When to see a doctor

Seek emergency care

A headache can be a symptom of a serious condition, such as a stroke, meningitis or encephalitis.

Go to a hospital emergency room or call 911 or your local emergency number if you're experiencing the worst headache of your life, a sudden, severe headache or a headache accompanied by:

• Confusion or trouble understanding speech
• Fainting
• High fever, greater than 102 F to 104 F (39 C to 40 C)
• Numbness, weakness or paralysis on one side of your body
• Stiff neck
• Trouble seeing
• Trouble speaking
• Trouble walking
• Nausea or vomiting (if not clearly related to the flu or a hangover)

Schedule a doctor's visit

See a doctor if you experience headaches that:

• Occur more often than usual
• Are more severe than usual
• Worsen or don't improve with appropriate use of over-the-counter drugs
• Keep you from working, sleeping or participating in normal activities
• Cause you distress, and you would like to find treatment options that enable you to control them better