Sinus Headache or Migraine?

People often wonder... Am I getting the correct diagnosis? Perhaps the most misdiagnosed migraine is the sinus headache. A study by the Mayo Clinic found that nearly 9 in 10 people who were diagnosed with sinus headaches were actually suffering from migraines.

Although some of the symptoms including congestion, pressure and pain in the forehead and around the eyes are similar. In both cases, the symptoms of a sinus infection are generally accompanied by fever, swollen lymph nodes and a persistent green or yellow nasal discharge. If you don't have those symptoms along with your headache, it is most likely a frontal migraine.

Doctors unwittingly and ineffectively treat the symptoms of a frontal migraine as a sinus infection through the use of antibiotics and prescription or OTC sinus remedies. More severe treatments often include sinus scrapings, surgeries, and nasal medication - all of which are of no avail because of the misdiagnoses.

In order to understand why a migraine feels like a sinus headache we need to review the problem area of a migraine. The pain of a migraine headache is felt when the blood vessels intertwined with the trigeminal nerves begin to expand and put pressure on the nerve endings. This trigeminal-vascular system runs from the temporal lobes along each side of the head and then branches out behind the eyes across the forehead, into the cheeks and down the jaw line. The ends of each side of this system meet to surround the sinus cavity.

As part of the migraine syndrome, the tiny hair-like blood vessels expand and swell around the sinus cavity causing a squeezing-like pressure on it which results in a feeling of sinus congestion and pain.

Much time and money, not to mention the amount of pain, is often spent on trying to fight the wrong cause of migraines. The true cause of migraines is not a problem with a person's sinuses (nor does it have anything to do with the jaw, teeth, or the neck as it is sometimes thought). Since migraines are genetic and caused by an abnormal responses to hormone production, there is no sinus remedy that will help prevent a migraine from occurring.

Tuliv Migraine Defense is the only anti-migraine product that builds a natural defense system in the body to help prevent migraines.

If you have any questions or would like to visit more about this subject or any aspect of migraines, please call 1-866-367-5953 (9 AM to 3 PM CST M-F) or send an email anytime to Questions@Tuliv.com.

Do you know someone who has complained about "sinus headaches"? If so, please forward this article to him or her.