“Most headaches are harmless,” but your neuro warns you not to ignore these 3 signs

We’ve all been there: getting a random headache and panickingly googling brain tumor symptoms. Well, often this just makes things worse, increasing stress and discomfort. But how can you tell if your headache is harmless?

Although most headaches are harmless, a neurologist warns that some symptoms may indicate something more serious, such as a brain aneurysm. Dr. Bing, a board-certified neurologist who is popular on TikTok as a brain health advocate, shares three headache signs you shouldn’t ignore.

“Most headaches are harmless, but if someone develops new headaches or new symptoms, they may need to be evaluated more closely,” Dr. Bing said in her study video on TikTok.

Thunder Headaches:

Dr. Bing describes it as a sudden escalation of pain, a headache that causes 10 out of 10 pain within a minute. “People usually describe it as the worst headache of their lives. The most important thing to rule out here is a subarachnoid hemorrhage, usually caused by a ruptured aneurysm,” says Dr. Bing.

However, not all sudden, severe headaches indicate an aneurysm, and there may be other causes. “This includes RCVS, which is a periodic narrowing of blood vessels in the brain, and cerebral venous thrombosis, which is a clot in the main vein of the brain,” added Dr. Bing.

New headaches after age 50:

Because the risk of developing new headaches and migraines decreases with age, people over 50 who develop new headaches should be evaluated to rule out the possibility of hematomas, tumors and infections, Dr. Bing said.

If the new headache is also accompanied by vision changes and symptoms such as scalp tenderness and pain when chewing, Dr. Bing suggests the possibility of giant cell arthritis.

“It is an inflammation of the blood vessels that can lead to permanent blindness if not treated quickly with high doses of steroids,” Dr. Bing explained.

New headache with eye problems:

According to Dr. Bing, if a person develops a new headache along with eye problems such as drooping of one eyelid, dilated pupil, and double vision, they should see a doctor immediately as this may be the best chance of preventing the aneurysm from rupturing and causing life-threatening situations.

“I mentioned this specifically because it is one of the few cases in which a brain aneurysm can be detected before it ruptures. The specific set of symptoms may be caused by an aneurysm compressing the third cranial nerve, Dr. Bing said.