Is it Migraine or COVID-19? The surprising similarities

You might think it’s easy to tell the difference between migraine symptoms and COVID-19 symptoms. And if you’ve had migraine for a while, and your symptoms are generally the same every time, you may be right – it might be easy for you.

But that’s not the case with everyone. Some people’s migraine symptoms change significantly and regularly. And of course if this is your first migraine attack, or you haven’t had migraine for very long, it’s easy to wonder if it’s migraine or something else.

So today we’re going to look at some symptoms that both migraine and COVID-19 may have in common, and how to tell the difference.

Headache

Headache is, of course, the most common symptom of migraine (although you can have a migraine attack with no headache). But headache can also be a symptom of COVID-19.

Migraine headache tends to be throbbing, and one-sided. It’s often accompanied by photophobia and/or phonophobia, that is, sensitivity to light or noise. The pain is usually made worse by activity (for example, climbing stairs).

Though migraine may last from a few hours to a few days, there is usually a progression. The pain may peak, and then diminish, and you may experience a day or two of “migraine hangover”.

From what we know so far, a COVID-19 headache is more often a “tight” kind of headache, that specifically appears along with coughing and/or fever (more on those in a moment). It may get progressively worse over time, instead of “peaking and diminishing”.

The tricky thing is that conditions like COVID-19 may also trigger migraine symptoms – so just because the headache appears to be a migraine headache doesn’t mean that you don’t have COVID-19 as well.

If the pain is moderate to severe, and it’s different than any headache you’ve had before, you need to see a doctor, whether you’re experiencing “COVID-19 symptoms” or not. There are a variety of very serious conditions – some urgently serious and extremely dangerous – that send out a “headache warning”.

A severe headache with COVID-19 can be a very serious sign. Don’t delay that doctor’s visit.

Coughing

Some people do cough during a migraine attack, but it’s most often a “warning sign”. So in migraine, coughing may precede the headache. In COVID-19, the cough may get worse as the headache gets worse.

Congestion/Runny Nose

A runny nose, or feeling congested, is a very common symptom of migraine. Red eyes, watery eyes, feeling “stuffed up” – all these may go along with a migraine attack. If you’re an experienced migraine sufferer, you may be able to tell the difference.

But some people are surprised how common this is. And it can be tricky if you try to go to work with a runny nose that you know is caused by migraine!

These symptoms may go along with your migraine headache, but if it’s COVID-19 they may get progressively worse, and be accompanied by other common symptoms such as fever and coughing.

Fever

Yes, fever may be a symptom of migraine, although it is rare (see some of the experiences of people with fever here). But feeling feverish is much more common! Feeling hot and sweaty, having the chills – this is not uncommon at all during a migraine attack.

Again, you need to look at the big picture (check out – Coronavirus Symptoms: Frequently Asked Questions). If you have progressing symptoms of sore throat, fever, coughing, etc., it’s much more likely to be something other than migraine (or accompanied by migraine).

Nausea

Nausea is a very common (though not universal) symptom of migraine, often experienced along with the headache. Experience will help you know the difference here, but nausea along with migraine headache symptoms (see above) is a big hint that it’s a migraine attack, especially if it comes fairly suddenly and disappears after a few hours.

More information

For a very helpful article featuring Dr. Merle Diamond from the Diamond Headache Clinic, check out COVID-19 or migraine? Here’s how to tell and what to do about it.