Doctor warns 'go to hospital asap' if you have this specific type of headache

A doctor has warned that you should seek out emergency medical attention if you suffer a specific type of headache.

There's more than a dozen types of headache: from tension headaches and caffeine headaches, to a cluster headache that usually causes pain behind the eye.

Most of these headaches will go away on their own and aren't necessarily a sign of something more serious, but doctors have warned that there's one particular type that you shouldn't ignore.

This type is known as a thunderclap headache. Mayo Clinic says this kind of head pain lives up to its name, 'striking suddenly like a clap of thunder'.

They're uncommon and symptoms include a headache that strikes suddenly and severely, peaks within 60 seconds, and can be accompanied with vomiting or nausea.

There are said to be 14 different types of headache (Getty Stock)

Dr Amir Khan – who has previously shared his tips on how to fall back asleep if you keep waking up at 3am – urged people who may suffer a thunderclap headache to go to the emergency room.

He shared on his No Appointment Necessary podcast, which he co-hosts with Cherry Healey: "A sudden bleed in the brain is a very different presentation. It's called a thunderclap headache. It feels like you've been hit in the back of your head by a cricket bat.

"It is so awful. If that happens to you, you must just go to A&E, call 999, get someone to drive you to A&E, because that could be a bleed. And that needs an urgent scan and sorting out ASAP."

Dr Amir Khan said to go to the emergency room if you experience a thunderclap headache (Getty Stock)

Specific causes of a thunderclap headache, per Mayo Clinic, include:

• Bleeding between the brain and membranes covering the brain (subarachnoid hemorrhage)
• A rupture of a blood vessel in the brain
• A tear in the lining of an artery that supplies blood to the brain
• Leaking of cerebrospinal fluid — usually due to a tear of the covering around a nerve root in the spine
• Death of tissue or bleeding in the pituitary gland
• A blood clot in the brain
• Severe elevation in blood pressure (hypertensive crisis)
• Infection such as meningitis or encephalitis
• Ischemic stroke

The key piece of advice that many medical websites and professional give is that if a headache comes on suddenly and severely, it's a sign you should see a doctor immediately.

The problem may be diagnosed with a CAT scan and a spinal tap or lumbar puncture, says American Migraine Foundation. Alternatively someone might have an MRI and MRA or CTA scan if the headache is in its later stages.