Toxic pneumonic headaches are a type of vascular headache, which you have probably never heard of before. During a vascular headache, the blood vessels in the tissue surrounding the head become swollen or dilated and distended (twisted out of shape). This causes intense pain that increases with physical exertion of any kind.
Pneumonic headaches are relentlessly throbbing vascular headaches that can be as blinding and disabling as a migraine, so it can be hard to tell the difference between them. In fact, migraines and cluster headaches, as well as pneumonia headaches, are all types of vascular headache.
A toxic headache usually accompanies or is the result of a fever during an illness. Toxic chemicals introduced into the body can cause a toxic headache, as the name suggests. For example, the headaches that accompany hangovers are toxic headaches caused by alcohol consumption.
Additionally, many other toxic headache-causing chemicals include insecticides, solvents (such as paint thinner), lead, and even some household cleaners. However, not all toxins come from external chemicals. Toxins can be and often are produced by any living organism that invades your system, as is often the case with toxic pneumonia headaches.
Pneumonic headaches are cause for concern because they are vascular headaches associated with pneumonia and toxins introduced into the body due to illness you just had or still have. Pneumonia is an inflammation or infection of the lungs that is itself a dangerous disease and one of the leading causes of death even in developed countries. The many causes of pneumonia include bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, mycoplasmas, and other toxic pathogens.
All types of pneumonia can be accompanied by pneumonic headaches. One last point that deserves emphasis is that pain is part of the body’s alert system. Any pain associated with a disease, such as pneumonia, can be a warning of development or an indication of an even more serious problem. Since toxic pneumonia headaches are part of an already acute illness, treatment for them should follow your doctor’s guidelines for treating pneumonia. Don’t assume that this type of headache can be treated normally, it just isn’t always the case.
So now that you know exactly what a toxic pneumonic headache is and what its causes are, you’re better prepared to recognize and treat it, if you ever have to.
