Most headaches have minor causes, but a few can be more serious. Here's how to tell the difference.
About 100 million Americans are headache sufferers, with approximately 35 million experiencing migraines. And although most headache pain comes from everyday sources like stress, allergies, and premenstrual syndrome, a rare few (less than 1 percent) can be life threatening. So how can you tell which is which?
“When the headache is 'the worst headache of your life' or when it is accompanied by fever, neck stiffness, weakness or numbness on one side of the body, difficulty speaking, loss of consciousness, confusion, loss of vision, or any other neurological symptom, it’s serious,” explains Alexander Mauskop, MD, founder and director of the New York Headache Center and an associate professor of neurology at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn. If in doubt, be safe rather than sorry, and call 911 or go directly to the emergency room.
Common Headache Triggers
In most instances, headaches are due to less serious causes. Here are some of the most common:
Stress. “Also called tension type headaches, stress headaches often present with a bandlike sensation around the forehead that worsens as the day progresses,” says Jay Bhatt, MD, a neurologist with Indiana University Health Neuroscience and an assistant professor of clinical neurology at Indiana University School of Medicine. Although the discomfort stress headaches cause is very real, they are generally not serious, says Dr. Bhatt, "and can be treated with a variety of lifestyle modifications or medications.” Aerobic exercise, biofeedback, relaxation training, and meditation are all possible ways to reduce stress and limit head pain from this type of headache.
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