Although this headache type is sometimes listed as one of the less frequently occurring headaches, some version of the phrase “ice pick headache” remains in the top search terms for this website month after month. So, either it occurs more frequently than previously appreciated, or the symptoms are so terribly bothersome that it drives sufferers to seek information. Perhaps both.
What are Ice Pick Headaches?
Ice pick headaches (called primary stabbing headache now in the International Headache Diagnostic Criteria) are defined as either a single stab or a series of stabs felt in the orbital region, temporal area, or parietal area of the head. Stabs occur with irregular frequency. On days that they occur, they may occur only once, or may occur many times per day, but with no regularity. Duration of stabs is short, usually a few seconds.
Stabbing headache or ice pick headaches can occur as an isolated headache type, but occur more commonly in migraine or cluster headache sufferers. The pain experienced can be very intense, and tends to hit without warning. If you experience tears, redness of the eye, and nasal stuffiness in conjunction with stabbing pains in the temporal region or the orbital region, it is likely that you have a rare headache type known as SUNCT (Short-lasting Unilateral Neuralgiform headache attacks with Conjuctival injection and Tearing), which is one of the Trigeminal Autonomic Cephalgias.
Headache textbooks tend to be somewhat dismissive of stabbing headache, indicating that reassurance should be offered, since this headache type does not indicate underlying pathology such as a tumor or aneurysm. This, however, is not terribly helpful to the sufferer who is experiencing the sensation of needles, ice picks or tiny knives being jabbed into their head on a recurring but unpredictable basis.
Some sufferers of stabbing headaches indicate that they started to experience them in childhood. Most attacks of ice pick headache occur randomly and without warning, although some sufferers have identified emotional or other stressors as triggers. Treatment is problematic, since the attacks are so short. In some cases, indomethacin taken preventatively will be helpful, but this is by no means universally so. As with many headache types, more information is needed before we more fully understand the underlying causes and can offer a meaningful solution.
