Suggest Treatment For Severe Headache

Posted on Mon, 13 Jun 2016

Question: my daughter is 23 in generally good health and exercises regularly. the other day she was doing a handstand and felt intense pain/pressure in her temples, and now a few days later she has headaches off and on, not as severe as the original one, and she says it hurts around her jaw bone and cheeks and around her head.

when and how will i receive a response

can you tell me approximately when we can expect an answer

Answered by Dr. Ishu Bishnoi (51 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Consultation

Detailed Answer:
Hi XXXX, thanks for asking from HCM.

I can understand your concern. Sudden headache while doing handstand exercise could be

: Physical stress related - It could be a possibility that during exercise, she must have exerted a lot and lead to dehydration, excessive contraction of temple/jaw muscles. All these can cause severe headache as a result of fatigue, dehydration.

The headache is usually diffuse, more in temple region, increases on doing activity, relief with rest/drinking fluids/sitting in cool place.

If her symptoms resemble above, you can-

; Ask her to maintain hydration. Drink at least 3 litre of water daily.
; Ask her to take rest for 4-5 days till full recovery. She can exercise under trainer supervision after full recovery.

; She can take tablet Diclofenac sodium after proper prescription. Usually, I prescribe 50 mg twice a day in an adult patient without NSAIDs allergy.

: Headache to some lesion (secondary headache) - It is a possibility or it needs to be ruled out. Some mass lesion in brain can cause severe, sudden headache and this type of headache increases with mental/physical stress.
Usually this kind of headache is dull, may be on one side only, associated with vomiting, focal deficit like hemiparesis / facial weakness.

You have to consult a Neurologist to rule it out. He/she may advise CT/MRI brain to confirm it. Further management will be decided after reporting.

Meanwhile, you can give her Diclofenac sodium as advised above.

Hope it will help her. Thanks, take care. If still in doubt, let me know.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee