[Headache in adults; article for education and training purposes]

Headache is one of the most common complaints for which patients request help from the general practitioner (GP). Anxiety and fear of serious illness are the most common reasons for consulting the GP, but a request for medication and worries about daily functioning can also prompt the consultation. In this educational article we describe a practical approach to the symptom 'headache' in adults on the basis of a number of questions. Our aim is to enable the general practitioner to: recognise alarm signals; identify the type of primary headache correctly; discuss, implement and evaluate the appropriate treatment; and reassure the patient.