Does your head ever feel hot inside? A sudden warm sensation in the head can feel not only strange but unnerving too. As a neurological (nerve-related) condition, multiple sclerosis (MS) can produce random, uncomfortable, and even painful sensations — like muscle spasms or the MS hug — in various parts of the body. Unusual physical sensations, such as a warm sensation in the head, may be less common symptoms of MS, but they can happen.

If you have MS, it’s important to know that neurological symptoms include a range of central nervous system issues, including unusual feelings called paresthesias (altered sensations). Here, we discuss possible reasons your head might feel abnormally warm and what you should do if you experience this symptom.

MyMSTeam Members Talk About Altered Sensations

Members of MyMSTeam have experienced altered sensations, including an unusually warm head. One member asked, “Has anyone else had a warm sensation in their head or brain?”

Another member shared, “I was suddenly awakened this morning around 4:30 a.m. with this weird, almost burning, sensation on the right side of my head and brain area.”

Some members have noticed this sensation in association with warm weather. “If it’s a hot day, I can get an intense feeling of being hot in my face and head,” wrote one. Usually, I get a little disoriented and dizzy, too.”

Another wrote, “It felt like warm fluid was moving through my head.”

Many sensory symptoms are not painful, but they can be disconcerting. “It was really creepy, but it didn’t hurt per se,” a member said.

These feelings can happen at any stage of MS. “When I first started having symptoms, I remember that the top of my head felt like it was burning,” one member said, adding that the symptom was resolved through MS treatment: “I haven’t felt my head burning since I got on all of this medicine.”

Altered Sensations as a Symptom of Multiple Sclerosis

If you’re living with MS, you may be familiar with altered sensations and numbness (lack of sensation) in different parts of your body. Altered sensations are fairly common and are sometimes the first symptom of MS. Although considered a type of nerve pain, these sensations don’t always feel painful.

In addition to temperature-related changes, common altered sensations include:

• Itchiness
• Wetness
• Trickling
• Crawling
• Feeling of electric shock

Doctors may refer to those sensations as paresthesias or sometimes hyperesthesias. When sensations are painful, they are referred to as dysesthesias. Common dysesthesias include:

• Stabbing
• Pricking
• Burning

The next time you experience altered sensations, think about how to best describe them. Do they hurt? When did they start? How long did they last? What made them go away? Recognizing patterns can help you avoid triggering altered sensations and MS paresthesias and give you strategies to better manage them when they do occur.

Reasons Your Head Might Feel Hot

So why does your head feel hot when you don’t have a fever? A sensation of warmth in the face, on the scalp, or inside the head can occur for many reasons. For someone with MS, these feelings are likely caused by nerve damage.

MS is a neurological disease that disrupts the nerve fibers that carry sensory information between your brain and spinal cord. MS causes immune system dysfunction, resulting in damage and lesions to myelin — the protective layer around nerve cells.

This damage can cause your nerves to produce random signals and send them to your brain, which may confuse these random signals with sensations that are more familiar but aren’t occurring, such as outside temperature changes. This phenomenon is why you might experience altered sensations, like warmth or coldness, although the actual temperature hasn’t changed.

The exact number of people with MS who experience temperature-related altered sensations, like feeling warmth in the head, is unclear. A study published in Multiple Sclerosis found that of 224 people with MS, about 40 percent experienced altered sensations — including burning, itching, crawling, and electric shocks — that lasted seconds to minutes.

Some people with MS may also experience other types of sudden warm sensations in the head area, including a flushed face or trigeminal neuralgia, which can cause stabbing or burning sensations on the side of the face, usually one side. Finally, people with MS may also have other health conditions, such as migraine, which could cause this abnormal feeling.

5 Strategies To Manage Altered Sensations With MS

Altered sensations, or paresthesias, caused by MS can be managed in various ways. Depending on the severity of your symptoms, your MS care provider may prescribe medications such as gabapentin (Neurontin) or other neuropathic pain agents, which are sometimes also used to treat depression. They may also suggest occupational therapy, which can help you cope with the effects of altered sensations on your daily life.

Here are other ways to help manage altered sensations with MS.

1. Stick With Your MS Treatment Regimen

A person is more likely to notice paresthesias during an MS relapse (flare-up, a period when symptoms become active). Speak with your health care provider about all your symptoms, including any altered sensations. Recognizing these and other symptoms is crucial to developing the best treatment plan to meet your unique health needs and prevent flares.

For example, disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) can help reduce MS relapses and slow progression. During MS flares, your neurologist may prescribe drugs like corticosteroids and plasma exchange treatment. These medications and procedures should help relieve many of your MS symptoms, including paresthesias.

2. Use Cold Packs

If your paresthesias are related to heat, use cold packs to overcome the abnormal sensation or at least distract from the feeling until it goes away naturally. Taking a cold shower or bath may also help dull the sensation. According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, hot temperatures outside may worsen symptoms of MS. If you know heat is a trigger for you, try to combat its effects before symptoms worsen.

3. Try Mindfulness and Physical Activity

Consider trying exercises that incorporate mindfulness, a meditation technique that has been linked to greater awareness and control over physical sensations. Mindfulness can help manage paresthesias and other MS symptoms.

Physical activity has also been shown to reduce MS paresthesias. One study of 54 people with MS showed that a light physical exercise program, including yoga and aquatic exercise, helped reduce MS-induced paresthesias as well as ease other symptoms and improve overall quality of life.

4. Take Care of Your Mental Health

Anxiety and depression have been linked to worsening MS symptoms and can contribute to altered sensations, so don’t hesitate to seek out counseling or therapy for support. MyMSTeam members can also provide support, reassurance, and expertise along your MS journey and remind you that you’re not alone with your MS experiences.

5. Keep Your Doctor Updated About MS Symptoms

It’s important to keep your neurology team in the loop about symptoms that are painful, uncomfortable, or disruptive to your daily life. If you have experienced altered sensations, such as feeling warmth in the head, you’re not alone. Continue to seek support from your doctor and MS community and remember that recognizing new sensations as symptoms of MS is the first step to dealing with them.

Talk With Others Who Understand

MyMSTeam is the social network for people with multiple sclerosis and their loved ones. On MyMSTeam, more than 215,000 members come together to ask questions, give advice, and share their stories with others who understand life with MS.

Have you experienced sudden temperature changes like warmth in the head with MS? How have you dealt with altered sensations in the past? Share your tips and experiences in a comment below or start a conversation on your Activities page.