How do I reply to "my head hurts"?

In a text, "my head hurts" is usually a passing remark. It is the kind of thing people say when they are wrapping up a day, sitting at a desk too long, or running on no lunch. The words carry tiredness more than pain. Before you reply, look at what else is in the thread. If she has been chatty and is now flagging, she is probably winding down and may be ready to stop soon. If she is the one who brought up something personal in the same message, the headache may be her way of letting you a little further in.

Also look at how she framed it. "ugh long day" tells you the headache is part of a bigger tiredness, so acknowledging the day works better than focusing on the head. A bare "my head hurts" with nothing around it is more likely a sign she is ready to end the chat. Read those cues first, because they decide whether your reply should invite more talk or quietly give her room to go.

There are roughly two directions a reply can take. One is warm and low key, where you acknowledge the headache briefly, maybe reference the long day, and leave the conversation open without asking her for anything. That fits when she is tired and you want her to feel looked after without effort. The other is a little playful, where you tease gently about screens or about her being stuck at work, which fits when the thread has been fun and she is still engaged. Both kinds share a feature: they are short, they show you took in the detail, and they do not ask her to do emotional work.

What to leave out is anything that makes her responsible for your reaction. Skip questions about whether she has taken anything, skip long statements about how you hope she feels better, and skip anything that turns the moment into a conversation about her health. A reply that sounds like you noticed and you're easy about it is the target. The draft is right when she could answer with one line and nobody feels pressured.

Timing matters more here than the wording. If she says her head hurts at the end of a workday, a reply within the same evening feels natural. If she mentions it late at night, a short reply is enough and a long one feels like you are trying too hard. Do not wait a day to answer something she said in the moment, because the comment will feel stale and your reply will look like an afterthought. A few hours is usually fine for a casual exchange, and in an active thread a quick response reads as interest.

If she does not reply to your acknowledgement, leave it. A tired person with a headache may simply have gone to bed or put the phone down. Give it a day before you send anything else, and if you do follow up, make it light and specific to the next day, such as asking whether she got some rest. If she still goes quiet after that, let the thread rest. Chasing a headache conversation turns something soft into something awkward, and you can always pick it back up when she next starts a message.