[Diagnosis and treatment of headache]

In the recent last decades, important advances have been made in the understanding of the mechanisms behind headache. This has resulted in more efficient treatment. New forms of headache have been described where a specific treatment can be used. Therefore, in order to give rational therapy to headache patients, the physician must be able to distinguish between the most important primary headaches. He should also be aware of the warning signals that should prompt further investigations or admission to hospital in search of underlying causes. The article describes the most important primary headaches and the current treatment, and discusses the problem of unclassifiable and untreatable headaches.