Understanding the Distinction Between Headaches and Migraines

We’ve all been there: Your head starts throbbing painfully. As the pressure builds, you might have a sense that this headache is particularly nasty; you might even question if you’re experiencing a full-blown migraine.

Still, it can be difficult to tell whether you’re having a typical headache or a migraine — especially when your head feels like it’s going to split in two. Let’s explore the differences between migraines and headaches, and why it’s important to be able to tell them apart.

What Is a Migraine?

Simply put, a migraine is more than just a “bad” headache. This neurological disease is often lifelong, characterized by recurring, throbbing pain — typically on one side of the head — and several other symptoms that can leave an individual bedridden for days.

In general, headaches can be a symptom of other conditions, and can mean a lot of things, says Sara Austin, a neurologist at the University of Texas at Austin’s Dell Medical School. But migraines are just one type of primary headache, and have specific diagnostic criteria, adds Timothy Collins, a neurologist at Duke University. 

What Do Migraines Feel Like?

First things first, to be considered a migraine, the headache must last longer than four hours without any medication. A true migraine must also have two out of the following four characteristics:

• Pain mainly on one side of your head.

• Throbbing or pounding pain.

• Moderate to severe intensity.

• Pain that’s worse with regular activity, like walking around the house.

In addition to those symptoms, to have a migraine, a patient must also experience either nausea or sensitivity to lights or sounds. (Austin notes that you may feel like you can’t think as quickly or as sharply, as well.) Basically, when you think about a migraine, it’s really all about the additional symptoms, Collins says. 

Read More: The Science of Migraines

What Treatments Are Available for Migraines?

While there are many primary headache disorders — which include migraines, tension, and cluster headaches — Collins explains how a majority of patients he sees in the clinic have migraine headaches. He attributes this to the fact that migraines can be debilitating, can impede on one’s daily activities, and over-the-counter medications don’t always work.

Migraine Statistics

What’s more, about 12 percent of adults in the U.S. experience migraines, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Indeed, in a 2020 study published in The Journal of Headache and Pain, researchers highlighted the fact that migraines are second among the causes of disability worldwide — and first among young women.

Migraine Medicine

The good news? Many new migraine-specific medications have been approved in recent years, thanks to some new breakthroughs. For example, researchers have found that neurotransmitters such as calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and serotonin can be key players during a migraine headache,

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