Is Your Sinus Headache Actually a Migraine Headache in Disguise?

You are prone to experiencing sinus infections so it’s just natural to assume you have a sinus headache. When you feel pain in your forehead or facial area along with facial swelling you naturally assume it’s a sinus infection. Your first thought is to see a doctor to get some decongestants or antibiotics for your painful sinus symptoms. With all signs pointing to a sinus infection you may not be aware that it’s actually a migraine disorder that you are suffering with and not a sinus infection at all. And to make matters worse, taking sinus medicine can actually make your migraine headaches worse.

You should be aware that many so-called sinus headache sufferers are not actually suffering with sinus problems, but migraine disorders. They are totally unaware they have misdiagnosed their condition. Incorrectly diagnosing a migraine disorder for a sinus infection is a very common occurrence, and a very important and possibly pain-enhancing mistake. Diagnosing a headache incorrectly can lead to the wrong type of treatment which will often intensify the symptoms instead of relieving them.

The confusion arises because sinus infections and migraine disorders have many similar symptoms. Even professional doctors have a very hard time diagnosing the two correctly on many occasions. If you want to have the best chance at relieving your painful symptoms you first need to know which condition you suffer with, sinus or migraine. This means you’ll need to know the differences between the two disorders.

Symptoms which can be similar for these two types of headache are pain in the cheeks and forehead, facial swelling and tenderness, pain in the area of the temples, and eye pain. Due to these many similar symptoms it’s easy to see how a misdiagnosis can and does happen frequently.

Fortunately, there are other symptoms that will usually make it possible to differentiate between the two types. Sinus infections will typically have additional symptoms that are not present with migraines. These can include nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat, and fever.

About 60% of migraine sufferers will show symptoms that occur before the actual headache pain. These can include mood swings, depression, numbness or tingling in the face and arms, muscle weakness, visual disturbances, nausea, vomiting, and many others. Knowing the symptoms that are different between the two types of headache is the best way to differentiate between them.

If you experience sinus infections frequently you may want to take a second look at the symptoms. You may actually be suffering with migraine headaches and not sinus problems at all. And buying over-the-counter sinus medication will often result in an increase of migraine pain symptoms so it’s very important to determine which type of disorder you suffer with before treating the condition the wrong way.

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