A question for health care providers re: Spinal headache?

Question

My friend had a baby 8/26. She had an epidural for labor pains. She developed a spinal headache after it was removed and they sent her home without doing anything about it except the visiting nurses were checking on her every other day. I talked to her today and this was the fourth day with the spinal headache. THe nurses wanted her to "ride it out" until this Thursday! I told her to call her doctor and tell her this is not right to do something about it today. She went to the hospital today and they did a blood patch on her spine. INstant relief. Am I right in saying they never should of sent her and a newborn home when she had a spinal headache?

Answer 1

Why?  If you had a headache that will probably go away in 4-5 days that required someone sticking a needle into your spinal cord (with all the potential risks) to make it go away a couple days sooner, would you be all gung ho to do it?  I'd probably think twice.

Hopefully your friend actually had a discussion with her doctor about whether it was worth doing anything about or not, and came to an agreement.  If not, then it was either her fault, the doctor's fault, or both of their fault that that discussion and agreement did not occur.  If they did, then they made a plan based on good informed consent, but they got bad results through neither of their faults.

To say that "they" should not send someone home with a spinal headache is incorrect, but it is always wrong to consent to decisions without considering information from the doctor, or for a doctor to not inform you of what you should know.

Answer 2

A spinal headache is usually due to a needle inadvertently piercing the membrane covering the spinal cord during an epidural anasthesia.

Usually it passes off in 24-48 hours after the onset. It is not essential to keep the patient in the ward until the head ache passes off. The doctor can decide on it. Conservative treatment is all that is required.The nurse could have adviced to consult the doctor when you were worried.

If the headache becomes severe consultation should be done.

But if the patient or relatives insists on keeping the patient in hospital until the head ache passes off the patient is allowed to stay.

Sometimes conservative treatment is done up to seven days.

I am a medical doctor.

Answer 3

Its a known side effect, and it can last weeks before going away.