Tension-headache guide

Tension headache treatment online in Virginia and West Virginia

Short-course over-the-counter-strength non-narcotic pain relievers for an occasional tension-type headache — only after a complete red-flag screen is negative.

Start online

Start a $59 online review for Tension headache.

Tension-type headache is the common everyday 'band around the head' pressure headache. Because it is diagnosed only after other causes are excluded, online care is appropriate only when every warning sign is negative: thunderclap onset, neurologic or eye-emergency features, a post-injury or positional headache, giant-cell-arteritis features after 50, a new headache with a weakened immune system, a headache clearly different from your usual ones, chronic headaches (15+ days a month), or frequent pain-reliever use (10+ days a month) all route you to in-person care instead.

If treatment is appropriate, your physician can send a non-controlled prescription to your pharmacy and provide portal instructions for the next step.

Start this visit See response windows

Quick facts

You must be physically in Virginia and West Virginia at the time of request
Starts at $59
No insurance needed
No app download
Physician review around the clock
Non-controlled prescriptions can be sent to your pharmacy when appropriate
A work or school note can be included when medically appropriate
Response windows: 24/7, every day

Common symptoms

A pressing or tightening 'band' of pain across both sides of the head
Mild-to-moderate ache, often with tightness in the neck or shoulders
No throbbing, nausea, vomiting, or strong light/sound sensitivity
Pain that does not clearly worsen with routine activity

May fit online care

Adults 18 and older
An occasional (episodic) tension-type headache pattern
Adults 18 or older in Virginia or West Virginia
Fewer than 15 headache days a month and fewer than 10 pain-reliever days a month
No red-flag features and not pregnant or trying to conceive

Look for another care setting

Thunderclap or 'worst-ever' headache, or neurologic/eye-emergency features
Headache after head injury, or worse when lying down, coughing, or straining
New headache after 50 with scalp tenderness, jaw pain, or vision change; or a new headache with a weakened immune system
Migraine, chronic daily headache (15+ days/month), medication-overuse headache, or pregnancy

What to have ready

How the headache feels, where it is, and how long each episode lasts
How many days a month you get headaches and take pain relievers
Answers to every neurologic, eye, infection, and pattern-change screen
Pregnancy status, NSAID/aspirin safety history, and any liver or alcohol history

What happens next

Standard

$59

Within 6 hours

Priority

$99

Within 3 hours

Rush

$149

Within 1 hour

Start the request on the website, answer the fit questions, and choose the response window you want. If the concern still fits this service, a physician reviews it and sends a secure update after sign-in. When appropriate, non-controlled prescriptions can be sent to your pharmacy, and a basic work or school note can be included at physician discretion.

Your physician

Every visit is personally reviewed by Ankur Fadia, MD — board-certified, cardiology-fellowship-trained, and Alpha Omega Alpha. Licensed in Virginia and West Virginia — your care is never handed off.

Verify Virginia medical license Verify West Virginia medical license Verify board certification

What medicines may be prescribed?

A physician may choose an over-the-counter-strength option — ibuprofen 400 mg, acetaminophen 1000 mg, aspirin, or an acetaminophen/aspirin/caffeine combination — when appropriate and safe. Every option is limited to no more than 2-3 days per week to prevent rebound headaches, and no prescription-strength, preventive, or controlled medication is prescribed through this lane.

How is this different from a migraine?

Migraine is usually throbbing, often one-sided, and comes with nausea or light and sound sensitivity and worsens with activity. Tension headache is a steady 'band-like' pressure without those features. If your headaches sound like migraine, use the migraine visit instead.

Read the migraine guide

When is a headache an emergency?

Call 911 or go to the emergency department now for a sudden 'worst headache,' fever with a stiff neck, new weakness or numbness, trouble speaking, vision loss, confusion, fainting, a seizure, or severe eye pain with a red eye, halos, and vomiting. A new headache after a head injury, or a new headache with a weakened immune system, also needs urgent in-person care.

Do you also need a short work or school note?

The treatment visit and a documentation request are separate. If you need a basic note and your request fits that lane's limits, use the dedicated sick-note visit.

Read the work and school note guide