Immune Response
Adults get an average of two or three colds per year.
Common cold symptoms often includesore throat, runny nose, coughing, sneezing, headaches, and body aches.
Sinus Headaches
Your sinuses are a collection of cavities behind your cheeks, nose, and eyes.
Blake Sinclair/Photolibrary/Getty Images
When you get a cold, the virus infects your sinuses.
Your body also starts producing mucus in an attempt to wash it out.
As mucus builds up, the sinuses get irritated and more inflamed.
Nasal passage swelling and inflammation from colds can cause very painful headaches.
Often,sinus headachesare worse when you lean over or when you wake up in the morning.
Sinus headache symptoms include:
Inflamed sinuses can also put pressure on thetrigeminalnerve(the fifth cranial nerve).
This pressure causes pain behind the face as well as nasal congestion.
In addition to colds, allergies, and any illness that causessinus congestioncan cause a sinus headache.
For example, noise and bright light often make migraines worse.
Migraines can also cause nausea or vomiting.Sinus headaches do not typically come with these symptoms.
Research has also shown that chronicsinus problems and migrainesseem to have a complicated relationship.
Knowing which kind of headache is important to finding the right treatment.
These straining actions can sometimes lead to a sudden increase in abdominal pressure that causes a headache.
How Do You Get Rid of a Cold Headache?
Most of the time, cold headaches will go away once you’ve recovered.
In addition, some people find relief from sinus pressure usingsinus rinses.
For example, try using aneti pot.
For some people, this can help relieve a headache from a cold.
These medications relieve congestion in different ways.
A decongestant narrows blood vessels, making mucus easier to drain.
An expectorant breaks up and thins mucus to drain more quickly.
If you don’t have a humidifier, try running a hot shower and sitting in a steamy bathroom.
you might also try leaning over a steaming pot of waterjust be very careful not to burn yourself.
Putting a warm compress on your face can also be soothing and help loosen congestion.
Headaches that are severe or come on suddenlycan be an emergency.
If this happens, don’t wait.
Call 911 or go to the nearest ER.
This can lead to head and facial pain.
Sometimes, what feels like a cold headache is actually a migraine.
However, migraines usually come with symptoms like light sensitivity and nausea that are not common with colds.
Treating cold headaches comes down to pain relief and treating congestion.
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