Routine history taking begins with a set of standard questions that will elicit basic information and, depending on the acuity of onset, the age of the patient and whether he/she presents to in the consulting.
In every headache patient, our worry and the patients fear are that no serious life-threatening cause should be overlooked. It is then important to keep in mind the “red flags,” therefore, Dr Casse will ask the right questions to be able to decide whether the patient could be having a serious secondary headache warranting further investigation.
Any new onset headache or anything that is atypical for a particular type of primary headache should get you worried about the presence of a secondary headache and warrant imaging.
Typical questions may include;
Is this your first or worst headache? How bad is your pain on a scale of 1 to 10
(1 means manageable and 10 means severe)?
- Do you have headaches on a regular basis? Is this headache like the ones you usually have?
- What symptoms do you have before the headache starts?
- What symptoms do you have during the headache?
- What symptoms do you have right now?
- When did this headache begin? How did it start (gradually, suddenly, other)?
- Where is your pain? Does the pain seem to spread to any other area? If so, where?
- What kind of pain do you have (throbbing, stabbing, dull, other)?
- Do you have other medical problems? If so, what?
- Do you take any medicines? If so, what?
- Have you recently hurt your head or had a medical or dental procedure?