Headache

In these lists, headache can be anything from mildly irritating to acutely life-threatening. It is one of the most common presentations in primary care; differentiating between

Acute

The most serious causes of an acute headache are

• Meningitis
• Subarachnoid haemorrhage
• Encephalitis
• Acute glaucoma

Other causes include:

• Sinusitis
• Head injury
• Coital headache

Recurrent

This is a list of causes of recurrent, acute headache:

• Migraine - this is by far the most common and can be debillitating for the patient during an episode
• Cluster headache

Subacute

The most important cause of a subacute headache is giant cell arteritis. Easy to confirmy diagnosis, this can be fatal if not picked up.

Chronic

The first condition to rule out is raised intracranial pressure (ICP). This is can be indicative of a number of serious conditions (e.g. hydrocephalus, space-occupying lesions which could be a brain tumour).

Less serious causes are:

• Tension headache
• Medication-induced headache