What Does It Mean When The Left Side Of Your Face Hurts

Everyone knows how important being in good health is, but it's easy to get too busy to care about things that seem like small symptoms. Little aches, seemingly insignificant rashes, and pain may be ignored, while a trip to the doctor's is put off for a long time. This may be attributed to having a hectic work schedule, or things like fear and denial. People who do this tend to overlook the fact that symptoms could be signs of underlying issues, the tip of a potentially painful and expensive iceberg.

Serious illnesses with symptoms that are easy to dismiss include colon cancer, which may begin with symptoms as benign as a change in bowel movements, particularly in people that are 45 and older. Unexpected weight loss is another symptom you can't afford to ignore as it could be a sign of lung cancer, cancer of the blood, diabetes, or thyroid disease.

And then there is the pain on the side of the face, which may be linked to bigger, scarier health issues. If the left side of your face hurts, it could be due to one of the reasons listed below.

Per Healthline, facial pain could occur due to a headache, an oral infection, an injury, an abscess, or a migraine and is often diagnosed by asking which part of the face the pain is being mostly felt. Migraines are often associated with heavy pounding headaches that begin or are completely localized to the left side of your head, notes Cove.

Pain on the left side of your face could also be indicative of a tumor or cyst in your jaw. Though this is quite rare, it is a possibility that can't be ruled out. If the pain is accompanied by jaw or facial swelling, open bleeding sores, or tissue growth around your teeth, you could have a tumor or cyst. However, according to Medical News Today, it could also be related to a past injury or damage to the facial nerves on the left side of your face.

Pain on the side of the face may also be because of a sinus infection. Sinus infections and sinus headaches are a result of an inflammation of the tissue coating the sinus, explains WebMD. If you also have a runny nose and blocked sinuses, the pain on the left side of your face could be due to a sinus infection.

Pain on one side of your face doesn't seem like a serious symptom, but you should not hesitate to see a doctor for a detailed diagnosis, per Mayo Clinic.