Throbbing Headache

Six percent of men and 16% of women experience migraine, and the characteristic of migraine pain is a throbbing sensation, which builds to a peak over about an hour from onset.

Migraine is associated with sensory sensitivity, by which I mean these symptoms:

1. Intolerance of light or preference for dark
2. Nausea or intolerance of smell (osmophobia)
3. Worsening with movement
4. Intolerance of noise or preference for quiet

In other migraine headaches they may use the words, sharp, pressure, aching or stabbing. As many as 70% of migraines will have a pressure symptoms associated with it.

In a new onset headache, a throbbing pain could indicate migraine (still the most likely scenario) but can be associated with any of the following severe headache disorders:

• Temporal Arteritis
• Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension
• Carotid Dissection
• Vertebral Dissection
• Exercise Headache
• Sexual Activity Headache
• Intracranial Hypotension - although a non-throbbing pain is more common

Years ago throbbing or pounding headaches were called "vascular headaches" and in fact almost all of the vascular headaches are now known to be migraine.



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