# Why does my scalp get sore when I get sick? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 3, 2013, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-scalp-get-sore-when-i-get-sick/645927 "2013-01-03T06:23:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-scalp-get-sore-when-i-get-sick/645927/1 "2013-01-03T06:23:37Z")
Google has not helped me with this, other than to confirm that others experience a similar problem (though not necessarily the scalp; it seems to be skin in general for some people.) Usually it’s when I have the flu, but last night I had a very severe but thankfully short-lived bout of food poisoning. Today I’m pretty much fine, other than a bit headachy from lack of sleep since I had to run to the bathroom every 15 minutes or so for a large part of the night. Today my scalp, specifically along the part, is quite tender to the touch, just like it is when I have a bad case of the flu. Could it be the aftermath of a fever, somehow? I didn’t take my temperature last night, but I did have bad chills/flush, and would not be surprised if a thermometer registered an above-normal temperature. I don’t think it is dehydration related, as I drank quite a few glasses of water to compensate for the, er, outflow. (MODS - move to IMHO if you like; this seems right on the border of a factual matter that belongs in GQ and the medical queries that go in IMHO.) ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-scalp-get-sore-when-i-get-sick/645927/2 "2013-01-03T06:38:51Z")
Whenever I have a bad case of flu coming on, the skin of my lower back becomes tender. I don’t have a backache per se, just soreness in the dermis. It gives me advanced alert to start chugging vitamin C. No idea why, though. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-scalp-get-sore-when-i-get-sick/645927/3 "2013-01-03T06:45:34Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > Today I’m a bit headachy from lack of sleep since I had to run to the bathroom every 15 minutes or so for a large part of the night..) Sleeping bag and pillow in the bathroom helps in these situations. ---
**Author:** ![al27052](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/41988e/32.png) [@al27052](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/al27052)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-scalp-get-sore-when-i-get-sick/645927/4 "2013-01-03T06:47:34Z")
I know of someone else who complains of scalp tenderness when she gets sick. ---
**Author:** ![Colakerr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@Colakerr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colakerr)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2017, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-scalp-get-sore-when-i-get-sick/645927/5 "2017-12-25T12:09:39Z")
The top of my scalp becomes tender when I am ill with cough/cold/ flu symptoms. I suspect it’s an indication I have a virus. It’s a handy indicator as occasionally when I feel below par I can get early confirmation of an infection by patting the top of my head. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2017, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-scalp-get-sore-when-i-get-sick/645927/6 "2017-12-25T14:16:36Z")
left side of my scalp gets tender to the touch. I had never previously associated it with cold of flu but is very possible since I had it last month for about two weeks and I also had the flu or something similar. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2017, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-scalp-get-sore-when-i-get-sick/645927/7 "2017-12-25T15:04:29Z")
As an uneducated guess, it could be referred pain from muscles. I once saw a massage therapist. She’d squeeze my sternocleidomastoid muscle in my neck, which would cause pain on the top of my head. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2017, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-scalp-get-sore-when-i-get-sick/645927/8 "2017-12-25T15:55:38Z")
(zombie thread noted, but OP and most respondents are still active and it wasn’t really answered) from what I understand, that’s all part of the initial “innate immune response” to a viral infection. [http://www.virology.ws/2009/06/03/innate-immune-defenses/](http://www.virology.ws/2009/06/03/innate-immune-defenses/) your body produces cytokines in order to try a “first line” defense against an invader, which causes the typical muscle pain, fatigue, etc. and are why so many viral infections are described as starting with “flu-like symptoms.”