headache

[jacqui1972]

i have had a headache for a few weeks now and they r getting worse the doctors gave my antibiotics for sinusitus a couple of weeks ago, but i am now experiecing numbness in the left side of my head and am taking loads of painkillers but i still dosent completly take the pain away

[Dr Santos]

Hi,
How are you? Marilee has mentioned several important points. In addition to this, neuropathic pain should also be ruled out. Neuropathic pain presents with burning, tingling  dysesthesias. This results from damage to or dysfunction of the peripheral or central nervous system, rather than stimulation of pain receptors. A complete neurological examination is important to rule out signs of nerve injury. If it persists, have this checked by your neurologist for proper evalaution. Take care and do keep us posted.

[marileew]

Hi jacqui1972,

It was good that you went to the doctor when you first experienced this pro-longed headache. Since your current treatment has not relieved your headache, it may be a good idea to return to your doctor.

Your doctor may need to run some blood tests to find out if the antibiotics cured your infection or if you still have an infection. If you still have an infection, you may need another course of antibiotics or a different type of antibiotic. Some people respond to different antibiotics better than others, and some antibiotics are used to treat specific types of infections. Also, sinus infections often don't respond extremely well to a simple course of antibiotics. You may need a prolonged course of antibiotics in order to clear the infection. You may also need different types of medications (such as a nasal spray) to help your sinus infection clear. One of the best ways to clear a sinus infection is to rinse your sinus' out with salt water. There are kits you can buy at the pharmacy to use to rinse out your sinus' or you can make your own solution of boiled and cooled salt water (so that it is at room temperature). Only a very little amount of salt is needed, about 1/4 a teaspoon per cup of water. You can ask a doctor or pharmacist to properly show you how to use the salt water solution to rinse out your sinus'.

It is also possible that your doctor misdiagnosed your symptoms. A migraine headache can feel very much like a sinus infection. Pain and a feeling of fullness in the sinus can be a symptom of migraine. A stuffy nose or a runny nose can also be a symptom of a migraine. Numbness can also be a symptom of migraine. The antibiotics would not have helped a migraine, and over-the-counter medication often does not help a migraine. It would be good for you to go back to the doctor, because if it is a migraine then you may need migraine medication to stop the headache. Sometimes migraines can last for days or even weeks without treatment.

If you take over-the-counter pain killers for more than a few days in a row, they can sometimes cause rebound headaches. The longer you take daily over-the-counter pain killers for, the more likely you are to get rebound headaches. Your sinus infection may have cleared already but the pain killers have caused a new rebound headache that is separate from the headache you had from the infection. The best way to stop a rebound headache is to slowly stop taking over-the-counter pain killers or to switch to a prescription pain killer that is less likely to cause rebound headaches (such as Naproxen).

A sinus infection is a type of secondary headache. A secondary headache means that the headache is a symptom of a disease, illness or injury. You may not have a sinus infection, but you may have a different type of secondary headache. A secondary headache will only go away if the disease, illness or injury causing the headache goes away. That is why it is important for you to go back to the doctor so you can get a confirmation of your diagnosis or a new diagnosis. If you get a new diagnosis, you will need treatment for that diagnosis so that your headache will stop.

Hope that information helps! I hope you feel better soon!

- marilee