Headaches And Other Head Pain

Headache is a very common complaint encountered by practitioners in almost every specialty of medicine and surgery. More than 90% of the population experience headache of one type or another at least once during life. The very common occurrence of headache sometimes leads to an underestimation of its potential importance as a symptom. Although headaches may be associated with minor trauma or febrile illness, they may also result from potentially life-threatening central nervous system (CNS) disease. Fortunately, most patients with recurrent or chronic headaches suffer from a primary headache disorder for which no ominous underlying source can be found. Although reassuring, this lack of identifiable cause does not diminish the patient's suffering or economic loss.