# Are headaches normal? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 11, 2009, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-headaches-normal/520845 "2009-12-11T08:05:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Random\_Design](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58f4c7/32.png) [@Random\_Design](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random_Design)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-headaches-normal/520845/1 "2009-12-11T08:05:32Z")
I hardly ever get headaches, if I do it’s because I’m sick in some way, but I don’t get them as a the sort of daily event that many people around me seem to. I would be a bit disturbed if I did. But it’s got me wondering, _are_ occasional headaches normal or is it a sign of something not being right? ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-headaches-normal/520845/2 "2009-12-11T13:37:38Z")
I’ve gotten headaches once or twice a month for most, if not all, of my life. They seem to take two forms: a) inflammation or swelling of sinuses; b) muscles or tendons in my neck pulling on whatever caps my skull (‘tension headache’, they call it inthe commercials?). The sinus ones are more or less guaranteed if I spend more than hour or so in a cigarette smoke-filled environment. Both types generally respond to over-the-counter pain remedies. Never had anything I could identify as a migraine, and from what I’ve seen of them, I’m glad I haven’t. ---
**Author:** ![kapri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kapri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapri)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-headaches-normal/520845/3 "2009-12-11T13:49:17Z")
I get only tension headaches, which form at the base of my neck and radiate a sort of dull ache up into my skull. I don’t get migraines, thank goodness, or the other kind of pounding headache lots of people get. But put me in a stressful situation, especially when I’m tired, and I get a tension headache. Happens at least once a week. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-headaches-normal/520845/4 "2009-12-11T14:15:39Z")
I rarely get headaches even when I _am_ sick. My husband, OTOH, gets them a lot. Of course, he’s had herniated discs in his back for 20 years now, plus he didn’t get his vision corrected until _years_ after he should have. In addition to all this, even though he’s generally healthy (even though it doesn’t sound that way), his sinuses suck. He gets a lot of headaches. My middle daughter gets migraines. My youngest seems prone to sinus stuff like her dad. ---
**Author:** ![wolf-alice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9e8a1a/32.png) [@wolf-alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf-alice)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-headaches-normal/520845/5 "2009-12-11T14:17:12Z")
I unconsciously clench my jaw a lot and spend a lot of time frowning in front of a computer, so I get headaches quite a bit. Not daily, and not debilitating – more irritation than anything – but if I took an ibuprofen a couple of times a week I wouldn’t be unusual. I wouldn’t say that really painful, throbbing, fever-type headaches are normal, no, but YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-headaches-normal/520845/6 "2009-12-11T14:19:35Z")
I get somewhat frequent tension headaches and also some sinus-related ones. Probably once a week, maybe a couple times a month. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-headaches-normal/520845/7 "2009-12-11T14:27:43Z")
I used to only get them when I drank too much. I was getting them pretty regularly over the summer, and I spoke to my doc about going off the diuretic. That seems to have helped quite a bit, but I still get them occasionally. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-headaches-normal/520845/8 "2009-12-11T14:33:11Z")
For most of my life I have spent three or four days per week with a headache. There have been times when I’ve had a headache for so long that I would never get better. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-headaches-normal/520845/9 "2009-12-11T14:42:46Z")
I mostly get tension headaches. A lack of exercise will bring one on, so I make sure to exercise–I can skip one day but not more. I always get one at a certain point in my cycle, which is annoying but could be way worse. It lasts for ~a day and magically evaporates when it’s done. Certain things help but never just make it go. ---
**Author:** ![Ruffian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-headaches-normal/520845/10 "2009-12-11T14:47:50Z")
Tension headaches, sinus headaches, migraines…all a regular part of my life. Now that I’m pregnant, they aren’t as bad (the migraines seem to be hormone related), but I’d say I get a painful headache at least once a month normally. I’ve learned to feel the difference between them all: tension headaches (the rarest) are in the temple and top of my head; sinus headaches are behind the eyes, eyebrows, and forehead; migraines are on the top of the right side of my head and attempt to swallow the rest of my head and body–but not before chewing it up with razor blade teeth first. They also tend to come with scalp tingling that feels like 1000 ants crawling all over the right side of my scalp. Fun. Recognizing what is going on helps me know what medicatino to take. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-headaches-normal/520845/11 "2009-12-11T15:21:41Z")
I get headaches about once or twice a month. Occasionally it’s a migraine, but usually stress/tension headaches. Some Excedrin and just plowing through it get me through the day. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-headaches-normal/520845/12 "2009-12-11T15:29:46Z")
I get migraines; my mom has them too. I don’t get very many “normal” headaches, or maybe if I do I barely notice that it’s a headache because I’m used to the horrible ones. ---
**Author:** ![myskepticsight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@myskepticsight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myskepticsight)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-headaches-normal/520845/13 "2009-12-11T15:41:40Z")
Migraine sufferer. Tired of it. Daily medication makes them less severe. I have a “background” headache a lot of the time. Like right now. But medicine keeps me from what used to be the norm - 3 days a month of terrible, debilitating pain I took sleeping pills to get through. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-headaches-normal/520845/14 "2009-12-11T16:22:03Z")
Migraines - right now one a week. Trying ANOTHER medication to cut down the frequency/severity. Just getting over a cycle now. I found when I was in really good shape and eating reg. I got them much less - trying that too. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-headaches-normal/520845/15 "2009-12-11T16:27:06Z")
I can not remember the last time I had a headache. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-headaches-normal/520845/16 "2009-12-11T16:30:57Z")
Headaches are certainly very common but I wouldn’t call them ‘normal’. I’ve had migraines since I was 5 years old - my father had pediatric onset migraine as well. I also get tension headaches. With good self-care both are much reduced. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2009, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-headaches-normal/520845/17 "2009-12-11T17:00:50Z")
I tend to get headaches from the following: -Dehydration -Grinding my teeth (something I do at night while sleeping) -Sleeping with my head in the wrong position (neck aches often spread upward to my head) -Stress, to some extent -Caffeine withdrawal I also get them when I’m sick, but not always. And whatever the cause, they rarely require treatment from, say, Tylenol. Usually drinking water, stretching or having a cup of coffee will get rid of it. I’d say they’re fairly normal, though I think they’re a sign that something is wrong and not just something everyone gets, hence the people who say they never get them. I’ve had three migraines in my life and I hope to hell I never get another. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-headaches-normal/520845/18 "2009-12-12T03:28:04Z")
> [@myskepticsight](#): > > Migraine sufferer. Tired of it. Daily medication makes them less severe. I have a “background” headache a lot of the time. I also get migraines, and can go for days with a ‘background headache.’ That’s a good word for it - I just always called it a low-grade migraine. I can function with it, but it’s just always there. Full-blown migraines put me out for 24-36 hours.