Headache and Facial Pain

Among the most painful headaches, these occur in cyclical patterns or periods. They may awaken you at night, with intense pain around one eye or the side of your head.

This disorder causes constant pain on one side of the face or head. You may experience migraine-like symptoms. These headaches are not triggered by lifestyle or environmental factors.

These severe headaches can render you unable to function for days, leaving you numb and exhausted while affecting vision and your ability to talk. They can be triggered by light, sound and other factors.

This occurs when the occipital nerves running through the scalp are injured or inflamed. It leads to throbbing, piercing or a shock through the upper neck, back of head and behind the ears.

The chronic condition causes severe, shock-like sensations on one side of the face. It is related to the trigeminal nerve, which carries signals from your brain to your face. Episodes can be triggered by a range of things, including teeth brushing, shaving, eating or talking.

These common headaches cause moderate pain, which may feel like a tight band around your head. These are often treated with over-the-counter medications.

This is the same substance used by plastic surgeons to minimize wrinkles. Botox injections also have proven useful against chronic migraines for patients who experience headaches more than 15 days a month. Injections are made into various locations around the head and neck. The treatment may need to be repeated over time.

For some patients, lifestyle changes can have a significant impact. This could include regular exercise, a balanced diet and more consistent sleep.

Biofeedback can help you identify and manage stress before it sparks a headache. Biofeedback uses sensors connected to your body to track involuntary responses, including breathing rate, heart rate, temperature and muscle tension.

Over-the-counter pain relievers can be helpful against headaches. But there are dangers to overusing them – including overuse headaches. Your doctor can work with you to find prescription drugs that can be effective for your specific needs.

Some headaches can be countered with a nerve block. If the source of the headache can be traced to a specific nerve, your doctor can inject a numbing and anti-inflammatory substance into the area around that nerve. This can prevent the nerve from sending pain signals to the brain.

These devices, handheld or worn, are designed to stimulate or disrupt brain activity that contributes to migraines and cluster headaches. They use electrical currents or magnets to stop attacks or prevent them from occurring.

This minimally invasive procedure targets a bundle of nerves located beneath the nose. The block, applied topically or through an injection, can be effective against migraines, cluster headaches and trigeminal neuralgia.

Trigger points are painful “knots” in your muscles that can cause pain in other areas of the body. This “referred pain” can include headaches and facial pain. With this procedure, your doctor injects medication into the knot to break it up.