There are some pains that you write off as part of the grind of living life due to the occasional stress, but sometimes you need to pay attention to these uncomfortable feelings in case they’re more serious. It’s an important sign if you experience pains like headaches that are persistent and enduring in intensity. While many times this head pain could be a chronic migraine, you should pay attention because anything potentially affecting your brain merits a visit to your doctor. Here are 7 types of head pain you absolutely must not ignore.
A headache after a head injury
When you’ve injured your head in any capacity, it’s always important to check for damage when it happens, and for latent side effects like headaches stemming from changes in the brain. A head injury can lead to a variety of serious complications, including a concussion or hemorrhage, and a headache can be an indication of these serious afflictions.
A sudden, severe headache
If you rarely have headaches and then you suddenly experience a severe headache out of the blue, you should be sure to visit your doctor. This could be a sign of a “thunderclap” headache and they usually peak in intensity within 60 seconds. These type of headaches are typically caused by bleeding in the brain that can occur after an aneurysm, stroke or injury. Other symptoms associated with these headaches are nausea, vomiting, and mental confusion.
A headache with one-sided numbness or weakness
It’s certainly significant if you experience a headache that is accompanied by new symptoms like one-sided numbness or weakness. The numbness could be on one side of the head and spread down to the shoulders and arms. This combination of symptoms can indicate damage to the venous sinuses in your brain.
Headache with neck pain or face pain
Similar to experiencing numbness along with a headache, a headache accompanied by neck pain and face pain can also be a cause for concern. A tear in one of the carotid arteries that supply blood to your neck, face, ears, and head can cause these types of headaches. This called a carotid artery dissection (CAD) and may lead to a stroke.
A headache that’s severe in one eye
If you have a headache that gives the sensation of being in only one eye and the same eye has redness, you should look for a more serious issue.
A new or unusual headache
If you have any unusual headache patterns that arise or a new headache develops and persists, your body could be indicating some sort of new pernicious development. Especially if the new headache is consistently getting worse, affects your vision or speech, or is causing weakness anywhere in your body. It’s always a good idea to be safe and check out any new discomfort that you experience, even if it does turn out to be a migraine. This way, you can at least treat the root cause to feel relief and continue living your best life.
