Headaches. A specialist's view

Idiopathic, benign, recurrent or persistent headaches represent the overwhelming majority of headache problems presenting to the general practitioner. Many practitioners have an unrealistic fear of 'missing a tumour' which results in a tendency to pursue exhaustive investigation. With attention to the history detail, the clinician usually can categorise the headache accurately and reassure the patient and himself about its benign nature without the need for expensive and usually unhelpful tests.