Pain in my head when I cough

[Polly Lieberman]

When a person coughs, sneezes, or strains, their intra-abdominal pressure quickly rises, causing a headache. This condition is known as cough headache. In a headache clinic, the prevalence of cough headache ranges from 0.4% to 1.2%. A single or multiple coughs will cause a moderately severe generalized headache to appear quickly and last only a few minutes. Sneezing, bending, stooping, and straining may also cause headaches, prompting people to avoid these activities. Cough headache is mostly seen in people who are not prone to headaches. It is not associated with other primary headache disorders such as migraine. Pain in my head when I cough

You may be experiencing a cough or a headache or you may be experiencing both a cough and headache. Activities like coughing, sneezing, straining, bending, laughing, lifting weights, sudden postural movements, and defecating can induce a headache. The pain is sudden, short-lived, usually bilateral, and has few additional characteristics. These activities may cause a rapid increase in abdominal pressure, which can increase the pressure in the head, thereby triggering a headache. If you are wondering why my head hurts when I laugh or cough, or why I get a headache every time I cough, now you know why.

Patients with cough headaches should undergo a neuroimaging evaluation, including a brain MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) with and without contrast. A cough headache can only be considered a primary cough headache (PCH) after all other underlying causes have been eliminated. The diagnostic criteria for PCH are described by the International Headache Society (IHS) as: At least two sudden onset headache episodes lasting between one second and two hours; brought on “only in association with coughing, straining, and/or other Valsalva maneuverer” in the absence of any intracranial disorder.