Medical-type question:

[brainshrub]

A friend of mine (Alice) is complaining of sharp pain in her skull when she does strenuous exercise. She's experienced this for the past 6 weeks. The pain in about three inches above her left ear, under the skull, and it radiates down to her jaw. It does move around about an inch, but generally stays in the area above her ear.

This can't be good, but she's scared to go to the doctor b/c she doesn't have health insurance.

I'm going to try to convince her to go to the hospital tonight, but what could it be?

Disclaimer: I'm obviously not looking for a diagnosis, but how serious should I take this? Am I overreacting?

P.S: (I'm stepping out for 15 minutes, but I will respond to any questions when I get back.)

P.P.S.S.: (I swear I am not talking about myself. This really is "a friend.")

[greatauntoftriplets]

1. I have no clue what it could be....

but I think she needs to go to the ER quickly. Like 6 weeks ago.

Good luck to her.

[nuxvomica]

2. One thing it could be is a neck problem

That's just one fairly innocuous thing it could be but there could be other things and remember that I'm not a doctor. The pain results from straining the muscles in the neck during exercise, something people don't necessarily realize they are doing. Because of the way the head muscles are connected, the pain may manifest away from the neck, like often happens with "tension headaches." Strange head pain is nothing to ignore and she should have this checked immediately but it may be comforting for her to know that it's possibly not serious.

[kikiek]

3. Sounds like it could be a facial nerve, but I don't know why. Could be

something simple like a muscle in shoulder or neck pinching it when she exercises or something. But she needs to see a MD. If she is having headaches or vision changes or dizziness could be something serious. Should just go in. Personally I wouldn't be alarmed but that's just me.

[rasputin1952]

4. This could be one of several situations ...

and some of them need to be addressed immediately!

Get her to an ER, they have to treat you, and if there no insurance, there is always someone there that will do the leg work to see if the cost can be picked up by Medicaid or, sometimes, they are just written off.

Point is, like I said, this can be any of several things. Worst case scenarios are subdural hematoma (blood vessels broken beneath dura matter which applies pressure to the brain), and an aneurysm, ( a 'ballooning', of an artery, that could burst causing catastrophic damage), and there are other things that could be there as well, many of which are more of an inconvenience than something that could prove catastrophic.

In any case...your friend should seek medical attention immediately, if for no other reason, than to rule out serious situations and for peace of mind...:)

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

5. what kind of excersise? sounds like a sternoclidomastoid

muscle spasm... is it on both sides? can she move her head when it hurts without increasing the pain? does she have normal hearing, vision and taste?
does opening and closing her mouth aggrivate the pain?
is the pain associated with runny nose or watery eyes?
and finally, does she have any new dental work, or need any dental work on the side.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

8. also how old is she?

is she generally in good health?

[brainshrub]

11. 34

Good health.

[brainshrub]

9. Answers

is it on both sides?

No. Only on her upper left side, above the ear.

can she move her head when it hurts without increasing the pain?

Don't know.

does she have normal hearing, vision and taste?

Yes

does opening and closing her mouth aggravate the pain?
is the pain associated with runny nose or watery eyes?

Don't know

and finally, does she have any new dental work, or need any dental work on the side.

She went to the dentist (out of pocket) three days ago, and the answer is no.

Thanks for your help. I won't try to diagnose, but I don't know how serious I should take this. I will definitely drag her to the hospital tomorrow.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

10. I would strongly suspect the dental work, especially if the

work was on the upper jaw... that can refer pain right through the temporal sinuses and be very uncomfortable

[tedoll78]

6. Wow..

I'm in radiography school, but we haven't taken pathology yet. (that begins on Tuesday, actually).

It could be any number of things.

Does she have nosebleeds?
Clear fluid leaking from her ears?
Any signs of TMJ? (clicking in her jaw, pain in her neck/face, etc)?
Any head trauma on her right side could cause an injury directly on the opposide side of the point-of-contact. So.. any recent injuries of that manner?

Good luck.. I'd get to the E.R. quickly though.

[davsand]

7. Angina can manifest as severe head pain.

Plus, cardiac symptoms in women are NOT always the same as they are for men. The neck and jaw pain also sends up a red flag for me as a possible alert for her.

Tell her that if she no insurance and is poor to be sure and ask at the hospital ER about a charity care program. Most hospitals that are non-profit have a charity care program, but they do not advertise it at all. (In fact, they frequently make it difficult to apply for it.) It will not cover (typically) physicians' bills, but it will cover a lot of (if not all) of) the hospital bill is she is at poverty level.

Best of luck to her and kudos to you for being enough of a friend to worry about her!


Laura

[TrogL]

12. Migraine? Cluster headache?

[NC_Nurse]

13. Could be many things

she needs to see a doc. Period.

[brainshrub]

14. Thank-you everyone!

I will show her everything you wrote tomorrow AM. I will drag her to the hospital tomorrow if I have to.

[kodi]

15. high blood pressure

.

[daisygirl]

16. It sounds a little like problems I've had

Course, like you and everyone else said, she needs to see a doctor. But this struck a nerve with me (har har) since I'm currently baffling the medical profession with muscle spasms in my jaw/face/head/neck areas and assorted nerve pains from the muscle spasms.

If it only happens when she exercises and a doctor can't find anything wrong, suggest that she check her posture and form when she's exercising - maybe she's getting out of alignment and having muscle spasms that are causing a pinched nerve. I've definitely found that bad posture makes my problems worse.

I hope she feels better soon - that sort of thing is really painful!