A sudden headache can be a symptom of the Corona virus

Although Coronavirus primarily affects the respiratory system, causing symptoms such as dry cough, loss of taste, smell and shortness of breath, however, there are more and more reports that Corona also causes neurological effects such as encephalitis and stroke.

Headache has been reported in patients COVID-19 It is one of the most common neurological manifestations and now needs further evaluation.

In a study published in the journal Headache Researchers from the Institute of Human Behavior and Allied Sciences in India report a case study of a 15-year-old boy who entered the emergency room with a headache.

A throbbing headache started suddenly and came every 5-10 minutes, the boy was also vomiting and was sensitive to light, the patient reported that it was worse when he woke up in the morning and increased when he leaned forward, although the boy had a low fever 8 days before the onset of headache There were no respiratory symptoms such as cough, sore throat or loss of smell.

COVID-19 headache

When doctors examined the patient, they found no fever, and although he was agitated, he responded to orders at intervals.An eye exam and brain MRI revealed no abnormalities, and routine blood tests were also normal.

Doctors found an increase in pressure of 30 cm of water when examining the cerebrospinal fluid, and test results for viral pathogens such as mumps, chickenpox and enterovirus were negative.

Doctors started giving the patient intravenous fluids, acyclovir and paracetamol, and after 5 days of treatment the boy was conscious and had no behavioral symptoms, but his headache did not improve and he did not respond to sedatives.

The patient’s nasal and throat swabs were sent to test for the virus and came back positive, but the CSF was negative for the virus, and repeated CSF tests showed an increase in pressure of 28 cm of water.

Doctors performed a second lumbar puncture, which greatly reduced the patient’s headache, and was given dexamethasone, mannitol, acetazolamide, and topiramate for two weeks while in hospital, and after three weeks the patient was fine with no reports. headache and didn’t need more. Medicines.

A new headache during a pandemic shouldn’t be ignored

Cases have been reported COVID-19 Describing and confirming headaches in patients and their nature, and literature reports indicate that approximately 11-14% of patients COVID-19 They reported a headache, as patient studies in Beijing, China showed that headache was a common symptom in about 6.5% of patients.

There may be several mechanisms for the onset of headaches in patients COVID-19And a person could have an infection on the ends of the trigeminal nerve in the nasal cavity.

The authors believe that the headache is most likely the result of the body’s immune response to the corona, with changes in the production and absorption of cerebrospinal fluid, which leads to an increase in pressure within the skull, which can lead to cerebral edema due to cytokines or endothelial infections. .