What should you know about mild headache?

Headache is a symptom rather than a diagnosis. Mild pain can occur with dehydration, missed meals, poor sleep, eye strain, muscle tension, stress, a cold, or nasal congestion. Allergic Rhinitis and Chronic Sinusitis can also cause pressure around the face and head.

Notice where the pain is, how it feels, when it began, and what makes it better or worse. A headache with fever or other infection symptoms may need a different assessment from a familiar tension-type headache.

Drink water, eat if you have missed a meal, and rest somewhere quiet with comfortable lighting. Take a break from screens and relax your neck and shoulders. Avoid heat and strenuous activity if you feel overheated or unwell.

If you use a pain reliever, follow its label and check with a pharmacist if you are pregnant, have another condition, or take other medicines. Keep a brief headache diary if episodes recur; timing, triggers, and associated symptoms can guide assessment.

Seek urgent care for a sudden severe headache, new weakness or numbness, trouble speaking, confusion, fainting, a stiff neck, a seizure, or vision loss. Get prompt advice for a headache after a head injury or with a high fever and a rapidly worsening illness.

Arrange a medical review if headaches keep returning, change from your usual pattern, wake you from sleep, or require frequent pain medicine. A clinician can consider dehydration, infection, medication effects, or another cause.

What pattern does my headache suggest? Which pain reliever is suitable with my medicines? What changes should make me seek urgent care?