How to Know When to See a Doctor for Unexplained Headaches

Headaches can distract you from your daily routine, make it difficult to do your work and take the fun out of your free time. Most headaches are mild and can easily be treated with over-the-counter medications. To know when to see a doctor for unexplained headaches, you will want to watch the severity, timing and type of each headache.

Things You'll Need

• Diary

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Instructions

Learn to Recognize Unexplained Headaches You Can Treat at Home

• 1

  Consider the way your headache is painful.

• 2

  Realize when the pain feels like a tightness all over your head, it is usually a primary (not caused by an underlying illness) tension headache. These are accompanied by pain in your shoulders and neck.

• 3

  Bend forward at the waist to see whether your headache pain increases. Pain that increases when you bend over and that is focused in the front of your head and face is likely due to common sinus congestion.

Know When a Headache Requires Medical Attention

• 4

  See your doctor when a particularly fierce headache strikes suddenly, especially if you do not usually suffer from headaches.

• 5

  Report severely painful headaches to your doctor when you have been diagnosed with kidney disease, as this is a sign that your kidney function is deteriorating.

• 6

  Go see your doctor when your headache is accompanied by seizures.

• 7

  Keep a headache diary to help you determine whether you should see a doctor. Write down the date, time and circumstances of each headache. If your headaches increase in frequency and severity, you should see a doctor.

• 8

  Watch for severe pain in the ear or jaw that accompanies your headache. This can be a sign of a serious ear or tooth infection which needs medical attention.

• 9

  Report symptoms such as nausea, sensitivity to light and vomiting to your doctor. In combination with your headache, these are signs that you are suffering from migraines.