Lupus headaches are severe and often compared to migraines, causing pain, nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light, sound, and smells. They can last for hours or days and are caused specifically by lupus. Treatment includes pain relievers, abortifacient drugs, and corticosteroids.
When a person has a headache related to an autoimmune disease called lupus, as opposed to some other cause, it is often referred to as a lupus headache. Lupus headaches are often severe and often compared to migraines due to the similar symptoms they cause. In many cases, a person who has a lupus headache will experience not only severe pain that gets worse with movement, but also nausea and vomiting. Some people with this type of headache also experience sensitivity to various smells, sounds, and light. Unlike other types of headaches, a person cannot always expect a lupus headache to fade after a short period of time: These headaches often persist for hours or even days at a time.
Lupus is a condition in which a person’s immune system attacks the body’s tissues and causes inflammation. A person with this condition can have many symptoms, including stiffness and pain in the joints, weight loss, fever, fatigue, skin lesions, and rashes. Also, a person with this condition may experience severe headaches that are referred to as lupus headaches. When a person is said to have a lupus headache, this means that the pain and related symptoms are caused specifically by the lupus, rather than any other problem.
The exact causes of a lupus headache are up for debate, but experts believe that this type of headache is related to problems with an affected person’s blood vessels dilating and constricting. Doctors, however, typically treat these headaches in much the same way as tension headaches or severe headaches referred to as migraines. For example, a person may use over-the-counter (OTC) or prescription pain relievers as treatment. Sometimes abortifacient drugs are used to interfere with the cause of the headache, such as by causing blood vessels to narrow and reducing inflammation. Corticosteroids, a type of steroid drug, are sometimes used to treat lupus headaches and typically work by fighting inflammation.
Besides the pain, the other symptoms of a lupus headache can prove challenging. In some cases, people become sensitive to bright lights and certain sounds and smells when they have this type of headache. In fact, exposure to these things can sometimes lead to worsening of a person’s symptoms. Some people also experience nausea and vomiting when they have a lupus headache, and performing ordinary activities can prove difficult. A person may have a lupus-related headache that lasts for hours or even days at a time and find that their symptoms get worse when they move.
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