Headache is not a life threatening ailment but can cause severe, debilitating pain in a number of cases leading to the disruption of normal day to day activities. Most often, the symptoms of a severe headache are linked to the presence of other underlying disorders such as migraine, brain tumor, head trauma, meningitis etc.

Some of the most common severe headaches include cluster headache, migraine headache, ice pick headache and brain tumor headache. In case you experience a high degree of pain during a headache you must consult your doctor in order to get the right diagnosis. You might have to undergo several tests to determine the exact cause of the headache and get treated accordingly.

Causes of severe headache:

Migraine: An individual can experience tremendous amount of pain during a migraine attack in which the blood vessels of the brain are dilated due to the release of a particular chemical. Headache triggered by a migraine can be unilateral or bilateral and is accompanied by nausea, vomiting, blurred vision and increased sensitivity to light, sound and smell.

Cluster headache: This type of headache is also known as suicide headache and is characterized by agonizing pain in the head. Cluster headache pain is unilateral in nature and is pivoted around one eye accompanied by tearing of the eye and nasal congestion. Cluster headaches last in sets of 1 to 4 and may linger on for days or even months. The cluster periods are often broken by periods of relief but the pain can return at any point.

Ice Pick Headache: This type of headache is considered to be one of the most severe types of headaches and is accompanied by pangs of stabbing pain also known as stabs, jolts or jabs. The intensity of pain in these headaches is very high and leaves the patient startled. The duration of a single episode lasts from 5 to 30 seconds and can leave the patient startled.

Other causes of severe headache:

Meningitis: This disorder is caused due to the inflammation of the membrane surrounding the brain and spinal cord due to viral or bacterial activity. This is a fatal disease and can even lead to death. Thus, it is essential to get the patient admitted to a hospital immediately.

Temporal arteries: The temporal artery in front of the ear can swell up due to inflammation causing high intensity pain in the head and facial region.

Hypertension: Headache is one of the most common symptoms associated with high blood pressure.

Brain tumor: Brain tumor is the formation of a tumor in the head that can damage the nerves in the brain or the central nervous system. This is considered to be one of the most dangerous and agonizing ailments irrespective of the size of the tumor. Brain tumor headache tends to vary in intensity but is quite severe in nature.