The differences between tension headache and other headaches include the age of onset, triggers, pain location, nature and accompanying symptoms, and impact on life.
1. Age of onset: Typical cases of tension headache are triggered at around 20 years old, with the peak incidence at 40-49 years old, while migraine can be seen at any age, and the average age of onset of cluster headache is around 25 years old.
2. Triggers: The attack of tension headache may have no obvious triggers, or may be triggered by tension, stress, depression, etc., whereas migraine is mostly triggered by factors such as sun exposure, wind, lack of sleep, fatigue, medication, etc. Cluster headache may be triggered by alcohol and vasodilator drugs during the cluster period, but neither of them may be triggered during the non-cluster period.
3. Pain site: the pain site of tension headache is uncertain, it can be bilateral, unilateral, whole head, neck, bilateral occipital and bilateral temporal, etc. Migraine is mostly unilateral head pain, cluster headache is mostly periorbital pain.
4. Nature and accompanying symptoms: tension headache is mostly persistent mild to moderate dull pain, which can be accompanied by dizziness, insomnia, anxiety, etc.; migraine is mostly moderate to severe throbbing headache, often accompanied by nausea and vomiting, photophobia and phonophobia, etc., and cluster headache is mostly sharp, explosion-like, non-tickling headache.
5. Impact on life: Tension headaches generally do not affect daily life and work, while migraine headaches are often aggravated by daily activities.
There are a lot of headache identification, if recurring headaches, it is recommended to consult a doctor in a timely manner, a clear diagnosis, and standardized treatment under the guidance of the doctor to avoid delays in the condition.