Headache with signs of serious illness
When a headache, vomiting, fever, or a seizure occurs along with another serious illness, immediate medical care is needed. Signs of serious illness include:
- A sudden, severe headache.
- Confusion or extreme irritability.
- Extreme sleepiness.
- New and different skin rash or severe bruises that appear without an injury.
- New double vision, blurred vision, or blind spots.
- Persistent nausea or vomiting.
- Rapid, difficult breathing.
- Severe neck stiffness or pain.
- Severe sensitivity to light (photophobia).
- Severe pain.
- Unsteadiness that prevents standing or walking (ataxia or vertigo).
Although uncommon, a headache with signs of a serious illness may be a sign of:
- An infection in or around the brain, such as encephalitis, meningitis, or a brain abscess.
- A momentary blockage of a blood vessel (transient ischemic attack, or TIA) in the brain.
- Rupture of a blood vessel in the brain.
Call your doctor for an evaluation if you have a headache and other signs of a serious illness.
| Author: | Sydney Youngerman-Cole, RN, BSN, RNC | Last Updated: September 15, 2006 |
| Medical Review: | William M. Green, MD - Emergency Medicine H. Michael O'Connor, MD - Emergency Medicine | |
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