Headache With Symptoms of a Serious Illness

Symptoms of serious illness

When a headache, vomiting, fever, or a seizure occurs along with another serious illness, immediate medical care is needed. Symptoms of a serious illness may include:

• A severe headache.
• A stiff neck.
• Mental changes, such as feeling confused or much less alert.
• Extreme fatigue (to the point where it's hard for you to function).
• Shaking chills.

Although uncommon, a headache with symptoms of a serious illness may be a sign of:

• An infection in or around the brain, such as encephalitis, meningitis, or a brain abscess.
• A momentary blockage of a blood vessel (transient ischemic attack, or TIA) in the brain.
• Rupture of a blood vessel in the brain.

Call your doctor for an evaluation if you have a headache and other symptoms of a serious illness.

Credits

By	Healthwise Staff
Primary Medical Reviewer	William H. Blahd, Jr., MD, FACEP - Emergency Medicine
Specialist Medical Reviewer	H. Michael O'Connor, MD - Emergency Medicine
Last Revised	April 17, 2012