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When to see a doctor
By Mayo Clinic staff
Seek emergency care
A headache can be a symptom of a serious condition, such as a stroke, meningitis or encephalitis. Go to a hospital emergency room or call 911 or your local emergency number if you have a sudden, severe headache or a headache accompanied by:
- Confusion or trouble understanding speech
- Fainting
- High fever, greater than 102 F to 104 F (39 C to 40 C)
- Numbness, weakness or paralysis on one side of your body
- Stiff neck
- Trouble seeing
- Trouble speaking
- Trouble walking
- Nausea or vomiting (if not clearly related to the flu or a hangover)
Schedule a doctor's visit
See a doctor if you experience headaches that:
- Occur more frequently than usual
- Are more severe than usual
- Worsen or don't improve with appropriate use of over-the-counter drugs
- Prevent you from working, sleeping or participating in normal activities
- Cause you distress, and you would like to find treatment options that enable you to control them better
- Bajwa ZH, et al. Evaluation of headache in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Dec. 13, 2010.
- Anttila V, et al. Genome-wide association study of migraine implicates a common susceptibility variant on 8q22.1. Nature Genetics. 2010;42:869.
- NINDS meningitis and encephalitis information page. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/encephalitis_meningitis/encephalitis_meningitis.htm. Accessed Dec. 23, 2010.
- NINDS stroke information page. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/stroke/stroke.htm?css=print. Accessed Dec. 23, 2010.
- Taylor FR. Tension-type headache in adults: Pathophysiology, clinical features, and diagnosis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Dec. 13, 2010.
- Approach to the patient with headache. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec16/ch216/ch216a.html. Accessed Dec. 23, 2010.
- Cluster headache. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec16/ch216/ch216b.html. Accessed Dec. 23, 2010.
- Headache Classification Subcommittee of the International Headache Society. The international classification of headache disorders: 2nd edition. Cephalalgia. 2004;24(suppl):9.
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