What Causes Headache With Bump On Scalp?

Posted on Mon, 16 Jun 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 16 Jun 2014 Answered on

Mon, 7 Jul 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : My 9 year old daughter said her head hurt and said she had a bump on her scalp. I felt and it was a grape size hard mass ( bone like ) on the very center top of her head. She said it was painful. She denies hitting her head at all. What is this?

Answered by Dr. Grzegorz Stanko (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Abscess.

Detailed Answer:
Hello!

Thank you for the query.

If there was no injury at all, most probable reason of such bump giving the pain is some infection in the pain area. Most likely she have had a lump there before which was not infected (like sebaceus cyst).
Pain and hardness are very characteristic for pus accumulation due to some infection. She may also have fever.
As this is in the head area, where any infection can spread to the brain, please do not wait with it. Consult your doctor as soon as possible. In case of doubts, soft tissues ultrasound should be done. Abscess should be incised and pus drained.

Hope this will help. Feel free to ask further questions.
Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar