Weird scalp stinging
June 9, 2020 5:16 AM Subscribe
I have an appointment with my doctor tomorrow, but I'm so curious what this could be. More below the fold so as not to waste space here.
First off, YANMD. I have an appointment with mine tomorrow at 2pm.
About a month ago it felt like I was getting stung on 3 or 4 places on my scalp. It was really painful and went to my neck/shoulder area, then back to my scalp again. It lasted maybe 10 seconds, then was mostly gone until last night. Last night when taking my (long) hair down I got the same pain. It is limited to one area maybe the size of a pea. I touch that area and it feels like I'm getting stung, it really hurts. My SO checked my scalp and there's nothing there. No ticks, bumps, rash, or red spots. Possibly related I have excema and migraines with auditory hallucinations (auras). I smell burning things, and my doctor knows about all that. I don't take sumatriptan more than twice a month.
Anyone have (or know of) anything similar to this?
First off, YANMD. I have an appointment with mine tomorrow at 2pm.
About a month ago it felt like I was getting stung on 3 or 4 places on my scalp. It was really painful and went to my neck/shoulder area, then back to my scalp again. It lasted maybe 10 seconds, then was mostly gone until last night. Last night when taking my (long) hair down I got the same pain. It is limited to one area maybe the size of a pea. I touch that area and it feels like I'm getting stung, it really hurts. My SO checked my scalp and there's nothing there. No ticks, bumps, rash, or red spots. Possibly related I have excema and migraines with auditory hallucinations (auras). I smell burning things, and my doctor knows about all that. I don't take sumatriptan more than twice a month.
Anyone have (or know of) anything similar to this?
I had this last month. It hadn't happened before and it startled me. But then I figured I was stressed out and it was making my hair hurt. It's a thing. It went away as suddenly as it came.
Your head also has a bunch of muscles connecting it to your body, and sometimes those can spasm or pull.
posted by zennie at 6:28 AM on June 9, 2020
Your head also has a bunch of muscles connecting it to your body, and sometimes those can spasm or pull.
posted by zennie at 6:28 AM on June 9, 2020
Does this generally happen when taking your hair down? Because I do sometimes get pain and prickles in my scalp when I have had my hair up too tight. I have always assumed it's just a reaction to having the skin pulled for a long period of time, when I let it down there's a sort of stinging reaction to the movement of the hair which then just goes away. So if it's that, my vote is that it's harmless and maybe find a different way to put your hair up.
Full disclosure, I do get bad stress headaches and have had visual only migraines, don't know if that is related.
posted by stillnocturnal at 6:31 AM on June 9, 2020
Full disclosure, I do get bad stress headaches and have had visual only migraines, don't know if that is related.
posted by stillnocturnal at 6:31 AM on June 9, 2020
I had some scalp pain and sensitivity where it felt like the roots of my hair and a tiny area of my scalp hurt that radiated when I touched it. Also no redness, bumps, nothing visible. I changed to shampoo and conditioner (prior, I was using a "clean", detergent free, co-wash like cleanser for 8 months), started washing my hair more frequently (prior was once a week), and stopped putting it up at night. After a month, the pain went away.
Since I did a lot of changes at once, I'm not sure which thing caused it, but I'm just glad it's gone.
That said, there are some products in shampoos known to cause an allergic reaction, including organic ingredients from essential oils and botanicals. There's a good list here and it's worth looking at the ingredients in your hair products and asking your doctor about it.
posted by vivzan at 7:23 AM on June 9, 2020
Since I did a lot of changes at once, I'm not sure which thing caused it, but I'm just glad it's gone.
That said, there are some products in shampoos known to cause an allergic reaction, including organic ingredients from essential oils and botanicals. There's a good list here and it's worth looking at the ingredients in your hair products and asking your doctor about it.
posted by vivzan at 7:23 AM on June 9, 2020
Someone I know with similar symptoms was diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia.
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 10:31 AM on June 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 10:31 AM on June 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
The thought I had based on me and my friends' experiences was to ask about Shingles.
posted by miles1972 at 5:37 PM on June 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by miles1972 at 5:37 PM on June 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
When you got that 10 second pain on several places on your scalp that went to your neck and shoulders and then back to your scalp, it sounds like a pinched nerve, except that I think pain nerves for your shoulder come out of the spine and pain nerves for your scalp go through your skull (lots via the trigeminal nerve mentioned by Orange Dinosaur Slide) so it would be strange for both sets of nerves to be pinched at the same time.
But if your auditory migraine auras are like my visual auras, which result from the visual cortex swelling and pushing against the skull, maybe those pains resulted from direct stimulation of pain receptors in your brain caused by migraine related localized swelling of the brain.
And I've heard that migraine can be associated with minor and relatively inconsequential extra lesions in the brain, so I would guess you're getting crosstalk between pain and other sensory nerves in your brain from some residual problems left over from that 10 second episode of pain a month ago.
If so, it'll probably just subside eventually, but I'd be sure to mention both the original episode of pain and the pea sized painful patch to your doctor.
posted by jamjam at 8:34 PM on June 9, 2020
But if your auditory migraine auras are like my visual auras, which result from the visual cortex swelling and pushing against the skull, maybe those pains resulted from direct stimulation of pain receptors in your brain caused by migraine related localized swelling of the brain.
And I've heard that migraine can be associated with minor and relatively inconsequential extra lesions in the brain, so I would guess you're getting crosstalk between pain and other sensory nerves in your brain from some residual problems left over from that 10 second episode of pain a month ago.
If so, it'll probably just subside eventually, but I'd be sure to mention both the original episode of pain and the pea sized painful patch to your doctor.
posted by jamjam at 8:34 PM on June 9, 2020
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posted by crocomancer at 5:33 AM on June 9, 2020 [1 favorite]