treat most spinal headaches at home, prolonged, untreated spinal headaches may cause life-threatening complications like a subdural hematoma and seizures.

Thunderclap headaches

A thunderclap headache is a violently painful headache that appears suddenly, like a peal of thunder. It reaches its most intense pain within one minute and lasts at least five minutes. While these headaches may sometimes be harmless, you should seek immediate medical attention because they can be a sign of a head injury, brain bleed, or a sudden, severe rise in blood pressure that could set off a stroke.

 

NEXT: Primary Headache: Tension-Type Headache (TTH)