To distinguish tension headaches from more serious disorders, a doctor considers how long the pain lasts as well as the patient's description of where the pain occurs, what brings it on, what relieves it, and whether other symptoms such as dizziness, weakness, loss of feeling, or fever accompany it. Headaches that began more recently, wake a person from sleep, are unusually severe, continue relentlessly, follow a head injury, or coincide with other symptoms such as tingling, weakness, loss of coordination, changes in vision, or fainting are probably not tension headaches. They may have a serious cause that should be promptly evaluated by a doctor. Although migraine headaches can start at any age, they usually begin in people between ages 10 and 30. Sometimes they disappear after age 50.
Migraines are more common in women than in men.
The fact that more than half the people who have migraines have close relatives who also have them suggests that the tendency may be genetically transmitted. Migraine headaches are generally more severe than tension headaches. However, in most people, the headaches occur randomly on either side. No laboratory test is available to help diagnose migraines, but usually the headaches' distinct pattern makes them easy to identify. Some people experience tingling sensations or, rarely, weakness in an arm or leg.