An Overview of Headaches

This is onlyAn Overview of Headaches as it is impossible to cover extensively in a monogram. This monogram will cover the practical aspects of how to proceed when facing a patient having a headache and will not be dealing much on detailing of studies or pathomechanics. The aim is to help practitioners to know and identify some of the common headache presentations to enable them to appropriately choose which patient to investigate and or refer the patient to a specialist or a higher center of further management. The case vignettes provided by my colleagues highlight the clinical presentation of some of the causes of secondary headaches.
Key Features :
This short monogram is supposed to be only an overview of headaches and is not extensive in its coverage.
It provides an orientation to the practitioner on headaches and deals with the intracranial structures, which could give rise to headaches, and discusses the type of headaches primary and secondary.
We have outlined an approach on the history to be taken and the examination that needs to be done in the evaluation of headaches.
The red flags that would alert for a look-out for causes of secondary headaches are dealt with.
The requirement of imaging and its usefulness in identifying the causes of secondary headaches is also highlighted.
Brief descriptions of the primary headaches and their treatment are discussed.
Descriptions of headaches with underlying common causes are also narrated to help in identifying them.
The challenges faced in identifying a secondary headache are briefly discussed, and the case discussions provided at the end would help in understanding these challenges by highlighting the underlying causes.