Headache is a term used to describe pain in one or more areas of the head, upper face, or upper neck. Headaches can be chronic, cyclical, or acute, with varying qualities and intensities of pain. The two most common types of headaches, tension and migraine, manifest over many minutes or hours and usually include other warning symptoms prior to onset. Acute headaches that appear suddenly, especially if they are severe in nature, might be cause for serious concerns. Causes of sudden headaches range from life-threatening brain aneurysms and infections, to benign "brain freezes" from drinking something cold.
Brain Aneurysms
A brain aneurysm is a bulging blood vessel in the brain that can leak or rupture, causing a hemorrhagic stroke. Most hemorrhagic strokes occur between the brain and the tissues covering the brain, which is called a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Any ruptured aneurysm causes sudden, extremely severe headache and sometimes pain behind one eye. Patients often describe the pain as "excruciating." A bleeding aneurysm quickly becomes life-threatening and requires immediate medical treatment. According to Cedars-Sinai Hospital, about 10 million Americans have brain aneurysms, with about 0.01 percent leading to subarachnoid hemorrhage. Approximately 40 percent of those who have a subarachnoid hemorrhage die during the hemorrhage because of extensive brain damage.
Infections
Bacterial or viral infections of the brain area or its related tissues can also cause sudden, severe headaches. Although the brain tissue itself does not create pain signals, meningitis, encephalitis and brain abscesses can all cause severe pain from damaged nerves, blood vessels and other sensitive tissues in the area. Meningitis often creates shooting, electric pain up the neck and into the back of the head. Abscesses can burst and create sudden burning pain around the site of rupture.
Cluster Headaches
A fairly rare type of headache that can cause sudden pain is the cluster headache, which is considered a vascular headache similar to a migraine. Cluster headaches affect mainly men in their late 20s and produce sharp, "ice-pick" pain usually around one eye that occurs several times per day for weeks and then goes away for a similar period. Cluster headaches are thought to be related to stress, as well as to certain dietary and environmental factors.
Toxicity
Toxic chemicals, such as those found in many cleaning products, can cross the blood-brain barrier and cause direct inflammation and sudden, pounding headaches. Excessive exposure to household bleach can cause sudden dull headaches, as well numbness and confusion. Allergic reactions to alcohol and other food triggers can cause fairly sudden, migraine-like headaches.
Trauma
A much more common cause of sudden headache pain is trauma. Experiencing trauma to the head can produce different types and intensities of pain depending on what structures are damaged or what processes are affected. Skull fractures produce sudden, severe headaches and usually loss of consciousness. Inflammation can increase intracranial pressure and can cause fairly sudden, vice-like headaches. Damage to nerves such as the facial and trigeminal nerves can produce sudden, electric-like pain.
"Brain Freeze"
Another common, but benign, cause of sudden head pain is the aptly named "brain freeze" headache. Caused by consuming cold liquids or foods which transfer the chill into the frontal sinuses or brain case via the hard palate, "brain freeze" is usually self-limiting after less than 20 seconds.
References
- The Mayo Clinic: Brain Aneurysms
- Cedars-Sinai Hospital: Cerebral Aneurysms
- "The Headache Book"; Frank Minirth M.D.; 1995
