Everybody knows what a headache is from their own experience, but some people suffer from headaches a lot more frequently that others or what may be considered usual.
There are quite a few different forms of headache, but by far the largest group is that of tension headaches.
Most people who have had a tension headache describe it as like having a very tight headband on.
A characteristic of tension headaches is that the pain encircles the whole head: front, back and sides.
However, the pain can also be in the back of the neck and even in the shoulder blades or collar bone region.
Usually, the pain is quite mild when compared with other forms of headaches.
Tension headaches most often last for around thirty minutes, but they can go on for days non-stop or they can come and go over a long period of time.
There is also a chronic form of this type of headache known as chronic tension headache, which roughly means that the sufferer has the headache for more than fifteen days a month for a period of seven months.
Because the term 'tension headache' is a type of blanket term, the way that individuals experience it can vary quite a bit.
Some people take it in their stride and others find it a real impediment to their lives.
A great deal of people experience these headaches from the early morning or even as soon as they wake up.
Some of the indications sufferers of tension headaches have reported are: insomnia, which brings tiredness and frequently irritability with it; inability to concentrate; loss of appetite and painful neck and shoulder muscles.
These headaches have nothing in common with migraine (except that the pain is in the head).
The two kinds of tension headache are known as: episodic and chronic.
You can treat episodic headaches if you feel the urge to on an ad hoc basis with either tablets or tension relief techniques.
Typical headache tablets are aspirin and paracetamol.
Typical tension relief techniques are yoga and meditation.
Sufferers from the chronic form of tension headache, however, should seek medical advice in order to find out if their is a serious underlying cause for the condition.
Occasionally, the cures individuals take can be the cause of their condition procuring worse.
Unfortunately, some individuals who suffer from episodic headaches often take so much medicine that it aggravates the condition.
In this case, stopping taking headache tablets can reduce the number of headaches you get.
Women suffer from tension headaches more frequently than men do and middle-aged women more often than other age groups which has led to speculation that a general cause could be hormonal.
However, there are so many possible causes that it is hard to say.
Some people find that some foodstuffs trigger a headache occasionally.
Coffee or anything containing caffeine is cited as one.
Dairy food has also been blamed by individuals; alcohol by others.
If you suffer headaches more often than your friends, try keeping a diary of what you have been eating for a week or two and note when you have the headaches.
Is there a pattern? If you cannot sort it out by avoiding certain foodstuffs, go to the doctor, but take your notes with you too.