Looks like the hamsters did a Kojac on this thread.
Don’t worry.
Have a lollipop. 
After a bad headache?
Had any hair transplant surgery lately?
Ruffian, maybe you’re hitting your scalp on the headboard, when you’re, ya know, doing it.
Everything was going so slow, I couldn’t check to see if this thread had actually gone through…when I saw that it was listed on the main page, I assumed that had…you know…WORKED. Dammit.
The long of the short of it:
I’ve been having my obnoxious sinus headaches. They tend to be seasonal, and tend to be worse in the morning. Lately, they’ve been a bit more severe on the right side, and the other day it came on fairly quickly. The pain is sometimes almost pulsating; I find it comparative to a spasming muscle. No, it’s “not a tumah”–there’s no dizziness, nausea, vision problems, motor problems, speech problems, or memory problems…just pain and the typical sinus sensitivity.
This most recent headache (past 24 hours) has actually seemed to make my scalp tender, if that’s possible. It’s not the whole scalp, but rather a small area just past the hairline on the right side. It’s so tender it feels like either I’ve had that hair pulled super-tight in a ponytail–which isn’t the case–or like there’s actual injury to the skin (which there’s not). Super, super tender.
My question in the OP was … WHY? What is the mechanism that makes a sinus headache become a sore head?? Has anyone else had scalp tenderness? Is scalp tenderness more common than I’m thinking it is? It all just seems so odd.
I have severe and ongoing headaches and have had the tests done. This has been going on for years. They were diagnosed for years as sinus headaches, but they aren’t. I think mine are tension induced. No one has an answer for me so far. These headaches last anywhere from 10 days to about 2 weeks and are not migraines. No meds have helped or stopped them. Good luck and hope you’re feeling better soon and YES they do leave me a lot of times with a very sore and tender scalp.
Thanks, Mammie. Mine are definitely sinus-related, but sometimes I forget I get them (how the HECK that’s possible is beyond me), and become negligent in taking the antihistimine and decongestant during Headache Season. As long as I take that Sudafed Cold and Sinus (best stuff, OTC or prescrip, for me), I can keep them in check–but I have to take them before the headache starts. Once it starts, 800mg of Advil help…but pretty much the day is shot. :o They SUCK.
It’s so odd that it would make my scalp tender…I’m curious as to what the physiology is for that kind of reaction/symptom.
Do you have migraine headaches? Scalp tenderness is fairly common in migraine. Here is a cite (end of 2nd paragraph).
Thanks Karl…that’s so odd that scalp tenderness would be so common. Well, apparently it’s not odd, but it just SEEMS odd. To me. Anywho…
I’m fairly, but not positively, sure it’s not migraine. This is all my own diagnoses, within reason, so that means basically I could be completely off my rocker. But…about a year ago there was an article (or three) detailing how migraines are often misdiagnosed as sinus headaches. I read the articles, and the accompanying check-off lists, and still seemed matched up with the sinus thingys. Mainly this is because it’s seasonal, and the pain is in the sinuses (ethnoids typically the worst!)–putting pressure on the brow bone, even as light as resting my head lightly against my hand, gives near blinding pain. THe pain is behind the eyes at its worst, and seems to travel up through the top of my head. Meanwhile, the dizziness, nausea, et al elude me–although bright light can suck when I’m really hurting.
I’ve had major problems with my sinuses, culminating in a 4-hour surgery 5 years ago, so these headaches are nothing new…although thankfully now much less frequent.
Although, phooey, I do get them more in the morning, and they do wipe me out…ultimately, I dunno. Except–I do know that 800mg of ibuprofen and decongestants stop the headaches within a few hours (although after the fact I’m typically drained for a few hours).
So…uh…all this rambling to say…uh…headaches suck. Or something.