Hi Doctor, My Wife Frequently Complaints About Headache And During

Posted on Sat, 16 Mar 2019

Question: Hi Doctor,
My wife frequently complaints about headache and during headache sometimes there is slight swelling behind left ear which aggravates if she sleep on left side so, generally she sleeps on right side.
For the last 2 days, this pain is not only in head but, also in her left portion of the body which includes ear, neck, shoulder and hand.

Please suggest what could be the cause and what shall we do? Thanks.

Regards,
Ankur XXXXXXX

Answered by Dr. Dr. Prasad J (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Need more information..

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

Can you describe the headache - is it like a dull ache or throbbing?
Is the pain one sided or both side?
How long does each episode of headache last?
Since when has she been having such headaches?
Does she have nausea and vomiting with it?
Do you notice any factor that triggers headache?
You mentioned there is a swelling - how big is it? Does it hurt to touch / pressing?
Does she have any other known medical condition?

Awaiting your answers to all these questions...

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Prasad J (2 days later)

Hi Doctor,
Here are the replies:

Can you describe the headache - is it like a dull ache or throbbing? - It is dull mostly. Sometimes throbbing.

Is the pain one sided or both side? - Generally it is on both sides but, for past one week it is more on left side

How long does each episode of headache last? - Nothing specific. But, it generally lasts until she takes some medicine like crocin.

Since when has she been having such headaches? - 3-4 years. We had got her MRI done as well. Though the report is old but, I am attaching it for your reference.

Does she have nausea and vomiting with it? - No, only very rarely

Do you notice any factor that triggers headache? - Left side sleeping is one thing which triggers. Otherwise it is random

You mentioned there is a swelling - how big is it? Does it hurt to touch / pressing? - Swelling is not permanent. It appears on and off specially while sleeping on left side and it dissolves after pressing. Pain is present when swelling appears but, it doesn't hurt on touching.

Does she have any other known medical condition? - No. But, she is having irregular periods due to PCOD

Regards,
Ankur

Answered by Dr. Dr. Prasad J (22 hours later)

Brief Answer:
One of chronic headaches...

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

At the outset, this look like a type of chronic headache. Your description is not specific to any, therefore it can be termed as non specific headache. However I am unable to understand the reason why there is a strong co-relation to sleeping on the left side or the appearance of swelling. It would have been better if you had mentioned the size of the swelling of if there was a clear margin. A possible relation could be due to vascular changes or cervical spine issue.

Therefore I will suggest for a detailed clinical and neurological examination. She should visit a neurologist. It is good to know that MRI brain scan has no significant abnormality.

In the meanwhile she can continue to take over the counter pain medications whenever there is headache.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you need clarifications.

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar