Question:medium
Post spinal headache lasts for?
Post spinal headache lasts for?
Show Hint
Self-limiting postural headache from a CSF leak resolves in about a week to ten days.
Updated On: Jun 24, 2026
- 10 min
- 1 hr
- 10 days
- 1 week
Show Solution
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: The complaint described is the classic post dural puncture headache after spinal anaesthesia. Its mechanism is continued CSF escape from the needle hole at a rate faster than the body can replace it, dropping intracranial pressure.
Step 2: Low CSF volume lets the brain sag and pulls on the dura and tentorium, giving a postural frontal or occipital headache that flares when upright and eases when supine. Cranial nerve traction, especially the sixth nerve, can cause diplopia.
Step 3: Timing matters for the answer. The headache typically begins 1 to 3 days after the tap and resolves over roughly a week to ten days with conservative care, or sooner with an epidural blood patch. Among the choices, the 7 to 10 day duration matches 10 days.
\[\boxed{\text{10 days}}\]
Step 2: Low CSF volume lets the brain sag and pulls on the dura and tentorium, giving a postural frontal or occipital headache that flares when upright and eases when supine. Cranial nerve traction, especially the sixth nerve, can cause diplopia.
Step 3: Timing matters for the answer. The headache typically begins 1 to 3 days after the tap and resolves over roughly a week to ten days with conservative care, or sooner with an epidural blood patch. Among the choices, the 7 to 10 day duration matches 10 days.
\[\boxed{\text{10 days}}\]
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