A doctor has revealed the three types of headaches that should never be ignored as they could be a warning sign of a brain tumour, aneurysm or infection.
American neurologist Dr. Baibing Chen, known as Dr. Bing on social media, warned that while most headaches are “harmless,” there are crucial warning signs we should pay attention to.
In the video, which has racked up 640,000 views on TikTok, Dr. Bing warned that these warning signs are especially worrying in people over 50, when brain diseases are much more common.
Among the most worrying types of headaches is thunderclap.
“This is a headache that reaches a pain level of 10 out of 10 within one minute, and people often describe it as the worst headache of their life,” Dr. Bing said.
“The most important thing to rule out here is subarachnoid hemorrhage usually caused by a ruptured aneurysm, but there may also be other causes,” he added.
A subarachnoid hemorrhage is a particularly fatal type of stroke that involves bleeding on the surface of the brain.
In addition to a sudden, severe headache, it can also cause neck pain, vomiting, and seizures.
Dr. Bing adds that there could be other triggers for this type of headache.
“These include things like RCVS, which is an intermittent narrowing of blood vessels in the brain, as well as cerebral venous thrombosis, which is a clot in the main vein of the brain,” he said.
He explained that as we age, the possibility of developing a new primary headache such as a migraine decreases and because of this, the doctor must rule out less common and more serious causes such as bruises, brain tumors and infections.
People over 50 should be especially careful about new symptoms that accompany headaches, including vision changes, scalp tenderness, and pain when chewing.
Dr. Bing warns that it could be giant cell arteritis.
“It is an inflammatory condition of the blood vessels and can cause permanent blindness if not treated very quickly with high doses of steroids,” he said.
Its last warning sign is a headache that is accompanied by drooping of an eyelid, dilation of that pupil and double vision.
In this case, he urges people to seek medical help immediately because it could be an aneurysm, a bulging blood vessel that can rupture at any time.
Dr Bing said: ‘I mention this specifically because it is one of the few times we can detect a brain aneurysm before it ruptures.
“This specific set of symptoms may be caused by an aneurysm compressing the third cranial nerve and should be treated urgently,” he added.
Headaches are not always serious and can be caused by poor posture, too many painkillers, flu, dehydration, stress and vision problems, according to the NHS.
But Dr. Bing emphasizes that if someone has new headaches or different headache characteristics, they need to be evaluated further.