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May 21, 2013
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Worst Headache of Your Life (cont.)

Medical Author:
Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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Medical Editor:
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Worst Headache of Your Life Treatment

Self-Care at Home

  • Most affected individuals usually may take an over-the-counter (OTC) headache medication, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) to reduce the headache pain; taking ibuprofen (Advil) or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is not advised because if the headache is due to bleeding in the brain, the medication may make it worse. If the headache is truly the worst headache of your life you should go to an emergency department immediately.

  • Some tension headaches are relieved if the person removes themselves from the situation causing stress.

  • A cool, wet towel over the forehead may reduce symptoms.

  • A person with chronic migraine headaches should discuss a treatment plan with their health care practitioner. If the affected individual continues to visit the emergency department, repeated CT scans may be performed, resulting in unnecessary radiation exposure, and no follow-up plan for the patient for a potentially treatable condition.

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Read What Your Physician is Reading on Medscape

Migraine Headache »

Although migraine is a term applied to certain headaches with a vascular quality, overwhelming evidence suggests that migraine is a dominantly inherited disorder characterized by varying degrees of recurrent vascular-quality headache, photophobia, sleep disruption, and depression.

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