Headaches Flashcards
Three primary headache syndromes
- migraine
- tension type headache
- cluster headache
What should you ask a patient c/o a headache
- quality
- intensity
- location
- mode of onset
- relationship to biologic events
Most important characteristic of “quality” of a headache
if it is pulsatile or not
Quality of a migrain
pulsating, throbbing, lateral
Quality of a tension headache
tightness and pressure, band like
Quality of neuritis
sharp, lancinating
Quality of cluster headache
ice pick
Quality of a headache d/t an intercranial lesion
dull or steady
Quality of a headache from opthalmologic disorder
peri-ocular pain
Quality of neuralgia
localized to a division of the trigeminal nerve
Headaches that wake a pt up from sleep
HA from meningitis, subarachniod, cluster HA
Where do migraines occur
on one side
HA d/t inflammation of an extracranial artery causes pain where
localized to the site of the vessel
Lesions of the paranasal sinuses, teeth, eyes, and upper CV cause pain where
across the forehead or maxilla or around the eyes
Intracranial lesions in the posterior fossa cause pain where
occipitonuchal region
unilateral if lesion is one sided
HA worse with wakening–>
sleep apnea or intracranial mass
HA at same time each day–>
cluster HA
What types of HA are worse at the end of the day
tension HA
HA that have an onset of seconds to minutes
- subarachnoid
- thunderclap HA
HA that have an onset of minutes to hours
- migraines
- cluster
- intracranial tumor
HA that have an onset of hours to days
- migraines
- tension HA
Catamenial migraine
HA that occurs regularly in the premenstrual period
HA worse with sudden movement or by coughing or straining think—> ?
intracranial source
Allodynia
pain when the scalp is stroked in combing or fixing the hair
What is a tension headache
tension or spasm withing the pain sensitive muscles of the neck or temples
What is not associated with a tension HA
- photophobia
- phonophobia
- nausea
- vomiting