The Specialist Forum Volume 13 No 11 November 2013 | Page 22

PAIN

• Headache with atypical aura (duration >1 hour, or including motor
weakness).
• Aura occurring for the first time in a patient during use of combined
oral contraceptives.
• New onset headache in a patient older than 50 years.
• New onset headache in a patient younger than 10 years.
• Persistent morning headache with nausea.
• Progressive headache, worsening over weeks or longer.
• Headache associated with postural change.
• New onset headache in a patient with a history of cancer.
• New onset headache in a patient with a history of HIV infection.

Diagnostics
Headache history
Different headache types are not mutually exclusive. Patients are often
aware of more than one headache type, and a separate history should
be taken for each. According to the British Association for the Study
of Headache (BASH), headache history is the most effective diagnostic
tool. They reco