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'.
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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.
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."
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.
Niamh Shackleton