Headache and burning smell

Last night I had a horrible headache that lasted about 10 or 15 minutes, very short. It was incredibly painful and unlike any headache I've ever had.  It was at the back of my head, around the base of the skull and around the top of my neck.

I've felt fine since, no recurring headaches, but I've been smelling burning hair off and on all day. The smell seems to be returning more frequently within the last few hours.

I've heard of people smelling burning hair before having a stroke, of courseI didn't have a stroke and I'm 29, so I don't know how likely it is that I would have one. I can't help but feel the smell is somehow related to the headache though.

[DrNoopurMD]

Hi,

Thanks for writing in.
It is indeed difficult to give a straight answer to your query. Vascular conditions of the brain have been associated with this type of smell but like you mentioned you are too young to get a stroke.
The pain in the back of head and neck could be related to bad posture while sitting which can cause neck sprain and may even lead to cervical spondylitis or disc prolapse.
Please always make sure you have a good posture while sitting, watching TV and lying down. Avoid too much bending and stretching of neck.
Neck massage and ice packs will help.

[roger_flint]

Thanks for your response. I do spend long periods of time sitting in front of the computer or hunched over a drawing table -- 10 to 16 hours a day sometimes. Usually I try to be mindful of my posture, but I should probably start taking it a bit more serioiusly. I'm easily and almost constantly stressed-out as well, maybe I should look at that also.

[steph6740]

I am a mum to 4 young boys and sometimes get a fussy head and sometimes when i lay down or sit upright i smell burning, the more i think about it the more i smell it. I'm scared cause i know that smelling burning when there isn't anything burning can be symtom of brain tumors.