From the Guidelines
Yes, strep infections can cause headaches, as evidenced by the clinical findings suggestive of GAS as the cause of an episode of acute pharyngitis, which include sore throat, pain on swallowing, fever, and headache 1.
Clinical Presentation
The headache occurs as part of the body's inflammatory response to the bacterial infection. As the immune system fights the strep bacteria, it releases chemicals that can cause pain and inflammation throughout the body, including in the head.
- Headaches may range from mild to severe and often accompany other symptoms like:
- Swollen tonsils
- Difficulty swallowing
- Tender lymph nodes in the neck
Diagnosis and Treatment
If you suspect a strep infection, it's essential to see a healthcare provider for proper diagnosis, typically through a rapid strep test or throat culture 1.
- Treatment usually involves antibiotics such as penicillin or amoxicillin for a full 10-day course, even if symptoms improve earlier.
- Completing the entire antibiotic regimen is crucial to prevent complications like rheumatic fever or kidney inflammation.
- Over-the-counter pain relievers like acetaminophen or ibuprofen can help manage headache pain and fever while the antibiotics work to clear the infection.
Key Considerations
It's also important to note that while strep infections can cause headaches, not all headaches are caused by strep infections. A proper diagnosis by a healthcare provider is necessary to determine the cause of the headache and appropriate treatment.
- The clinical findings and diagnosis of strep infections are supported by studies published in reputable journals, such as the American Heart Association and the Infectious Diseases Society of America 1.
From the Research
Streptococcal Infection and Headaches
- Streptococcal infection can cause a range of symptoms, including headaches, as noted in a study on streptococcal acute pharyngitis 2.
- The study found that symptom onset in streptococcal infection is usually abrupt and includes intense sore throat, fever, chills, malaise, headache, tender enlarged anterior cervical lymph nodes, and pharyngeal or tonsillar exudate.
- Another study investigated the relationship between streptococcal infection and meningismus in children suffering from chronic headaches, and found that a majority of children with headaches associated with meningismus had evidence of a streptococcal infection 3.
- This suggests that streptococcal infection may play an important role in the etiology of meningismus-positive chronic headaches in children.
- Headaches can also be attributed to infectious diseases, including streptococcal infections, as noted in a review of headaches attributable to infectious diseases 4.
- However, not all studies specifically mention headaches as a symptom of streptococcal infection, such as a study on group A streptococcal infections in children, which found that fever was the most common presenting symptom 5.
- A study on streptococcal pharyngitis also did not mention headaches as a common symptom, but rather focused on the diagnosis and treatment of the infection 6.