Temporal arteritis symptoms may include a sudden headache, ear or scalp pain, jaw tenderness and sometimes problems with vision. These are the most common temporal artery symptoms of giant cell arteritis (GCA). Other signs and symptoms can also occur with GCA, such as fever, muscle pain or a skin rash.
Symptoms are usually triggered by something that causes your immune system to become active and attack the lining of the arteries, which normally helps the blood flow to your body. Symptoms can come on very quickly or gradually, and may last a few days or weeks.
In the early stages, the symptoms are a throbbing headache and ear or scalp tenderness. A person can develop the condition as a result of a serious infection or by taking high doses of antibiotics.
If the disease is diagnosed, treatment is usually started immediately to stop the inflammation. The doctor will prescribe medicines called corticosteroids, which can be taken by mouth or in injection form.
The medicines work by blocking the immune cells from attacking the lining of your arteries. This can relieve the symptoms of temporal arteritis and prevent permanent vision loss in most people.
You may be put on these medicines for a few months, but they will probably need to be taken for a year or more. Your doctor may need to adjust your dose of these medicines if you have other health conditions, such as osteoporosis, diabetes or an untreated heart condition.
During the course of your treatment, you should go to see your doctor regularly for checkups and to have your blood checked. This is because you are at risk for developing other diseases, such as heart or lung problems.
Your doctor will do a physical examination to look for any tenderness in the head and may perform tests that measure the amount of hemoglobin in your blood. They will also perform blood tests to assess the level of inflammation in your body, such as an erythrocyte sedimentation rate test or a C-reactive protein test.
A CT scan or MRI may also be done to view your arteries. These X-rays show your arteries in great detail, and they can help determine the cause of your symptoms.
This type of imaging can also help your doctor diagnose other health issues, such as arthritis or cancer. It can also help your doctor decide if you need surgery, if needed.
Other tests that may be used in the diagnosis of temporal arteritis include a blood test to evaluate your liver function and an X-ray to examine your arteries. These tests can be done by a doctor called a radiologist.
Another test that can be used is a bone density scan, which measures how much calcium and other minerals are in your bones. This can help your doctor determine if you need to take medications for osteoporosis, such as vitamin D and calcium supplements.
In some cases, a biopsy is done to find out what is wrong. This is a more expensive procedure, but it can give your doctor more information about the cause of your symptoms and what kind of treatment you need. A small amount of tissue from your artery will be removed and sent to a laboratory for analysis. Your doctor will then make a final diagnosis of the disease.
