10 Types Of Headaches That You Should Never Ignore

Be it that mild buzzing discomfort all around your forehead or that shooting pain of a migraine, headaches tend to get ignored pretty often. This is primarily because one feels they are common and not much cause for concern. Well, that probably needs to change if you’ve experienced even one of the following kinds of headaches, which could be an indication of a serious problem coming your way. The time to take care of yourself is now.

Here are 10 kinds of headaches that you need to get checked out at the earliest:

1. The Meningitis Headache

A headache associated with a fever – usually also including a stiff neck or body pain – and one that persists for several weeks is a clear sign that you could be teetering dangerously close to Meningitis. It needs to get checked out by a medical professional as soon as possible. Ignore this and you could be looking at serious nervous problems.

2. The Cluster Headache

These headaches usually restrict themselves to a specific small area in the head – often around one eye. If you’re experiencing headaches of this kind, along with nausea and vomiting, you could be in serious trouble and at the worse suffer a brain aneurysm.

3. Headache that persists for longer than 24 hours

If you have what seems like a regular headache, but persistent and incessant for longer than 24 hours (up to 3 days long) then you could be looking at an indication of a perpetual stroke in the brain. This can definitely not go untreated, as it is an indication of low blood flow, possibly even a blocked artery in the brain, which could in its worst case even be fatal.

4. Headache post head injury or blunt trauma

It might seem natural to have an ache after you’ve hit your head somewhere, but be warned that any persistent headaches or feeling of dizziness and mental confusion following blunt trauma to the head should not be taken lightly and could be the result of a concussion. We’d suggest seeking professional advice, and of course, rest.

5. Headache associated with blurred vision

If your headaches are coming along with blurry vision and other sensory confusion (like slurred speech and mental confusion), it is something you need to get check out even if it has happened to you just once. It could possibly be a sign to an upcoming stroke, and we already know that is not a good thing.

6. Headache post work out or during sex

In the event that physical stress and cardio-vascular exercises (even sex) are causing you headaches, it could be an indication that there could possibly be a tumour in your brain or a brain aneurysm, which could lead to haemorrhaging.

7. The Thunderclap Headache

If the first few seconds of the headache you’re experiencing is shooting and absolutely unbearable (like you feel you’re dying) then that could be a sign of internal bleeding. This obviously doesn’t need a check up, it might in fact require an emergency visit to the hospital.

8. Persistent headaches in senior citizens

If you’re beyond 50 years of age and headaches are a common occurrence then that it is perhaps your body’s manner of telling you that you could be suffering from Atherosclerosis (build-up of fats, cholesterol and other substances in and on the artery walls) in the arteries in your brain. This requires immediate medical attention.

9. The shooting pain headache

If you ever find yourself thinking that you’ve experienced the worst headache ever, and it’s a common occurrence, you could be looking at a serious cerebral problem. You’re going to have to get yourself checked for it with an MRI immediately.

10. The inexplicable headache

As you can tell, this one is really hard to explain. If you’ve been experiencing recurring headaches and you can’t exactly pin-point which of these categories it falls into, or if you feel there is something slightly abnormal about your headache, don’t ignore it. More often than not, these headaches are an indication of present or future problem involving brain function.

Headaches could be associated with anything from psychological discrepancies, medical problems, stress, tension and a host of other problems. Regardless, headaches should never be taken lightly as a common occurrence, especially if the problem is persistent.