East Central Texas News

While you may not have previously considered it, there are times when allergies can lead to headaches.

Unlike tension headaches and cluster headaches, which may not have specific reason for their occurrence, some types of headaches may be related to a definite cause: allergies.

While allergic rhinitis, also known as hay fever, isn't necessarily associated with head pain, the inflammation of the nasal passages can result in rhinosinusitis, which can produce headaches, Medical News Today reports.

Dr. Monty Trimble | Dallas Breathe Free

Other allergies that lead to headaches include food allergies. Certain types of food act as triggers, such as chocolate, artificial sweeteners and aged cheese, according to Healthline. Also, the body produces histamines in response to an allergic reaction. Among other things, histamines decrease blood pressure, which can result in a headache.

While it's not a good idea to take any medication without consulting a physician, some over-the-counter medications can help relieve symptoms of headaches from allergies. If an allergy or allergy-related symptoms are hampering your daily life, make an appointment with a doctor and you may receive a referral to an allergist.

No matter what type of headache you're experiencing, they're pretty common. According to Healthline's research, an estimated 70 to 80% of people experience headaches, and about 50% have them at least once a month. Some of these headaches are a result of allergies.

"One thing that particularly we have in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, that seems to be as bad as any place I've lived, is nonallergic irritants, or pollutants, which definitely potentiate the effects of allergens by breaking down the lining of the nose," Dr. Monty Trimble of the Dallas Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers told East Central Texas News. "This is why we have so many people who move here, who, six months later, are coming in with nasal and sinus problems."

You may have headaches resulting from allergies, from an acute sinus infection or from chronic sinusitis.

"There is no such thing as a sinus headache," Trimble added. "The answer is more nuanced, but what I tell people is that sinus headaches are muscle tension headaches that are caused by dysfunctional sinuses, which lead to nighttime nasal obstruction and increase the efforts to breathe. There's no doubt that if you resolve those problems, then the headaches will improve or go away altogether."

Trimble believes that many headaches are caused by stress and muscle tension.

"There's a lot of stress in life today, and people are constantly on devices and computers, and for whatever reason, that definitely seems to increase the muscle tension stress," Trimble said. "The whole purpose of your six to eight hours of sleep is for that muscle tension to go away, and that way, when you wake up in the morning, you're hopefully normal again, ready to face a day."

To learn more about your own symptoms, take this Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz.