NECK PAIN OR STIFFNESS 143
Do you have any of the following?
Temperature of 100.4 ° F( 38 ° C) or above
Severe headache
Drowsiness or confusion
Dislike of bright light
Nausea or vomiting
None of the above
ACTION
DIAL 911 OR CALL EMS
! You may have meningitis( infection inflaming membranes around the brain).
Does either of the following apply?
Pain is severe enough to prevent movement
Pain shoots down one arm from the neck
Neither
Can you feel any tenderness or swelling at the sides or the back of the neck?
Yes
ACTION
SEE YOUR DOCTOR WITHIN 24 HOURS Your neck pain may be due to pressure on a nerve as a result of a slipped disk or osteoarthritis of the upper spine.
ACTION
TRY SELF-HELP MEASURES You may have strained your neck overstretching a muscle.
• Rest your neck as much as possible by lying down.
• Take a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, such as ibuprofen, to ease the pain.
• Keeping your neck warm with a heating pad or covered hotwater bottle may help.
CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR if you are no better in 3 days.
ACTION
GO TO ANOTHER CHART Lumps and swellings, p. 80
No
ACTION
MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TO SEE YOUR DOCTOR if you cannot identify a possible cause for your neck pain or stiffness from this chart.
Did either of the following apply in the 24 hours before the onset of pain?
You exercised unusually strenuously
You sat or slept in an awkward position
Neither