Same-day headache treatment · St. Louis
Headache Treatment in St. Louis
Severe headache? Get relief today.
Call or text us and we will get you in today. A pain physician gives IV therapy, nerve blocks and oxygen for migraine, cluster and other severe headaches.
Should you go to the ER or a headache clinic?
An emergency department is the right place for a headache that might be a bleed, an infection or a stroke. It is a poor place for a headache you already know the name of. You wait behind sicker patients. You are usually treated by a clinician who does not manage headache disorders day to day. And the visit often ends with a shot and a referral rather than a plan.
This clinic exists for the second situation. We treat the attack in front of us. We use the same tools a headache specialist would reach for — intravenous therapy, targeted nerve blocks, and oxygen for cluster attacks. If what you describe suggests something dangerous, we will tell you plainly and send you to an emergency department.
What type of headache do you have?
Headaches are not one condition. The treatment that stops one does very little for another. Finding the pattern is most of the work.
- Migraine — throbbing, often one-sided, with nausea and sensitivity to light or sound. Usually worsened by movement.
- Cluster headache — severe, strictly one-sided pain around or behind the eye, with a watering eye, drooping lid or blocked nostril on the same side. Attacks come in bouts.
- Tension-type headache — a pressing band on both sides, mild to moderate, without nausea.
- Occipital neuralgia — sharp, electric pain running from the base of the skull up the back of the head.
- Cervicogenic headache — pain that starts in the neck and is referred upward (felt higher in the head), often set off by neck position.
- We also treat head and neck cancer pain and persistent pain after dental treatment. These are not headaches, but they share the same nerves.
What can be done for a severe headache in one visit?
- IV migraine therapy — fluids with anti-nausea medicine, magnesium and an anti-inflammatory. It is for an attack that has not broken with treatment by mouth.
- Occipital nerve block — local anesthetic at the base of the skull, for occipital neuralgia and cervicogenic headache.
- Sphenopalatine ganglion block — anesthetic delivered through the nose to a nerve bundle behind it. Office-based, no sedation.
- Oxygen therapy — high-flow oxygen, a first-line abortive for cluster headache.
When is a headache an emergency?
Go to an emergency department or call 911 instead of coming here if you have any of the following. These point to causes that need imaging and hospital care, not outpatient headache treatment.
- A headache that reaches maximum intensity within seconds — the “worst headache of your life”
- Headache with fever, a stiff neck, or a new rash
- Weakness, numbness, trouble speaking, loss of vision, or confusion
- Headache after a head injury, or a headache that began with a seizure
- A new headache if you are pregnant, over 50, immunosuppressed, or have a history of cancer
Frequently asked questions
What kind of doctor should I see for a severe headache?
For a headache you already know the name of, such as migraine or cluster headache, see a physician who treats headache disorders day to day. Here that is a pain physician. He uses the same tools a headache specialist reaches for: IV therapy, targeted nerve blocks and oxygen. A headache that might be a bleed, an infection or a stroke belongs in an emergency department.
Can I get a severe headache treated the same day in St. Louis?
Yes. Call or text us and we will get you in today. We treat the attack in front of you with IV therapy, a targeted nerve block, or high-flow oxygen for a cluster attack. Which one depends on your headache. Finding the pattern is most of the work, because the treatment that stops one headache does very little for another.
How can I tell a migraine from a cluster headache?
Migraine is usually throbbing and often one-sided. It comes with nausea and sensitivity to light or sound, and movement makes it worse. Cluster headache is severe, strictly one-sided pain around or behind the eye. It comes with a watering eye, drooping lid or blocked nostril on the same side, and the attacks come in bouts. The difference decides the treatment.
What if my headache turns out to be something dangerous?
If what you describe suggests something dangerous, we will tell you plainly and send you to an emergency department. Those causes need imaging and hospital care, not outpatient headache treatment. Warning signs include a headache that peaks within seconds, fever with a stiff neck, weakness, numbness, trouble speaking, vision loss or confusion, and a headache after a head injury.
What does the ER give you for a migraine?
Most emergency departments give an IV anti-nausea drug such as metoclopramide or prochlorperazine, usually with fluids, often ketorolac and diphenhydramine, and sometimes a dose of dexamethasone to stop the headache coming back. Those drug classes are the backbone of our IV therapy too. What changes here is the wait, and that the visit asks why you keep needing rescue instead of ending with a discharge sheet. See what IV therapy does when a migraine will not break.