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Headaches: The Basics

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Recurrent Headaches Are Painful and Costly to Individuals and Society

More than 45 million Americans suffer from recurring headaches. That's 32 million more than the number of people who suffer from asthma, diabetes and coronary heart disease combined, according to the National Headache Foundation.

Americans spend more than $4 billion each year on over-the-counter pain relief for headaches. Migraine sufferers alone lose more than 157 million workdays to headache and related symptoms each year and other garden-variety headaches are responsible for another 2.8 million lost workdays. Time lost from work and resulting medical expenses due to headaches are estimated to cost American industry $50 billion each year.

Common types of headaches include:

  • Cluster Headache
  • Migraine
  • Sinus Headache
  • Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) Headache
  • Tension Headache
  • Mixed Tension Headache

Finding the right pain relief depends, in part, on identifying the cause of the pain. Migraine, cluster, tension headaches, sinusitis that causes headache, and TMJ inflammation headaches vary in location, intensity, cause and treatment. To help you figure out what may be causing your pain, go to Where Does Your Head Hurt? or take our Headache Assessment.

For more information on the causes, symptoms and treatment for each headache type, see Headaches From A – Z.




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