Many people experience headaches from time to time. But there are people who experience them more often, and the pain is more excruciating than what most people feel.

A headache is a condition of mild to severe pain in the head. Sometimes the pain seems to come from the upper back or at the neck. Most headaches are due to tension, migraine or a combination of the two.

There are three types of headaches: primary headaches, secondary headaches, and neuralgias. Pimary headaches include migraine, tension,, cluster and other trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias. Meanwhile, under secondary headaches that are attributed to the following included head and/or neck trauma, cranial or cervical vascular disorder, non-vascular intracranial disorder, infection, disorder of cranium, neck, eyes, ears, nose, sinuses, teeth, mouth or other facial or cranial structure, and psychiatric disorders. The last type includes cranial neuralgias, central and primary facial pain and other headaches.

There are several treatment options for these headaches. The first is abortive treatment, which is used to reduce headaches once they start. This includes medications like ergotamine, triptans and the newest class of abortives. The second is prophylactic treatment that is meant only to prevent headaches from occurring. This includes calcium channel blockers, serotonin antagonists and beta-blockers. Aside from these two, other headache treatments include over-the-counter pain medications, prescription medications and lifestyle changes.

Headaches may seem very mild for some people, that is why all they need is a pain reliever. But if you are one of those who experience more pain from these headaches, you should consult your physician at once to determine the type of headache from which you suffer. Series of tests will be conducted in order to arrive at the best treatment that will work for your type of headache.