Had headache, bloody nose since childhood. Had spinal tap done. Still having headaches, jaw pain, neckpain. Suggestions?
Patient: I have a question I am 23 years old and all my life I have had head aches and bloody noses. have had a spinal tap done when i was 14 they said it came back ok. Still having head aches and recently have had blood work done still they say its all ok. I don t know what to do right now I m having bad pains on left side of my head and back of head my jaw hurts all the way down my neck . Any idea what it could be? Doctor: hi,  (A) The NECK PAINS may be associated with some nerve impingement, may be some cervical vertebra inflamation/swelling due to repeated friction , MRI would be helpful to get it checked.  (B) NOSE BLEED - nose bleed is mostly occurs due to the nasal mucosa (inner surface of nose) gets dry mostly from the winter, trauma to the nose triggers a nosebleed. Trauma to the outside of the nose, such as a blow to the face, or trauma inside the nose, such as nose picking. Rarely : Some anticoagulant drugs like coumadin may be the cause , some bleeding disorder may be the cause like low platelet count but this rare things are dumped down in your case since the blood test and CSF were normal , So for nosebleed stop picking and when ever it bleed you can put a cotton gauge and can be stopped by pressure.   (C) There are different type of HEADACHES as below and I will try to explain it in simple terms  1) MIGRAINE - its a head ache which most has some kind of prodrome (factor/symptoms/feeling) which indicates the person that he will be going to have headache soon, mostly people say some kind of aura like lights/ nausea kind of feeling is mostly precedes the onset of headache   2) CLUSTER HEADACHE:- its a headache which is associated with watering in eyes/ nose , pain in eyes , pain associate with some intense light exposure like headache,Sweaty, pale skin (pallor) on the face, one sided headache may be on right or left side.   3) TENSION HEADACHE:- its a headache with band like headache means the hurting area seems like some has tied a band around the head and is very tight.   Mostly from the description it seems like a "CLUSTER HEADACHE"  Now following are the cause that can lead to this kind of headache and needs to checked.  Headache NORMALLY DO NOT have any UNDERLYING DISEASE (90% case have no issues),  BUT in 10% cases headaches may occasionally indicate a serious underlying medical condition,  a) brain tumor or  b) rupture of a weakened blood vessel (aneurysm)   Well the best thing is to attain a piece of mind, and for that   ADVICE:   Consult NEUROLOGIST (brain doctor)  Here is mostly they will do  1) do physical exam  2) will probably ask for MRI SCAN OF BRAIN,  3) If nothing serious mostly 90% of case are with out danger they will give pain medications that is special for the type of cause (e.g- sumatraptin for migranes , so it will be different from normal over the counter medication (available with out prescription) like ibuprofen) so necessary to consult the physician   PLEASE do not be scared , there are 90% of headache and have no issue with any kind of brain problems but for the sake of safety and piece of mind MRI / CT Will be need.   Hope it helps.