A moment of intimacy turned into a nightmare for a 61 -year -old woman. In full report, she was struck down by an extreme intensity headache. If this phenomenon, called a co -co -quilted headache, is most often benign, it turned out to be in his case the sign of a serious illness. The episode, reported in BMJ Case Reportsillustrates a rare but potentially fatal situation.
What is sexual headache?
Known under the medical term of coitic headache, this pain occurs suddenly during excitement or at the time of orgasm. It can last between 24 and 72 hours and would receive between 0.25 % and 1 % of the world’s population. Scientists recall that it is most often without gravity and disappears by itself, but it can sometimes reveal a more serious pathology.
The diagnosis is based on headaches that increase with sexual activity or suddenly appear during pleasure. Even if this type of headache remains marginal, it draws the attention of doctors because it can hide a neurological problem.
When a headache hides hemorrhage
In the documented case, the 61 -year -old woman described a pain noted “10 out of 10” which did not give in to analgesics. Visual disorders then pushed her to consult. In the hospital, the exams revealed a right occipital cerebral hemorrhage, without an underlying cause identified despite many tests.
Good news, the patient eventually recovered completely. A year later, she had regained her vision and required no daily drug treatment. This case highlights the importance of consulting quickly when a sexual headache is unusual or particularly intense.