Causes of dizziness when tilting your head down

How often do people get headaches? Some people won’t notice a pulsation in their head in their entire lives, while others have to suffer every week. Why do headaches occur when bending forward or backward? The cause of discomfort is a disease of the ENT organs, the growth of a tumor, or even toxic damage to the body. To get rid of regular pain, you need to see a doctor. Based on the accompanying symptoms, a diagnosis is made and treatment is selected.

Causes of pain

Not every disease causes a headache when bending over, even if the pathology is associated with brain damage. Experts identify several external factors that provoke pain:

Bad dream.
Lack of rest.
Lack of physical activity.
Overfatigue (physical, nervous, intellectual).
Stressful situations.

And there are several diseases and pathological conditions in which such a symptom as the appearance of a headache when bending over is one of the leading ones. In this case, pain can be either constant or acute.

Sinusitis

If a patient comes to the doctor and complains that he has a headache when he tilts his head, the specialist will first suspect the development of sinusitis. Causes of inflammation of the maxillary sinuses: prolonged runny nose, untreated colds, sore throat, flu, deviated nasal septum.

When the maxillary sinuses become inflamed, the outflow of mucus is disrupted. It accumulates in the nose, frontal part of the head. Lean forward - and the mucus, rushing down, begins to put more force on the nerve endings of the nose, a strong, acute headache and “ache” of the nose appear. The pain is localized in the frontal part of the head, covers the nose on one or both sides, radiates under the cheekbone, into the upper jaw. With sinusitis, patients often complain of toothache.

The disease is also accompanied by the following symptoms:

Feeling of pressure on one side of the nose.
A feeling of fullness above the eyebrow, in the forehead.
Nasal congestion, when breathing first one or the other nostril.
Morning pain, intense, starting immediately as soon as a person gets out of bed, even if he just sits down.
The pain in the head increases when bending over or changing the temperature.
Temperature rises to 38 degrees (with acute sinusitis).
Fatigue, feeling of weakness.

The flow of contents from the nose does not always occur. Swelling of the maxillary sinuses can reach such a size that purulent contents simply accumulate in a person’s skull. This aggravates the condition and provokes twitching, throbbing pain. If mucus flows out, it has an unpleasant odor, thick consistency, yellow, green, brownish color.

If you postpone a visit to the doctor for a long time, due to the rapid spread of infection, the frontal sinuses may be damaged and sinusitis may be associated with frontal sinusitis. The high temperature is not relieved by antipyretics, and the pain does not go away after taking analgesics or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Migraine

The cause of a headache is not always sinusitis. In 90% of patients who complain of pain that occurs when tilting their head down, the factor that provokes the pain is migraine.

What is the difference between a migraine attack and pain caused by sinusitis? The duration of a migraine headache can take no more than two days. Whereas pain with sinusitis can last for a long period of time. A person may suffer from a headache caused by inflammation of the maxillary sinuses for weeks until he thinks to see a doctor.

Additional symptoms that help distinguish migraine from sinusitis:

Pain in the head is accompanied by nausea.
Increased discomfort occurs not only when bending over, but also when loud sounds, bright colors, and foreign odors occur.
The pain covers one side of the face, the temple, shoots into the eye, behind the ear, under the lower jaw.

A migraine attack can last from two hours to two days. Unpleasant sensations are reduced if the patient can exclude the occurrence of irritating factors: lie down in a dark, cool room, rest in complete silence.

Malignant neoplasm

If the tumor is localized in the frontal part of the skull, in the nose, or in the eye, pain may occur when the head is tilted down. Discomfort usually occurs in the morning, after sleep. The patient has not yet gotten out of bed, but he already has a headache, there is a feeling of fatigue and weakness. If you stand up and bend over, the discomfort will intensify. There is also a disturbance in the emotional background - tearfulness, irritability, and a tendency to depression.

Allergic reactions

A sudden headache when bending over, localized only in the area of the forehead or back of the head, crown, may indicate the development of an acute allergic reaction. The patient develops swelling of the face and nose, and bags appear under the eyes. Mucus may flow from the nose and tears from the eyes.

Damage to the cervical spine

Uncomfortable posture during sleep, physical activity in the same position provoke damage to the intervertebral discs and adjacent spinal tissues. Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is accompanied by aching pain in the neck and occipital part of the head. Patients experience dizziness and darkening of the eyes. When you tilt your head down, your head hurts, the pain is throbbing, growing, and radiates to your temples.

Temporal arteritis

Brain hemorrhage

A stroke or rupture of an aneurysm is often accompanied by intense, sharp pain. When the patient tilts his head down, the pain intensifies. Other symptoms of hemorrhage into the cranial cavity:

Severe nausea, vomiting.
Darkening in the eyes.
Loss of orientation in space.
Incoherence of speech.
Loss of consciousness.
Cramps.

If these symptoms appear, the victim should be taken to the hospital immediately. Only urgent medical care can protect a person from the serious consequences of a stroke - paralysis of limbs, loss of speech.

Arterial hypertension

When blood pressure rises, a person complains of dull, pressing, burning pain in the back of the head. Unpleasant sensations seem to spread throughout the head, intensifying with any movement. When you tilt your head down, it puts pressure on your head, and a painful pulsation appears in the back of your head and the crown of your head. Additional symptoms: facial flushing, shortness of breath, dizziness. The person experiences severe weakness.

Why can sinusitis cause headaches?

The nose is the organ through which oxygen enters the body. All microorganisms in the environment can get in with it.

After which an infectious disease occurs, most often of a cold nature.

With such diseases, inflammation of the nasal sinuses usually occurs. Purulent formations are released. That is, this part of your body is in an inflamed state and when you bend down, there is a sharp rush of blood, which leads to a headache.

It is often very easy to confuse a migraine attack and sinusitis; the symptoms are similar. If you have a migraine attack, the headache may be in the frontal or temporal part; when bending down, the pain intensifies, and a feeling of a stuffy nose appears.

Doctors conducted an experiment. About a hundred people were interviewed who thought they had sinusitis. And during the examination it turned out that almost ninety percent of those participating in the experiment suffered from migraine pain.

During migraine attacks, the pain intensifies when triggers appear - bright light, noise, smell. All this happens due to very similar symptoms.

Correct diagnosis brings a positive effect, but an incorrect diagnosis can harm health and prolong the suffering of the patient. Therefore, do not self-medicate under any circumstances.

Headache with sinusitis occurs due to inflammation of the nasal sinuses and their overload. Sinusitis can occur as a result of a cold or infectious disease. Allergies can also cause it.

At such moments, the body’s immune system is weakened, so viruses actively multiply. During the course of sinusitis, breathing through the nose becomes difficult. This can happen due to the accumulation of mucus in the nose or throat. After this, pus forms in the nasal sinuses, which does not come out of the nose. Remaining inside the body, it penetrates through the tissues into the blood.

This is why headaches appear when you tilt your head down. The process of blockage of the nasal sinuses with the subsequent formation of bacteria in them causes headaches.

Diagnostics

If you experience discomfort accompanied by prolonged nasal congestion or mucus discharge from the nasal passages, you should contact an otolaryngologist for help. If a headache when bending over is caused by inflammation of the maxillary sinuses, the doctor will not limit himself to only an external examination of the patient. A survey is conducted to clarify the symptoms of the disease. Then the doctor, using special instruments, examines the patient’s nose. The condition of the nasal septum (curved or straight), the structural features of the sinuses (is there inflammation, swelling, scars) are assessed, and the nasal tissue is examined for clarity. The person should also undergo additional examination:

Take a general blood and urine test.
Take an X-ray of the nose and frontal part of the skull.
Get a CT scan of the head.
Examine the brain using magnetic resonance imaging.
Use Doppler to clarify the condition of large vessels of the neck and brain.

If a patient has a headache when bending over due to sinusitis and the otolaryngologist suspects that the cause of the disease is a prolonged allergy, it is necessary to undergo tests to determine the allergen. To do this, not only a swab of mucus from the nose is performed. Skin allergy tests help to determine the allergen quite reliably.

First aid

First of all, you need to calm the person down, make him sit down, or better yet, put him to bed. The patient should not be allowed to close his eyes and should be helped to focus his vision on a specific object. Closing your eyes may cause you to faint. If there are signs of numbness in the limbs, problems with speech, or sharp pain in the chest area, you should call an ambulance.

The patient should remove tight outer clothing and, if possible, open windows and doors. Fresh cool air has a beneficial effect on the human condition. You can also use a wet towel, placing it gently on your head.

Many people advise drinking a mug of strong cold coffee or mint infusion and giving the patient something sweet to eat.

Drug therapy

Since pain is mainly a symptom of a disease, you can get rid of discomfort by eliminating the underlying cause. The selection of medications for treatment is carried out by a doctor who takes into account not only the diagnosis, but also the general condition of the patient, the course of the disease, and chronic diseases. Main groups of drugs:

Analgesics – to relieve migraine pain. Sometimes it is necessary to use complex agents to eliminate discomfort (antispasmodic + analgesic).
Triptans are medications that relieve migraine headaches.
Antispasmodics - to eliminate vascular spasm, causing throbbing, burning pain.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - often used for sinusitis if the patient has a headache when bending down.
Antihistamines - to relieve an allergic reaction.
Corticosteroids - used for prolonged allergic rhinitis, as well as for the treatment of bronchial asthma, which can also be accompanied by headaches. Treatment with hormonal drugs is also indicated for temporal arteritis.
Medicines to lower blood pressure. Used to relieve headaches caused by arterial hypertension.

Treatment is not limited to taking only one specific drug. To achieve a positive effect, it is necessary to take medications in combination.

Treatment

Treatment of headaches is aimed at eliminating the cause of the painful symptom, which worsens when tilting the head. After reviewing the diagnosis, the doctor selects medications, taking into account the patient’s condition and the presence of chronic diseases. Main groups:

Analgesics provide relief during a migraine attack. To enhance the effect they are combined with antispasmodics.
Triptans - effectively relieve discomfort during migraines.
Antispasmodics eliminate vascular spasm, which provokes a burning pulsation in the head.
NSAIDs are often prescribed for sinusitis, when pain occurs when tilting the head down.
Antihistamines relieve allergic reactions.
Corticosteroids are prescribed for persistent allergic rhinitis.

Interesting: Why does your head hurt after you cry?

Pain Relief Treatments

Traditional therapy involves not only taking medications, but also undergoing special procedures that can help relieve pain in the head when bending down.

Inhalations. They are used for sinusitis; a nebulizer can be used for treatment.
Massage and manual therapy. Help relieve tension from the muscles of the neck and head. Most often used for osteochondrosis.
Physiotherapy: electropheresis, photopheresis, magnetic therapy. Effectively reduce swelling of the mucous membrane during sinusitis, help eliminate headaches caused by osteochondrosis.
Electrosleep. Helps to relax and relieve discomfort caused by nervous tension.
Installation of drainage for drainage of purulent contents. It is carried out for sinusitis, it can be carried out both through the nasal openings and through the forehead.

To get rid of pain faster, you need to engage in physical therapy. If the patient has not consulted a doctor for a long period, the disease progresses and is not amenable to therapeutic treatment, surgical intervention may be prescribed.

Causes

The causes of dizziness when changing body position can be both harmless and quite serious.

The first include the following circumstances:

a person makes sudden movements, suddenly changes direction while walking quickly;
unbalanced diet;
irregular food intake;
stress caused by worry or anxiety;
taking certain medications with a sedative or antihistamine effect;
sleep problems;
fatigue from physical activity;
poisoning;
staying in premises that do not meet sanitary standards.

Sometimes the cause may be motion sickness in vehicles, being at high altitude, or hunger.

Dizziness and nausea when changing body position are sometimes a symptom of the following ailments:

unstable functioning of the vestibular apparatus, which manifests itself when the head feels dizzy when tilting down, as well as when moving up or forward;
flu and colds;
severe dizziness occurs due to ear inflammation;
perilymphatic fistula provokes attacks of dizziness and hearing problems;
Meniere's disease;
diseases of the spine, in particular osteochondrosis;
this symptom, along with tinnitus, lack of coordination of movements and darkening of the eyes, is one of the signs of a stroke;
a brain tumor;
hypotension;
problems with blood vessels;
migraine;
some forms of diabetes;
cervical spine injury;
heart diseases.

It is not always possible to immediately answer the question of why you feel dizzy when bending over. If dizziness with sudden movements constantly bothers you, it is recommended to consult a doctor for a thorough examination of the whole body.

Traditional methods of treatment

If a patient comes to the doctor and complains, “When I bend over, my head hurts,” in addition to taking medications for sinusitis and undergoing special procedures, the doctor may recommend using traditional treatment.

For chronic sinusitis, the sinuses are warmed up with heated salt and boiled eggs.
The nose can be rinsed with a saline solution prepared at home from sea or table salt.
To eliminate inflammation, it is recommended to drink decoctions of medicinal herbs: chamomile, horse sorrel, elderflower, primrose.

Attention! Traditional methods of eliminating discomfort can only be used as an addition to traditional therapy.

Prevention

In order to get headaches when bending over as little as possible, you need to change your lifestyle. Eliminate from the diet foods that provoke headaches, as well as baked goods, mayonnaise, and fatty fast food (provokes atherosclerosis, leading to hypertension).

Maintain sufficient humidity (60-80%) and low temperature in the room. This will help avoid colds and worsening allergies.

Patients suffering from pain in the head need to be attentive to their health. If your headache when bending down is acute or continues for a long period of time, be sure to consult a doctor.