It’s estimated that about 45 million Americans complain about headaches yearly. However, only approximately 8 million of them will feel bad enough to see a doctor. A headache doesn’t always need a doctor’s attention but there are definitely some times when you shouldn’t ignore it.
In some cases, the cause of your headache needs to be treated as an emergency. Typically, these headaches can be sudden, persistent, or extremely painful. Some of the other symptoms you need o pay attention to include dizziness, blurred vision, slurred speech, nausea, vomiting, fainting, muscle cramps, lack of sweat, and a burning pain in your chest. Many of these can be a sign of serious problems like a stroke, concussion, and preeclampsia.
Some people have a headache once or twice per month without an issue. Others can go even longer in between headaches. However, doctors say that anyone who has 10 or more headaches per month should be concerned. Whether or not these days are consecutive, it could be a sign that you have a chronic condition like migraines. While it’s possible to manage headaches without medical intervention, it’s best to have your doctor weigh in.
In most cases, headache pain can be managed with homemade remedies or over-the-counter medications. If your pain is too significant to be handled like this or it prevents you from carrying out your daily duties, you need to have it checked out.
If your headache comes with neck stiffness, you might be dealing with more than a headache. This stiffness could be a sign of migraines or a brain infection. That’s why you need to see a doctor to be assessed.
A fever is rarely a good sign when you have a headache. Typically, it means you have an infection of some kind that you need to see a doctor about. Brain infections such as meningitis can cause headaches, fever, nausea, and neck stiffness.
While headache pain can spread, it shouldn’t travel. Pain that moves down the back of your head to your back could be a sign that there’s been nerve damage.
RELATED: What Not to Do During a Migraine
Typically, headaches start with a slight pain that intensifies over time. In cases where your headache starts with sudden, severe pain, you may have what is known as a ‘thunderclap’ headache. These can be caused by an injury or a stroke so it’s a good idea to see your doctor.
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You should never ignore headaches that are severe enough to wake you from a dead sleep. That kind of pain could mean you’ve suffered from a stroke or an aneurysm.
When it comes to headaches, the pain shouldn’t be significantly worse because you’ve moved. That suggests there’s <something else going on like nerve or muscle damage.
Pain distribution in a headache can vary from one person to the other but its location can be telling. If your headache is only on one side of your head, you could be dealing with a migraine. When that location is combined with redness in only one eye, you might have had a stroke or another problem that’s putting pressure on the eye.
This one is especially important for older adults. It’s unlikely that you’ll go your entire life without ever having a headache but if you started having them frequently after the age of 50, it’s noteworthy. Being older puts you at risk for chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, which can cause headaches so talk to your doctor.
RELATED: The 14 Different Types Of Headaches: Which One You’re Experiencing?
Interestingly, the causes of a headache can be wide and varied. Some of these causes can be temporary and even harmless while others can significantly threaten your health. A few of the normal issues that can set off a headache are poor sleep, dehydration, stress, muscle tension, drinking alcohol, and caffeine withdrawal. Severe dehydration can also cause headaches but dealing with that kind of dehydration usually requires a visit to the emergency room. Other issues that you need to be aware of include a stroke, heatstroke, an infection, high blood pressure, a head injury, or a brain aneurysm.
Headaches are regarded as being fairly common but that doesn’t mean they’re always harmless. If you’re having additional symptoms with the headache, it could be a sign that you’re dealing with another condition that needs to be treated. The best thing you can do is see your doctor quickly.
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