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Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director of Doctissimo)
Medical validation:
October 21, 2023
Whether it is located above your eyes, on one of the two sides of your face or diffusely, the location of your pain says a lot about the nature of your headache. An update on the different possible causes, with Dr Gérald Kierzek, medical director of Doctissimo.
Do you often have a headache? This migraine episode can be due to a spike in stress, medication abuse or even weather changes. But it can also be the consequence of a more worrying health problem… which is identifiable depending on the location of your pain. Explanations.
One-sided pain
“There migraine, is, by nature, unilateral. Hence its name “mid-seed”, which refers to only one side of the skull. This pain can be triggered by countless factors, such as stress, light, lack of sleep, hunger, etc.assures Dr. Kierzek.
But it happens that the pain transforms, or even migrates to another area of the skull. Let’s see below why.
Bilateral pain
“When the pain is diffuse on both sides, and rises upwards from the back of the head, it is a tension headachelinked to stress or muscle tension” specifies our expert.
Pain that radiates to the back of the head
“There Arnold’s neuralgia generally results in pain, which originates from the base of the skull and extends to the temple. The pain is caused by compression of the Arnold nerve also called the greater occipital nerve“, assures the expert.
Shooting pain across half of the face
“When the shooting pain is localized at the level of the cheek or around the eye, it is a cluster headache. Only one side of the head is affected. Unpleasant symptoms can accompany this syndrome; such as severe nasal congestion. Here the pain is so bad that some people bang their heads against the walls“, warns the medical director of Doctissimo.
Pain above the eyes
“Throbbing pain above the eyes, in the forehead, suggests sinusitis. It is not serious in itself; but can cause uncomfortable symptoms“, warns Dr. Kierzek.
An electric shock on one side
“In case of trigeminal neuralgia, an electric shock appears on only one side of the face. It can also be repeated in bursts“, warns the emergency doctor.
Pain on one side, then the other
“This is called a rocking headache. There is pain on one side of the head then the other with also neurological signs which alternate on one side then the other (partial epileptic seizure, paralysis, etc.). You have to be careful, because this pain can indicate cerebral thrombophlebitis, which is the obstruction of a vein around the brain by a clot.“, warns Dr. Kierzek.
A pain in the eye
“Very intense eye pain, accompanied by headaches and blurred vision are a reflection of a glaucoma acute to closed angle. This hypertension inside the eye is characterized by excessively high eye pressure“, concludes the medical director of Doctissimo.