Top 6 Dangerous Headaches That Should Send You Straight To The Doctor

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Everyone gets headaches now and then. They are often caused by stress, tension, or sometimes by sinuses, and most of the time, they aren’t anything serious.

However, sometimes, they are. You should become familiar with the signs of headaches that are downright dangerous, because many of these require urgent medical attention.

1. The Worst Headache Of Your Life

Any headache that you would describe as being the “worst headache of your life” should be checked out by a doctor. These types of headaches include pain in the head and/or upper neck when lying down. If you feel stiffness in your neck, are vomiting, feel confused, or have intolerance to light, you should not ignore these symptoms. These kinds of headaches sometimes mean that you have a ruptured aneurysm in the brain or that you are having some other type of brain hemorrhage. This isn’t always the case, of course, but severe headaches, especially if they come on suddenly, should be checked out by your doctor right away.

2. Thunderclap Headaches

These kinds of headaches are severe and occur frequently. They literally develop in one minute and feel as if someone hit you upside the head with a baseball bat, or it feels like a clap of thunder inside your head. These can be caused by bleeding in the brain after a stroke, aneurysm, or a head injury. If you get more than two or three of these within one week, see your doctor as soon as possible.

3. Headaches That Get Worse When Walking

If you have a headache and decide to go to bed, and then wake up with an even worse headache; or if you wake up with a headache so severe it causes vomiting, you need to see the doctor right away. If you should have a headache that typical over-the-counter pain medications do not get rid of, and the intensity of your headache increases when you walk or exercise, this is another serious issue. These types of headaches can be a symptom of a brain tumor.

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