Sinus headache symptoms are different from those of tension headaches, and they can be difficult to distinguish from other types of headaches.
If you have a headache in your face, cheeks, forehead or around your eyes (especially around your eyebrows), you probably have a sinus headache.
You can get a sinus headache after a bout with allergies or a cold. A sinus headache indicates that you have an infection in your sinuses, the air-filled cavities in your face and around your nose.
A sinus infection is not contagious, so you if you have one, you didn’t get it from someone else.
Symptoms of Sinus Headache
Sinus headaches cause a deep pressure and constant intense throbbing in the areas of your sinuses.
Normally your sinuses produce a thin fluid that exits your body through your nose.
When your sinuses become inflamed and the fluid can’t leave through its ordinary channels, it gets trapped in your sinuses. The sinuses then become a terrific breeding ground for bacteria, resulting in an infection.
If you have these symptoms, you may have a sinus infection:
- Mucus from a cold (lasting more than a week) turns yellow/green
- Mucus has a bad odor
- Bad taste in your mouth
- Pressure-like pain in areas of eyebrows, bridge of nose, cheeks
- Your headache is worse in the morning, caused by the build-up of mucus overnight.
- Sore throat in morning – caused by mucus draining overnight.
- Your face is tender to the touch in the areas of your sinuses. Pressure causes pain.
- Your headache starts during a bad cold or right after you recover.
- You have a slight fever (indication of infection)
- Postnasal drip or thick mucus in nose
- Generally not feeling up to snuff – feeling tired and slow
- Bending over can make the pain worse
- Cold damp weather can make the pain worse
Are sinus infections dangerous? It’s unusual, but they can be. The brain and eyes are very close to the sinuses and infected sinuses. In rare cases, an infection could spread to either of these.
Additionally, mucus dripping into the bronchial passages and lungs can cause infection in those areas.
Sinus headaches can be very painful, and a sinus infection is no picnic. If you tend to have headaches that have the sinus headache symptoms listed above, you should probably discuss this with your doctor, as you are probably not just dealing with tension headaches.
I have had chronic sinus infections over the years and have found natural relief using homeopathic Hyland’s Defend.
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