What is a Hemicrania Continua Headache?

If you are experiencing a headache daily of various intensity, you may think that you are suffering from migraines. Migraines have symptoms which many are familiar with but the headache you have may not be a migraine but rather a hemicrania continua.

A hemirania continua headache is a rare form of a headache which affects only about five percent of the population. When someone has hemicrania continua headache, they feel pain on one side of their face which can vary in intensity. These attacks can be both intense as well as less intense. Each episode may differ in the amount of pain the patient may experience.

These headaches may be primary or they may be as a result of an underlying condition. Although both males as well as females can suffer from hemirania continua, this condition affects women more often than men. Likewise these headaches may appear regularly for a period of time then subside for a period for a while before starting up once again.

The symptoms of a hemirania continua mimics symptoms of a migraine or cluster headache which may make it this type of headache difficult to diagnose. If one is suffering from a hemicrania continua headache they may experience nausea, light sensitivity, noise intolerance, runny nose and eyes, great pain on one side of the face and head, and redness on the side of the head which is affected by the pain.

It is unclear as to what causes on to have hemicrania continua, but it is thought to be linked to issues such as anxiety, depression, caffeine use, being obese, and sleep disorders. If you have a relative who suffers from hemicrania continua, you will not be likely to suffer as well as this condition is not thought to be hereditary.

When a doctor diagnoses a patient with hemicrania continua there are things they look for. The patient must have the symptoms of this type of headache for at least three months. These headaches must be present daily and the pain must be localized to one side of the face and the same side each time. In addition one should display nasal congestion, running nose, or eyes.