What is a post-lumbar puncture headache?
Asked by Liz Downes of Las Vegas, Nevada, USA There are all sorts of unusual forms of headaches that most people have never heard about. The post-lumbar puncture headache is one of them. This form of headache occurs after one has a spinal tap (lumbar puncture). According to the Mayo Clinic, headaches of this kind are often accompanied by stiffness in the neck, ringing in the ears, light sensitivity, nausea, and hearing impairment. The headache generally develops within a week after the spinal tap and typically resolves within a week. Such a headache can be debilitating. A post-lumbar headache may start when one stands up and stop when one lies down. There is some debate as to what percent of patients who have a spinal tap also develop a post-lumbar puncture headache. An article by Heidi Moore in Pulmonary Reviews in December 2000 estimated that the figure was “[N]early a third or more”. But a more recent review by Dr R Gaiser of the University of Pennsylvania and published in Current O
