What part hurts when you have a headache?

A headache may feel like a pain inside your brain, but it’s not. Most headaches begin in the many nerves of the muscles and blood vessels that surround your head, neck, and face. These pain-sensing nerves can be set off by stress, muscle tension, enlarged blood vessels, and other triggers.

What part of the brain hurts with migraines?

During a migraine, you might have: Pain usually on one side of your head, but often on both sides. Pain that throbs or pulses. Sensitivity to light, sound, and sometimes smell and touch.

What does it mean when your left side of your head hurts?

A headache on the left side may result from migraine, vasculitis, cluster headaches, or other types. Often, a person can treat a headache at home with over-the-counter remedies and rest. However, if headaches are severe, persistent, or otherwise concerning, contact a healthcare professional.

What does it mean when the right part of your head hurts?

There are over 300 types of headache, about 90 percent of which have no known cause. However, a migraine or a cluster headache are the most likely causes of a headache on the right side of the head. Tension headaches may also cause pain on one side in some people.

What type of headache hurts the most?

Migraine: This is the most painful type of headache, occurring on one side of the head and often concentrated behind the eye. Migraine sufferers describe a pounding, throbbing pain and a sensitivity to light and noise. Migraines often last a few hours and result in nausea and vomiting, followed by a deep sleep.

Is a headache actually your brain hurting?

Although it may feel like it, a headache is not actually a pain in your brain. The brain tells you when other parts of your body hurt, but it can’t feel pain itself. Most headaches happen in the nerves, blood vessels, and muscles that cover a person’s head and neck.

Where are different types of headaches located?

Common Headache Types by Location

Pain location	Most common cause
Top of your head “Hair band” area	Tension headache
Forehead Cheeks Behind both eyes	Tension headache Migraine
Behind one eye	Cluster headache
Temples	Tension headache

Are one sided headaches normal?

If you’re getting headaches only on one side of your head you shouldn’t worry, but you should make an appointment with your doctor. One-sided headaches can mean different things. But they often point to a group of disorders that will need a thorough exam to provide treatment.

Is a headache your brain actually hurting?

What does it mean when the back of Your Head Hurts?

Cervicogenic headache, pain in the back of the head, stems from the joints at the top of the neck. Dehydration headache, occurs at the front, back, one side, or throughout the entire head. Bending the head down or moving it from side to side can worsen the pain.

What does a headache at the base of the skull mean?

Pain in Base of Skull: What Headache at Base of Skull Means. Pain or headaches at the base of your skull are often the result of tight muscles in the back of your neck due to tension, stress, or fatigue. Pain in back of head at the base of skull can also be caused by a herniated cervical disc or injury to your upper neck.

What are headaches and where do they come from?

Headaches refer to different locations of discomfort or pain in the head. Generalized, a headache is pain felt on the entire head, patients describe this headache as halo type around the head or a band running around the head. There are some cases that the exact location of the headache is difficult to identify.

What does a headache on one side of your head feel like?

Feels like: Intense pain on one side of your head. The eye on the affected side might be red and watery. Other symptoms include a stuffed or runny nose, sweating, and flushing of the face. Chronic headaches can be any type — including migraine or tension headaches.