Patient Information for a Spinal Headache

A lumbar puncture or a spinal tap is a diagnostic test, where a sample of the fluid that surrounds your spine is drawn out with a needle. While lumbar punctures are generally safe, the test does pose a risk for some side effects, including spinal headaches.

Significance

• Approximately 30 percent of people who undergo a spinal tap or lumbar puncture develop spinal headaches, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Causes

• Spinal headaches occur because removing your spinal fluid decreases the amount of pressure that the fluid exerts on your brain. This change in pressure results in the pain associated with spinal headaches.

Symptoms

• The pain from a spinal headache is most common when you are sitting up or standing and decreases when you are laying down. The discomfort is sometimes accompanied by dizziness, ringing in your ears, nausea and blurred vision.

Time Frame

• Spinal headaches normally develop 12 to 24 hours after you undergo a lumbar puncture, according to the Mayo Clinic. Unless your spinal headache lasts for more than one day, your doctor is not likely to perform any treatment for the condition.

Treatment

• When necessary, spinal headaches can be treated by injecting a small amount of your own blood into the area where the lumbar puncture was performed or by administering caffeine or saline intravenously.