Headache

Category: Head, Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat · All head & senses symptoms

What it can feel like

A headache is pain in the head or upper neck, ranging from a dull background ache to a disabling throbbing attack. Headaches are extraordinarily common and usually arise from the pain-sensitive structures around the brain rather than the brain itself, which has no pain fibres.

Possible causes

A symptom can have many causes, and most are not serious. The lists below group conditions this symptom can be associated with — common causes first. They are possibilities to discuss with a clinician, not a diagnosis.

Common causes

Headaches can be associated with tension and stress, migraine, dehydration, lack of sleep, eye strain, sinus congestion, caffeine withdrawal, alcohol, and viral illnesses such as flu.

Other possible causes

Less commonly, headaches can be associated with high blood pressure that is severely raised, inflammation of the scalp arteries in older people (temporal arteritis), raised pressure inside the head, bleeding around the brain, or infection such as meningitis.

Red flags — when to seek help promptly

A sudden, explosive 'worst ever' headache reaching maximum intensity within seconds to a minute
Headache with weakness, speech problems, confusion, seizure or collapse
Headache with fever, neck stiffness, dislike of light or a non-fading rash
A new headache pattern over the age of 50, or headache with scalp tenderness or jaw pain when chewing
Headache that is steadily worsening over days to weeks, or wakes you from sleep with vomiting

What a clinician may do

A clinician will characterise the headache — onset, pattern, triggers, company it keeps — and examine your eyes, blood pressure, neck and nervous system. Most headaches need no scan; imaging (CT or MRI) and blood tests are arranged when the pattern or examination suggests a secondary cause.

Watch: related videos

Examination and clinical videos from the MedicalVideos.com library relevant to this symptom. Some clinical footage is graphic — that is the nature of a medical video library.

▶ WatchCluster headache surgeryWatch on MedicalVideos.com ▶ WatchNatural headache treatmentWatch on MedicalVideos.com ▶ WatchWhen a headache is a emergencyWatch on MedicalVideos.com

Related guides on MedicalVideos.com

Frequently asked questions

When does a headache need an emergency scan?

When it is thunderclap-sudden, follows a head injury, comes with weakness, speech change, seizure or confusion, or arrives with fever and neck stiffness. Those patterns suggest bleeding, stroke or meningitis — all time-critical.

Can blood pressure cause headache?

Ordinary high blood pressure usually causes no symptoms at all — which is why it is checked directly. Only very severe elevations tend to cause headache, and that combination needs emergency assessment.

Related symptoms — Head, Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat

Bad breath (halitosis)Bleeding gums Blocked ear feeling Blocked or runny nose Blurred vision Difficulty swallowing

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Please note: This page is educational information about a symptom. A symptom alone cannot diagnose any condition, and the causes listed here are possibilities, not a diagnosis. If you are worried about a symptom — especially one that is new, severe, getting worse or not going away — please see your own clinician, who can examine you and arrange tests. In an emergency, call your local emergency number.