When someone starts talking about sinus infections or sinusitis, all listeners usually have an immediate negative reaction because they all know how painful and unpleasant this condition is. Well, maybe except the doctors – some of them might even enjoy discussing this subject. But most of the people aren’t doctors, and most people don’t share the fascination. Instead, they might look upon sinusitis as a topic to avoid or even something they would like to forget. This is all because this condition causes many very painful sinus infections symptoms and is extremely unpleasant.
One of the most popular symptoms is sinus headaches. Only rarely is sinusitis not accompanied by extreme problems that seem to not go away for days. But this reminds us of another condition that also can be defined as intense headaches that seem to stay there for days and it might even seem there is nothing one can do. We are talking about migraines of course. Many sinusitis patients have a problem identifying sinus headaches symptoms and migraine because both of these conditions seem to be pretty similar. If you are one of those people, you will find this article very informative as we will show you how to exactly identify sinus headaches symptoms and distinguish them from a migraine.
The first thing you have to do when trying to separate sinusitis and migraine headaches symptoms are of course to see a doctor. Not a single article or blog post that you read on the internet should under any circumstances act as a substitute for a professional tip from your physician. Therefore, before you go on trying to solve this problem by yourself, ask your physician to help you determine what the real problem is. In most cases, you will also receive medication that will help you cope with the problem.
Now that you are sure you took all the necessary information from your physician let’s delve deeper into the mystery of determining whether your headaches are also sinus infections symptoms or are they symptoms of a migraine. First, let’s take a look at sinusitis. Sinusitis is a bacterial or fungal infection that attacks the sinuses that are located under your cheekbones, in your forehead, as well as in other places in your head. These infections cause extreme pain and are especially unpleasant. They are usually followed by sinus headaches which if untreated might lead to meningitis, and this is a very dangerous condition.
But one can identify sinus headaches by looking into sinusitis and sinus headaches symptoms. First of all, because the infection is in the head, patients often find it painful to bend down. There is also an increase in sensitivity to light that might be an identifier that will help you distinguish between migraine headaches symptoms and sinusitis. Sinus infections symptoms very often if not always include a runny nose, which can not be said about migraines.
Also Check: Home Remedies of Sinus Infections
Migraines, on the other hand, are followed mainly by a great desire to lie down in a quiet dark room. In case of sinus headaches, this would cause additional pain. This little test can show you the true cause of your headaches, although it might be painful if you have sinusitis. Simply lie down and see if the pain gets worse. Alternatively, you can bend down now and then to see if the pain increases. If it does, you probably have sinusitis.
But as mentioned before, you should trust your physician more than you trust information on the internet, because your physician knows exactly what kind of viruses you are most vulnerable to and whether or not you might have sinusitis or a migraine. It is possible to know for sure if you have sinus headaches when they last for a few days by performing a CT scan on your sinuses or doing an MRI. This way the pictures will show the exact cause of your headaches and tell you whether it is sinus headaches symptoms or migraine headaches symptoms.
All in all, distinguishing between sinusitis and migraine is vital if headaches continue for several days in a row, especially when that number reaches 10. If left untreated, headaches might lead to much more dangerous conditions, such as meningitis.
