Common in children, increasing in incidence as children age

Classification:

• Primary - migraine, tension-type, cluster, new daily persistant headache
• Secondary - symptom of an underlying intracranial or medical condition

Time course classification

Acute headache:

• single episode of headache pain without prior headaches
• may represent the first or an unusually severe form of primary headache
• May suggest a new acute secondary cause for headache that, therefore, requires evaluation.

Acute recurrent headache:

• Stereotyped headaches separated by headache-free periods.
• Most suggestive of a primary headache disorder, especially if the pattern has persisted for a long period.
• May also occur in secondary headache, as with intermittent elevation in intracranial pressure.

Chronic progressive headache:

• Constant steady ache
• May be a chronic primary headache or similar secondary aetiologies (tumour, benign intacranial HTN, brain abscess, hydrocephalus)