When to Go to the Emergency Room for a Migraine?

A joint study by the National Headache Foundation and the Urgent Care Association of America indicates that you are usually better off going to an Urgent Care center or contacting your own physician than going to the Emergency Room for a migraine, but there are a few danger signs that do warrant emergency treatment.

Migraine or Not?

• A migraine headache usually consists of throbbing or pulsing pain on one side of the head, accompanied by light and sound sensitivity and nausea, according to the National Headache Foundation. One in five sufferers experience an aura before the headache itself, with symptoms such as visual disturbances, odd smells and tingling of the face or arms. More worrisome aura symptoms include cognitive impairments and difficulty speaking.

  If you have already been diagnosed with migraines, and you go to an emergency room or urgent care facility, you will be asked what your treatment plan is and whether you followed it. Whether you did, and it failed, or you did not, answer honestly to receive effective treatment.

Options

• According to the National Headache Foundation, you should proceed directly to the nearest emergency room if:
  --- You have an intense headache on one side of your head that came on rapidly and involves neurological symptoms such as numbness, weakness or eye symptoms such as drooping eyelids.
  --- You have intense head pain that came on after a head injury or trauma.
  --- You are experiencing breathing difficulties.

  You should visit an Urgent Care facility if:
  --- Your prescribed treatment plan has not provided relief.
  --- Your headache has gone on for 72 hours.
  --- The pain is worse than any other migraine you have ever had.
  --- Your headache is accompanied by new symptoms.

  You should contact your physician if:
  --- You cannot or do not wish to follow your prescribed migraine treatment plan.
  --- Your migraines are getting worse or longer gradually rather than suddenly.
  --- You have had to go to the emergency room or an urgent care facility.

Cost

• It is also important to remember that the cost of a given treatment rises when it is provided in a faster-paced unit. Treatment in an emergency room is very expensive, and while you cannot be refused treatment, the price tag may cause a headache of its own. A visit to an urgent care facility is usually more expensive than a doctor's appointment (depending on your health care coverage), but much less expensive than a visit to the emergency room, and will often result in faster treatment. Calling your physician for advice or a short-notice appointment is often the most cost-effective choice, if it is available.