In 2003, the mnemonic SNOOP (systemic symptoms/signs and disease, neurologic symptoms or signs, onset sudden or onset after the age of 40 years, and change of headache pattern) was proposed as a red flag detection tool for secondary headaches.
“Red flag signs and symptoms include focal neurologic signs, papilledema, neck stiffness, an immunocompromised state, sudden onset of the worst headache in the patient's life, personality changes, headache after trauma, and headache that is worse with exercise.”
Your headache comes on suddenly and is explosive or violent. Your headache is "the worst ever," even if you regularly get headaches. You also have slurred speech, a change in vision, problems moving your arms or legs, loss of balance, confusion, or memory loss with your headache. Your headache gets worse over 24 hours.
While morning headaches are usually common, they could also be a sign of something more serious. This is especially true if neurological symptoms occur simultaneously. Categorize your headache by noticing any neurological or unusual symptoms, and seek care accordingly.
A number of sleep or health disorders, as well as personal habits, can trigger a headache when you wake up. Sleep apnea, migraine, and lack of sleep are common culprits. However, teeth grinding, alcohol use, and certain medications can also cause you to wake up with a headache.
Poor sleep posture and muscle tenseness can both cause tension-type headaches in the morning. Stress is another cause of muscle tension and tension headaches. Going to bed with stress on your mind may cause head pain when the sun rises.
Headaches that get steadily worse. Changes in personality or mental function. Headaches that are accompanied by fever, stiff neck, confusion, decreased alertness or memory, or neurological symptoms such as visual disturbances, slurred speech, weakness, numbness, or seizures.
Patients presenting with a thunderclap headache (TCH) may describe their pain as "the worst headache ever" or "worst headache of my life." What differentiates TCHs from other headache types is how rapidly they reach their peak intensity, not the headache intensity itself.
Stress and muscle tension are often factors in these headaches. Tension headaches typically don't cause nausea, vomiting, or sensitivity to light. They do cause a steady ache, rather than a throbbing one, and tend to affect both sides of the head. Tension headaches may be chronic, occurring often, or every day.
It stands for systemic symptoms, neurological signs, onset, older age at onset, and prior medical history. Aside from being painful and annoying, headaches are often just that—headaches. They do not indicate that you absolutely have a more significant illness or condition.
Migraine has possible links to other brain diseases, such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis (MS) and fibromyalgia. Some of these diseases have symptoms that are similar to migraine, but they also have their own unique differences.
There is good evidence that a major cause of migraine is sensitivity to specific foods. Certain foods are well known to trigger migraine. Sometimes referred to as 'the five Cs', these are: chocolate, cheese, claret (and other red wines), coffee (and other sources of caffeine) and citrus fruits.
A severe headache that comes on suddenly can be a sign of a stroke, though there are other possible causes as well. Regardless, most causes of these so-called thunderclap headaches can be serious. If you experience one, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room at once.
SNOOP4, which stands for systematic symptoms and secondary risk factors like cancer and HIV, neurological deficit, onset, old age, symptoms starting with P-papilledema, postural, precipitated by Valsalva and progressive, is a mnemonic for suggesting clinicians decide whether neuroimaging should be done in headache ...
Spotting leukaemia-related headaches
“I had a banging headache where I could hear my heartbeat in my ears so loud my head felt like it was throbbing, and it would not go away when I lay down.” When headaches are caused by leukaemia, they are likely to occur frequently and are often severe and long lasting.
Symptoms of a ruptured brain aneurysm usually begin with a sudden agonising headache. It's been likened to being hit on the head, resulting in a blinding pain unlike anything experienced before. Other symptoms of a ruptured brain aneurysm also tend to come on suddenly and may include: feeling or being sick.
Many people use sleep to relieve their headache pain. While they may wake up feeling better, over time, using sleep in this way can contribute to insomnia and other sleep difficulties.
The causes of many chronic daily headaches aren't well-understood. True (primary) chronic daily headaches don't have an identifiable underlying cause. Conditions that might cause nonprimary chronic daily headaches include: Inflammation or other problems with the blood vessels in and around the brain, including stroke.
The pain is usually like a dull ache, but it can also be sharp. You may have a throbbing (pounding) headache, or the pain might be constant. The pain might get worse when you bend over, shake your head or move around. Other dehydration symptoms usually occur along with headache pain.
Normally, tension headaches are not severe enough to prevent you doing everyday activities. They usually last for 30 minutes to several hours, but can last for several days.
Tension headaches usually cause pain behind both eyes and a feeling of pressure around the forehead. They can occur at any time and can last from 30 minutes to several hours.
Pillows that are too high can cause the head and neck to round forward adding tension to the suboccipital neck muscles. Too much tension in these muscles may result in you waking up with a headache or developing a headache in the morning once you've gotten out of bed.
What can a hypertension headache feel like? Headaches triggered by high blood pressure typically cause a pulsing sensation that's felt all over the head rather than on just one side. If your headache is severe, happens suddenly, or is accompanied by chest pain or shortness of breath, get immediate medical attention.