A major problem is that they do not have a headache diagnosis.

Without a headache diagnosis, treatment may not work, and severe headaches develop.

Headache diagnosis is usually straightforward.

Nearly 99% of cases will be due to one of these 6 common causes of headaches. Every doctor who sees people with headaches and anybody who wants to know more about their head pain should be aware of the following:

1. Tension Type Headache Symptoms - the most common headache in the world
2. What are typical Migraine Symptoms
3. Cervicogenic Headache - which is a common cause of pain in the side of the head
4. Ice-pick Headache - which are short sharp pains in the head
5. Chronic Tension Headache - is a dull pressure that never seems to let up (and brain scans are normal)
6. Lastly, Chronic Migraine - when migraine headache relief never seems to last, and headaches keep coming back again and again.

If the headache diagnosis is not known OR is none of these 6, then working out the cause of head pain will depend on how symptoms are described.

First, what is the start of the headache like?

• Was it a Sudden Severe Headache?
• Is it a recurring sharp head pain?
• Is it a frequent headache that builds up, stays for a for a while (hours to days)then goes away again?
• Or is it a Constant Headache?

Second, you might need to consider the Location of Headache or where the head pain is worst...

• Is it a back of head headache?
• Pain behind the ear?
• Pain in the eye?
• Is it pain in the temple?
• What causes pain in the face?
• Can the headache and neck pain be explained?

Third, how the head pain feels can help make a headache diagnosis...

• Could you be having a Stabbing Pain in the Head?
• Or a Sharp Head Pain?
• A Throbbing Head Pain or Pounding Headache may make you want to lie down for a while
• Or does it feel like a Pressure in the Head?

What you were doing to bring on the headache matters....

• You may have an Exercise Headache
• Or have experienced a Sex or Orgasmic Headache
• And there is also Cough Headache

Some severe headaches are unusual, rare or may present as an emergency...

• Strange Headaches, may require very specific investigations or treatments
• Emergency or Acute Headache needs proper investigation or serious headaches may be missed

Finally, migraine is often misdiagnosed or overlooked as a cause of bad headaches.....

• Migraine is the most common cause of Headaches During Pregnancy. It is quite rare to find any other cause for headache in pregnancy, but diagnosis must be made with care
• Migraine is also commonly confused with a Sinus Headache. People with failed sinus headache treatment will often get better pain relief from using migraine treatments

What you will read here is what I tell my own patients and what I teach to medical students, doctors in training and qualified family doctors.

As a practising NHS Consultant Neurologist, I've done all the hard work in the last 17 years learning about Headaches.

Hopefully you too can learn what an expert thinks, says and does for these headache conditions...and be better off for it.

Regards,

Dr Raeburn Forbes MD(Hons) FRCP

Consultant Neurologist

Author of Severe-Headache-Expert.com