When should I be concerned about headaches and nausea?

Headaches and nausea are both common symptoms of countless ailments, so it’s not uncommon to experience one or both at some point in your life. For example, headaches may be caused by sleep deprivation, stress, or dehydration, while nausea may stem from food poisoning, the flu, migraines, or hypoglycemia. However, if you experience severe headaches and/or nausea that lasts more than several days without any other symptoms like fevers or chills, you should consult your doctor immediately to rule out more serious conditions like meningitis or tumors in your brain or nervous system.

Seek immediate medical attention

Ask a person to drive you to urgent care if:

• Nausea and vomiting are followed by an ache or an excessive headache, particularly if you have not had this kind of headache before.
• You have signs and symptoms of dehydration — immoderate thirst, dry mouth, infrequent urination, dark-colored urine, and weakness, or dizziness or lightheartedness upon standing.
• Your vomit contains blood, resembles coffee grounds, or is green.

A) Headache

If you’re having headaches, pay attention to where you feel pain. If it’s on one side of your head, it could be a sign of a larger problem. One-sided headaches can be caused by migraines or other health issues like blood clots in your veins, aneurysms (swelling in arteries), hemorrhages (ruptured blood vessels), infections, etc. Your best bet is to see a doctor as soon as possible if you have one-sided headaches that are accompanied by nausea, vomiting, or confusion; these symptoms may signal a stroke or brain bleed. Untreated strokes often lead to death or permanent disability, so call 911 immediately — time is critical for treatment. Always take headaches seriously and seek medical help when necessary!

B) Pain between shoulder blades

Pain between shoulder blades is a fairly common complaint that can be caused by a number of factors. For example, it could be related to a muscle spasm or tension in your back; it could even be caused by an underlying health condition like heartburn or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). To determine what’s causing your pain, you should consult with your primary care doctor. He or she will likely start by asking some questions about your symptoms and medical history to see if there’s any reason to suspect an underlying condition. From there, he or she may order tests such as blood work, X-rays, CT scans, and other imaging procedures. If one is present and identified by these tests, your doctor may decide on treatment options based on its severity.

C) Difficulty swallowing

Difficulty swallowing, also known as dysphagia, is a condition that occurs when a person has trouble moving food through his or her esophagus into the stomach. Dysphagia can be caused by medical problems that affect muscle function, such as muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, or Alzheimer’s disease. But it can also be caused by structural abnormalities of your throat or mouth that make it hard to swallow safely. If you have dysphagia, there’s an increased risk of choking when you eat — or trying to eat. Take note if you are experiencing any difficulty with swallowing; if your symptoms continue for more than two weeks, talk to your doctor about getting tested for dysphagia.

D) Double vision

If you’ve never experienced double vision before, you may have a benign condition known as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). It’s characterized by an imbalance in your inner ear that causes brief episodes of dizziness or vertigo, usually triggered by certain movements. Although uncommon, BPPV can also cause a feeling of nausea, which can be accompanied by vomiting or headaches. Your doctor will likely want to perform diagnostic tests such as balance tests or computerized tomography (CT) scans to rule out more serious conditions. BPPV is easily treated using a specific set of head movements; thus, it’s important to get diagnosed quickly because untreated BPPV can lead to lasting damage. Contact our office if you’re experiencing persistent headaches and/or nausea. We will evaluate these symptoms thoroughly during your initial consultation so we can determine whether they could be related to another health concern.

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