health & living health center/when to call the doctor for your headache? article

When to Call the Doctor for Your Headache?

Disease and Condition:Common Medical Abbreviations and Terms
Almost everyone must have experienced a headache at some point in their life.
Almost everyone must have experienced a headache at some point in their life.

You should call your doctor or visit the nearest emergency room for yourheadacheif

  • This is the severe and worstheadacheyou have ever had in your life.
  • Theheadachethat develops immediately after activities such ascoughing,sneezingaerobics, bending, or sex.
  • Yourheadachedevelops after coughing or sneezing.
  • You develop a sudden, explosive headache.
  • You experience constantheadachesalways in the same location.
  • Your speech becomes slurred.
  • You experience visual disturbances.
  • You feelweaknessin your limbs.
  • You lose balance whilewalking.
  • You havememory loss.
  • Your headache worsens over 24 hours.
  • Your headachepainwakes you up at night.
  • You also have afever,stiff neck,nausea, andvomiting.
  • Your headache occurs after ahead injury.
  • Your headache happens only on one side with redness in that side’s eye.
  • You are experiencing newheadachesafter the age of 50 years.
  • You haveheadachesaccompanied by vision problems,painwhile chewing, orweight loss.
  • You hadcancerin the past.
  • Your immune system is weakened by a disease (such ashuman immunodeficiency virus[HIV] infection).
  • Your headache intensifies by waking up in the morning or getting up from a lying position.

Schedule a visit to your doctor if

  • Yourheadachesdisturb yoursleep.
  • Your headache lasts more than a few days.
  • Your headaches are worse in the morning.
  • Your headaches have a changed pattern or intensity.
  • You have headaches often whose cause is unknown.
  • You need to take apain relieverat least twice a week.
  • You have headaches that interfere with your daily life.
  • Your headache causes visual changes.
  • Your headache causes personality ormood changes.
  • Your headache is associated with the inability to move a body part.

What type of headaches are dangerous?

Almost everyone must have experienced a headache at some point in their life.

The most common reasons for your headache aremigraines, tension headaches,cluster headaches, and sinus headaches. Headache is also most often experienced in some common viral infections such as thefluor even in something as simple as thecold.

However, it should be remembered that some headaches are a sign of a more serious problem that will necessitate medical attention right away.

Dangerous disorders in which headache presents as one of the symptoms are as follows:

  • Arteriovenous malformation(AVM): It is an abnormal connection between the arteries and veins in the brain that occur by birth.
  • Stroke:It is a blocked blood vessel or bleeding in certain areas of the brain resulting in weakness on one side of the body.
  • Brain aneurysm:It is weakening of the wall of a blood vessel that causes it to bulge.
  • Intracerebralhematoma:It is bleeding in the brain that results in the pooling of the blood.
  • Intracranialhematoma:It is a collection of the blood in the skull, most often as a result ofhead injury.
  • Bleeding around the brain:This can be in the form of a subarachnoid hemorrhage, a subdural hematoma, or an epidural hematoma.
  • Acutehydrocephalus:It is a buildup of fluid in the skull that causes it to swell.
  • Pseudotumor cerebri: It is a buildup of pressure inside the skull that results in signs and symptoms similar to a tumor but is not a tumor.
  • Meningitis:It is an infection or inflammation in the tissue that surrounds the brain.
  • Encephalitis:It is an infection or inflammation in the brain.
  • Temporal arteritis:It is swelling of the arteries in the temple and behind the eye.
  • Trigeminal neuralgia:It is a disorder involving irritation of the trigeminal nerve that connects the face and brain.
  • Chiari malformation:Occurring by birth, these are structural defects in the base of the skull and cerebellum (the part of the brain that controls balance).
  • Epilepsy:It is a brain disorder characterized by frequent, unpredictableseizures.
  • Hypertension(high blood pressure)
  • Brain tumor
  • Acutebrain injury: It is due totraumaor toxicgasexposure.
  • Severe altitude sickness

QUESTION

What percentage of the human body is water?See Answer
References
Headaches - danger signs. Available at: https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000424.htm

Headache “Red Flags”: When to See Your Doctor. Available at: https://americanmigrainefoundation.org/resource-library/headache-red-flags/

Headache. Available at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/headache/basics/causes/sym-20050800

Complete List

Top When to Call the Doctor for Your Headache? Related Articles