You can usually tell the difference between a sinus infection and a tension headache a couple of different ways. Tension headaches usually come and go throughout the day. Sinus infections do not go away until you take some type of medication or you go and get prescribed medication from the doctors office. The first thing you should try to do is take medication from a store by you. If the medication does not help you out at all then you can call the doctors office and get a prescription medication. A sinus infection is easy to detect because your eyes will hurt when you look one direction or the other. Some sinus infections get so bad that you cannot get out of bed or look at any type of light without your head hurting.
Tension headaches are usually detected because they will get worse when you stand up or move around. They will not be constant and they will go away after a certain amount of time. Sinus infections won’t go away until you take some type of medication. Tension headaches can be caused by stress as well as high blood pressure. This is because when you stand up the blood will rush to different parts of your body and cause you to have a headache. One way to check and see if the headache is caused by high blood pressure is to check your blood pressure laying down and standing up. If there is a significant difference between the two you will want to call and talk to your doctor about what can be done.
A sinus headache will usually last for at least a week. Tension headaches may last for a week but there will be times that they completely go away all together. Tension headaches can also make your eyes hurt but if the headache goes away than you will know it’s only a headache and not a sinus infection. Usually with a sinus infection you will have some type of a cold or some other side effect. Your ears may also hurt and you will feel a lot of pressure in your head. You will feel congested like you have a common cold.
On days that you will feel as if you are getting stressed out you should try to relax. Do not raise your voice or yell because this will make your headache worse. There are a number of things you can do to avoid a headache like taking some type of pain reliever once you feel it start to kick in. With sinus infections you will not get any relief from a pain reliever such as Tylenol because you need to take a medication from your doctor or local store near you.
