Ice Pick headaches

Ice pick headaches are sharp, stabbing pains occurring as a single stab or as a series of stabs, occurring mostly in the eye and orbit, temple, or parietal regions. Stabs last a few seconds, and may recur throughout the day, usually at irregular intervals. This headache type is not well understood, even though it occurs more commonly in migraine sufferers. Although this is often referred to as ice pick headache, the official term according to the International Headache Society is Primary Stabbing Headache. It has also been referred to as “jabs and jolts.”

Treatment of icepick headaches is difficult, because the pain comes and goes too quickly to take anything. These stabbing head pains tend to be a little more common if you also have migraines or cluster headaches, but ice pick headaches can occur independently. Some studies indicate a female predominance for icepick headaches.

updated 2/20/10