Temple Headaches: Symptoms, Causes, Treatments - WebMD

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Written by Angela Nelson, Alyson Powell KeyMedically Reviewed by Poonam Sachdev on August 05, 2024

• Temple Headache Causes
• Symptoms of Temple Headaches
• Temple Headache Treatment
• Pressure Points for Headache Relief
• When to Worry About a Temple Headache
• Temple Headache Prevention
• Takeaways

6 min read

Temple Headache Causes

When you have a headache in your temples, figuring out what type of headache you have is a good step toward relief. A few different types of headaches can cause pain in your temples:

Tension headache

This is the most common type of headache. Tension headaches usually cause dull, non-throbbing pain. Some people get tension headaches once in a while when they’re under stress or tired. These are called episodic tension headaches. Other people get chronic tension headaches, which means they happen multiple times a week — or even all the time.

Migraine

While migraine symptoms vary from person to person, a common place for migraine pain to start is in your temples. 

Temporal arteritis

Temporal arteritis happens when the temporal arteries on the sides of your head are swollen, lowering blood flow. (It’s sometimes called giant cell arteritis.) These arteries deliver blood to your eyes, brain, and more. In severe cases, the artery could become completely blocked. If that happens, you may be at risk for vision problems or even a stroke.

Temporal arteritis may feel like a migraine at first, as it starts with throbbing in the temple on one side of your head. But unlike a migraine, temporal arteritis makes your temples tender to the touch, and the throbbing may be constant. This condition needs medical help right away.

To diagnose the condition, doctors will test your blood for its sedimentation rate. That means how quickly your red blood cells sink to the bottom of a test tube. A faster rate means there may be inflammation in your arteries.

Your doctor may suggest taking a biopsy of the artery to confirm the diagnosis.

Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders

Another cause of temple pain, TMJ disorders cause pain in the muscles and joints in your jaw. Your doctor or dentist can diagnose TMJ disorders.

Symptoms of Temple Headaches

Symptoms of a temple headache depend on what's causing it and can include:

Tension

• Pain in your forehead
• Pain in your neck or the back of your head (tension headaches are rooted in the neck muscles at the base of your skull)
• A feeling of your head being pressed or squeezed

Migraine

The pulsating pain may spread to both temples but often stays on just one side of your head. Other symptoms of a migraine can include:

• Fatigue, depression, or irritability before the pain starts
• Nausea or vomiting
• Sensitivity to light or sound
• Seeing auras such as halos or flashing lights
• Watery eyes, runny nose, or congestion

Temporal arteritis

Besides temple pain on one side of your head, this type of headache can cause:

• Low fever
• Fatigue
• Loss of appetite
• Weight loss
• Pain in the jaw while chewing

Temporomandibular joint disorders

Other symptoms include:

• Pain in any part of your head that involves chewing, such as the jaw or neck
• Clicking or popping sounds in your jaw
• Your teeth fit together differently

Temple Headache Treatment

Treatments for a temple headache range from coffee to over-the-counter or prescription drugs or even physical therapy. They include:

Tension headache

You can likely treat your tension headache yourself. Try taking an over-the-counter pain reliever such as acetaminophen (Panadol, Tylenol), aspirin (Bayer, Bufferin), or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, Nuprin). Sometimes, a nap will do the trick, too. Celecoxib (Celebrex) is a prescription anti-inflammatory nonsteroidal (NSAID) drug that works to treat headache pain.

If you take medicine two to three times per week and your headaches aren’t going away, tell your doctor. They may be able to give you a prescription or refer you to a headache specialist.

Migraine

Without treatment, a migraine can last anywhere from 4 to 72 hours. The treatment for migraines varies depending on the symptoms and amount of pain.

If you feel an occasional migraine coming on, your doctor may recommend a nonprescription pain reliever such as acetaminophen, aspirin, or ibuprofen. Caffeine can help, too, so try sipping a cup of coffee or tea. Some people use ice packs.

If that doesn’t help, you may need to see your doctor for a stronger treatment plan. 

Triptans with NSAIDS. Several medications combine these two drug classes, which may work better for acute migraine than either drug alone. They include:

• Sumatriptan-naproxen (Treximet). This is the best-studied combination drug. It’s more effective than taking either the triptan or NSAID separately.
• Rizatriptan-meloxicam (Symbravo). Human studies found that this may ease more migraine pain and for longer than taking either drug alone or an inactive medicine.

Other triptan-NSAID combinations include Frovatriptan (Frova) plus the painkiller dexketoprofen or rizatriptan (Maxalt) with acetaminophen (Tylenol and other brands). Side effects for these combo drugs may include dizziness, nausea, drowsiness, and pain or discomfort in your neck, jaw, and elsewhere.

Or your doctor may prescribe nausea medication or a triptan drug such as: 

• Almotriptan (Axert)
• Eletriptan (Relpex)
• Imigran (Imitrex, Onzetra, Xsail,Sumavel, Zembrace, Sumatripan)
• Naratriptan (Amerge, Naramig)
• Zolmitriptan (Zomig)

Triptans stimulate serotonin in your brain and usually stop a migraine in 2 hours. They can be taken as a tablet, nasal spray, or injection. 

Other prescription-strength medicines that are available to treat migraine are ditans, such as lasmiditan (Reyvow), which are similar to triptans, and gepants, such as rimegepant (Nurtec) and ubrogepant (Ubrelvy), which block the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP).

Temporal arteritis

For temporal arteritis, your doctor may prescribe a steroid to reduce inflammation in your arteries.

Temporomandibular joint disorders

Sometimes, TMJ disorders go away without treatment. Sometimes, stopping a bad habit, such as grinding your teeth or chewing your fingernails, can help.

But if the pain continues, then your doctor may recommend:

• Over-the-counter pain medication
• Muscle relaxants
• Physical therapy
• Corticosteroid injections
• Arthroscopic surgery

Pressure Points for Headache Relief

If you're looking for a way to treat a tension headache without medication, acupressure may be an option. It's a traditional Chinese medicine practice in which you place pressure on certain parts of your body (called acupoints) to get relief. Here are some pressure points that you can try:

• Feng Chi (GB-20). This point is behind your ears, where your neck muscles attach to your skull. Use both thumbs to press the point below where your skull curves inward slightly.
• He Gu (L1-4). On your hand, firmly press the area between your thumb and pointer (index) finger.
• Tai Yang (EX-HN5). Link your fingers, and using your thumbs, press the outer corner of your eye where the upper and lower eyelids meet, closest to your temples.
• Jian Jing (GB-21): Apply downward pressure using your pointer finger or thumb on the end of your shoulder.

When to Worry About a Temple Headache

Talk to your doctor if your temple headache comes along with:

• Neck stiffness
• A painful or tender jaw when you chew
• A constant fever higher than 103 F
• Cancer or an autoimmune disease
• Numbness or weakness

You should also be concerned if your headaches happen only when you're lying down or standing up, or happen more often or feel different than usual, especially if you're 50 or older.

Go to the emergency room right away if your headache happens suddenly and quickly gets worse. Other emergency symptoms include:

• Confusion
• Weakness
• Loss of balance
• Changes to your vision or speech
• Shortness of breath

Temple Headache Prevention

Stress management is the best way to avoid a temple headache before it happens. You can try massage therapy, exercise, and getting enough sleep. Also, talk to your doctor about treating any underlying health conditions that may be causing temple headaches.

Takeaways

When you have a headache in your temples, it could be due to tension headaches, migraines, temporal arteritis, or TMJ disorders. A tension headache causes dull, non-throbbing pain, which can often be treated with over-the-counter pain relievers, but sometimes prescription drugs are required. Talk to your doctor for a proper diagnosis and treatment plan.

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