They’re common terms in our society: allergy headache, sinus headache. But do these conditions actually exist? You may be surprised.
Allergy Headache: Fact, Sort of
If you eat a certain food and later get a headache, it’s reasonable to consider it an allergic reaction. But this isn’t really the case. Certain foods do trigger migraines, but this is not the same as an allergy. And the same goes for compounds in the air.
According to the National Headache Foundation (NHF), “When a true allergy exists to a compound in the air, the nasal or respiratory tissues react because of the white blood cells or inflammation involved in allergy. This causes chemicals to be released that lead to the nasal congestion, drainage and sneezing.” Migraines and headaches have not been directly linked to abnormalities in the immune system or white blood cells. However, headaches may develop as a result of the inflammation in the nasal passages. It’s an indirect relationship. The allergies inflame the nasal passages; the inflammation causes pain.
Then again, your headache might not be caused by allergies at all. If you are prescribed an allergy medication and it doesn’t work, check with your headache specialist to see if it’s really a migraine unrelated to your allergies.
Sinus Headache: Fiction, Sort of
Blockage or infection of the sinuses is a real condition and could lead to fever or localized pain over the check or forehead. But this is fever and a sinus problem—it is wholly separate from migraine attacks. According to the NHF, “Some migraine sufferers will experience nasal congestion or sinus type symptoms as part of their migraine attack. These headaches should not be confused with ‘sinus headache’ or ‘sinus infection’ but diagnosed and treated as migraine.”
In other words, unless your pain is from some kind of sinus blockage or inflammation, the pain may actually be a vascular headache such as a migraine, which can cause similar symptoms. One study found that, of patients who met the criteria for migraine, “84 percent had sinus pressure, 82 percent had sinus pain, 63 percent had nasal congestion, and 40 percent had runny nose symptoms often attributed to sinus infections.” It mimicked a sinus condition. But it was really a migraine.
Cluster headaches are also sometimes misdiagnosed as sinus headaches. These extremely painful, unilateral, recurrent headache attacks can sometimes be accompanied by nasal congestion and tearing.
A proper diagnosis is important as overuse of nasal sprays and other decongestants could lead to new headaches.
Want to talk more about sinus and allergy headache? NHF will be hosting a live chat on this topic on March 13 at 7:30 pm (EST). Stay tuned to the NHF website for details.
