Fast Five Quiz: Headaches

Headaches can result from numerous causes, including genetic predisposition, trauma, an intracranial mass, a metabolic or vascular disease, or sinusitis. Several different types of headaches are recognized.

Migraine is a complex disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of headache, most often unilateral and in some cases associated with transient visual or sensory symptoms—collectively known as an aura—that most often arise before the head pain, but may occur during or afterward.

Episodic tension headache has historically been thought to be associated with a stressful event. This headache type is of mild or moderate intensity, self-limited, and usually responsive to nonprescription drugs. Chronic tension headache often recurs daily and is associated with contracted muscles of the neck and scalp. This type of headache is bilateral and usually occipitofrontal.

Cluster headache, historically known as "histamine headache," is classified as a trigeminal-autonomic cephalgia, due to activation of a trigeminal parasympathetic reflex. As the name suggests, cluster headache involves a grouping of headaches, usually over a period of several weeks.

How much do you know about the diagnosis, workup, and treatment of various headache types? Test yourself with this short quiz.

Any views expressed above are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of WebMD or Medscape.

Cite this: Amy Kao. Fast Five Quiz: Test Your Clinical Knowledge of Various Types of Headaches - Medscape - Nov 30, 2017.

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