Sexual headache – taboo subject with a high degree of arousal
“Darling, not today – I have a headache” sounds trite. In addition, it is said to be used as an excuse for the “most beautiful thing in the world”. But for many people, the worst headaches come during intercourse, not before.
Men are affected more often.
Also, it’s not generally women who struggle with headaches during sex. Men, in particular, between the ages of 25 and 50, are affected three to four times more often than women. Most often, the headache comes on explosively during orgasm.
Around 70% of those affected report that they were attacked “in a flash” by this painful side effect. In other patients, a dull pain spreads in the head and neck, which becomes stronger with increasing excitement and is more like a tension headache.
In most patients, sex headache only occurs for a few months and then goes away. However, the symptoms can still return years later. Studies show that migraine patients are particularly affected. The doctors can determine a family-related predisposition to attack-like headaches in about a quarter of the patients. High blood pressure and altered sexual practices also increase the risk.
cause and effect
Anyone who suffers a severe headache attack during sexual intercourse must first urgently clarify whether cerebral haemorrhage or a stroke may be the cause. In most cases, such life-threatening headache triggers can be ruled out.
There are still no clear indications of how the symptoms develop. Still, stress researchers assume that the processing of stress stimuli in the affected patients’ brains needs to be fixed.
This also affects the regulation of the arteries in the brain. The blood vessels cannot adjust properly to the rise in blood pressure, causing the brain to be supplied with the wrong blood. Similar mechanisms are also known for migraine patients.
Abstinence is not necessary.
Explosive headaches during intercourse are painful and uncomfortable. They are problematic to the sufferer but generally harmless. Anyone who suffers from these attacks more often does not have to do without sexual intercourse.
However, a little discipline can help limit or prevent headaches altogether. You should, therefore, avoid quickies or excessive excitement. The “cuddle variant” with slowly increasing excitement helps not to overload the stimulus processing in the brain.
As a prophylactic, acetylsalicylic acid can be taken one hour before sexual intercourse after consultation with the doctor. For long-term sex headaches, beta-blockers and other antihypertensive drugs can also be used. A thorough medical evaluation is necessary to remove the phrase “Honey, stop it. I’m getting a headache” from your vocabulary.
