A stuffy nose and itchy, watery eyes are spring-allergy cornerstones—but they’re not the only symptoms that herald a pollen influx for some people. You might not immediately suspect a pulsing headache is due to allergies, but experts say it’s a common occurrence.
In fact, the same immune response that fills your nose with snot or leaves you sneezing up a storm can make your head throb. That’s especially true “if you have multiple seasonal allergies, for instance to grass and tree pollen; live near farms; or spend a lot of time outside during allergy season, being bombarded by pollen,” Beth Oller, MD, a family medicine physician in Stockton, Kansas, tells SELF. Keep reading to learn why allergies can spark headaches, plus how to tell if your head pain is allergy-related and find relief.
Why can allergies cause headaches?
If you have spring allergies and breathe in pollen, “your immune system perceives it as a foreign invader,” Dr. Oller says, and releases a bunch of inflammatory chemicals like histamine. The resulting inflammation triggers swelling in your nasal cavities, which are connected to your sinuses, Rekha Raveendran, MD, allergist and immunologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, tells SELF. The sinuses extend behind the cheekbones, eyes, and bridge of the nose, and up into the forehead—so when they get puffy, you can wind up with a sensation of facial pressure and also headache, she explains.
At the same time, experiencing the effects of spring allergies may spark migraine attacks in those with migraine. The surge of inflammation and congestion can irritate a nearby nerve that plays a role in migraine, and allergy-driven fatigue and insomnia can be migraine triggers in and of themselves. Research suggests that among people with migraine, those who also have allergies tend to have worse, more frequent attacks than those who don’t.
How can you tell if it’s an allergy headache or another type?
An allergy headache typically feels like a dull throbbing in your temples, cheeks, or forehead, and makes your face feel heavy. It comes along with congestion, Dr. Oller says, and lying down or tilting your head can increase the pressure. (FYI: This is the same kind of pain as you’d get with a sinus headache, which is caused by a viral or bacterial infection in your sinuses—both lead to mucus buildup and swelling within the sinuses.)
By contrast, migraine attacks (whether or not they’re precipitated by allergies) trigger intense pain on one side of the head. They often come along with nausea, and sensitivity to light and sound, which you would not typically find with allergy headaches, Dr. Raveendran says. Meanwhile, tension headaches tend to feel more like a band squeezing around the head, and cluster headaches spark a surge of pain in or around one eye.