My boyfriend has been having severe migraines after he fell and hit his head. Why?

Question

Hi doctor,

My boyfriend has been having severe migraines. We were at a family event, and he fell and hit his head. After this happened, we went home. His temperature had risen, and he started to have bad migraines. I took him to the emergency room. They did an X-ray and did a spinal tapping to check for fluid on the spine. Everything was good. All he was diagnosed with was a UTI. They gave him antibiotics and pain medicine for his head. The medicine is not working for him. He is having trouble sleeping, and he also does not have an appetite. Everything he tries to eat and drink makes him feel sick. I am keeping him hydrated. I have tried giving him Tylenol or Aleve, and that is also not helping him with his migraines. It just keeps getting worse to the point where he cannot hold his head up or turn his neck.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

According to your history, your boyfriend had head trauma, and after that, fever and severe headache have started. You said that in the emergency room, he had undergone an X-ray and spinal tap. What about a brain CT (computed tomography) scan? Did you mean CT scan by saying "X-ray"? I ask it because it is very important. If a brain CT was done and was normal, your friend needs to be evaluated by brain MR venography (MRV) and MR angiography. If the brain CT was not done, he needs to be evaluated by a brain CT for the subdural or intracranial hemorrhage.

Finally, if all the above be normal, his current headache may be the side-effect of a spinal tap. Sometimes after a spinal tap, a condition known as a low-pressure headache occurs. In such cases, headache and neck pain occurs when the patient changes his position to sitting or upright. He needs to be visited by a neurologist to determine the cause.