Headache due to infections

Headache is a common symptom that can occur due to the course of infectious diseases. The cause of such symptoms is severe intoxication of the body. Often it can be observed with influenza and SARS. Headache is accompanied in parallel by pain in the eyes, aching muscles, increased body temperature.

Causes

Most often, pain syndromes of infectious etiology are characterized as moderate and localized in the region of the superciliary arches, temples and in the frontal part of the head. They are stopped by the usual antipyretic drugs.

Infectious diseases provoke pain mainly in the forehead and usually aching with a feeling of heaviness. This kind of symptomatology cannot be ignored, as it can signal the presence of a meningococcal infection.

Among the most dangerous forms of this disease, it is worth noting meningococcal meningitis (damage to the membranes of the brain), meningococcemia (the entry of microorganisms into the blood). In such situations, headache is the main and alarming symptom.

It is important to understand that meningococcal infection is dangerous for humans, as it can cause death in just a few hours. Therefore, timely diagnosis will allow choosing an effective treatment.

The next example is dengue fever, which is accompanied by pain syndromes, especially retro-orbital headaches with discomfort in the muscles and joints. As a result, the patient cannot bend his legs normally when walking, a peculiar gait appears (gait of a dandy or a dandy).

It is also worth noting that with dengue fever, a hyperemic and puffy face, a hemorrhagic rash, and injected sclera can be observed. Pain in muscles and joints along with headaches are observed from 3 to 8 weeks. The danger of infection can be recognized if the symptoms are combined with impaired consciousness, pain in the neck (it is very difficult to raise the head from the pillow), the ineffectiveness of painkillers, severe vomiting, a dark red rash in addition to epidemiological information.

When visualizing such symptoms, it is important to urgently contact your doctor for diagnosis and treatment. Diagnostic examination may include MRI, various blood tests, urinalysis, etc. Headaches are a common symptom in the presence of infectious diseases.

The nature of pain

During the course of infectious diseases, the patient feels the following symptoms:

• arching or pressing pain in the head with a weak or moderate manifestation;
• monotonous headache that appears regardless of the time of day;
• lacrimation;
• increased sensitivity to light;
• girdle headache.

As soon as this kind of symptomatology manifests itself, it can be said with confidence that the patient has an infectious disease, and the presence of a headache is a confirmation that the body is actively fighting a pathogenic infection.

The patient feels feverish and shivering. Often the patient notices a sharp increase in blood pressure, which provokes discomfort in the head. And after a runny nose is visualized, the pain syndrome passes into the area of ​​uXNUMXbuXNUMXbthe nose and eyes.

It is impossible to endure uncomfortable conditions, therefore, you need to contact your doctor for diagnosis and selection of therapeutic drugs.

When should a person worry about a headache?

Most headaches do not have a serious cause. However, it is not recommended to ignore this kind of symptom. The attending physician without fail conducts an external examination and prescribes a number of related diagnostics in order to as accurately as possible ensure the safety of the patient’s condition. A headache should be alerted in the following cases:

• the presence of a serious head injury;
• headaches get worse and are accompanied by high temperature (fever);
• headaches start suddenly;
• problems with speech and balance;
• memory problems or changes in the patient’s behavior;
• headache started as a result of coughing, sneezing or strong exertion;
• increased pain during the period of lifting from a sitting or lying position;
• overwork and red eyes;
• the appearance of pain with a force that the patient has not previously experienced;
• the presence of unreasonable vomiting;
• low immunity scores – for example, if the patient has HIV, they are taking oral steroid medicines or drugs that suppress the immune system;
• after courses of chemotherapy.

Infectious causes of headache and fever

Systemic or other infections of the body, such as the flu or early symptoms of HIV, can also cause headaches and fever.

Meningitis

In addition to severe, generalized headache and high fever, symptoms of meningitis may include neck stiffness, nausea, vomiting, confusion, rash, and sensitivity to light. In this case, a person, as a rule, will not feel all these symptoms, therefore, the diagnosis is complex.

Most people with meningitis have occipital stiffness. The patient cannot bend the neck so that the chin can reach the chest. Other potential symptoms of meningitis include a rash, joint pain, seizures, or other neurological deficits.

To diagnose a patient with suspected meningitis, a lumbar puncture is performed and cerebrospinal fluid is taken to determine the type of pathogen. Additionally, laboratory tests are carried out, including advanced blood tests.

Encephalitis

Encephalitis is an infection of the central nervous system that can be caused by a virus, bacteria, or fungus. Encephalitis is similar to meningitis, but the key difference is that it causes abnormal brain function in people.

This means that the patient will have a disturbed mental state or experience sensory problems, difficulty moving, even paralysis. Sometimes it is difficult to accurately diagnose which virus causes headaches, therefore, doctors in practice use the term “meningoencephalitis”.

brain abscess

A brain abscess is a rare but potentially life-threatening condition in which infected fluid collects in the brain. Symptoms of a brain abscess may resemble meningitis or encephalitis and include: fever, headache, neck stiffness, neurological dysfunction, and confusion.

Headache with brain abscess and confusion result from increased intracranial pressure due to the accumulation of infected fluid in the brain and the pressure of the mass formation on the brain tissue.

The diagnosis of a brain abscess is confirmed by a CT scan of the brain, which classically demonstrates the lesion. Patients are treated with antibiotics and sometimes surgical drainage of the abscess. Clearing of the infection is usually documented by sequential CT scans, and may take weeks to months.

sinus infection

Sinus headache and fever with symptoms such as swelling of the face, ear pain, toothache, and profuse nasal discharge may indicate a bacterial sinus infection. The good news is that if you have bacterial sinusitis, weekly antibiotic therapy, rest, sinus lavage, etc. should help to quickly get rid of the disease.

Very rarely, sinus infections lead to other complications, such as brain abscess, meningitis, vascular thrombosis, or osteomyelitis, an infection of the facial bones (especially the frontal).

Generalized infection

A systemic or generalized infection, such as the flu or infectious mononucleosis, can cause fever and headache. The same category of diseases includes HIV and AIDS.

There are usually other clues that help doctors confirm a systemic infection. For example, if a patient has the flu, they usually have body aches and cough, as well as headache and fever. Mononucleosis is characterized by a sore throat and a positive result of the Monospot test, used for the rapid diagnosis of infectious mononucleosis.

It is important to understand that symptoms other than fever also occur with systemic infection, such as weight loss, night sweats, and generalized weakness or malaise.

Summing up

Most headaches, although unpleasant, are harmless and are relieved by the use of conventional painkillers. Migraine, headache, and tension pain associated with medication are very common. A large proportion of the population may experience unpleasant symptoms during long-term drug therapy. Determining the root cause of any discomfort through discussion with your doctor is often the best way to address it. You can stop a constant (chronic) and recurrent headache by taking simple pain medications. The attending physician can choose a more effective therapy, taking into account the physiological characteristics of the patient and the cause of the frightening symptoms.

Discomfort in the head is very rarely a sign of a serious or dangerous condition, and most headaches go away on their own.

If a patient has a headache that is unusual for him, he should discuss this directly with the attending physician. It is important to tell the doctor about the presence of uncomfortable symptoms in detail that are particularly severe or that interfere with the patient’s daily activities, those that are associated with other symptoms (weakness or tingling), and those that cause scalp pain (especially if the person is over 50 years old). ). Any suspicious and unusual state of the body is the first indicator that something is going wrong and an urgent need to consult a doctor.

Remember that headaches are less likely to occur in people who maintain a healthy lifestyle, support the immune system, use one pillow for sleep or sleep without a pillow, with moderate physical and emotional stress.

It is important to understand that headaches cannot be ignored, especially if they are regular and intensifying. However, headaches are not perceived by the general public as serious disorders, as they are mostly episodic, non-fatal, and non-contagious. The low rates of seeking medical advice in developed countries may indicate that many headache sufferers are unaware of the existence of effective treatments. It is estimated that 50% of people with headaches self-medicate.

Therefore, timely diagnosis and properly selected treatment will help you cope with the disease in the early stages.

If the cause of unpleasant symptoms is an infectious disease, the treatment is selected primarily not to suppress the symptoms, but to eliminate the infection.

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