[Idiopathic pulsating headache]

Idiopathic stabbing headache is described as a primary, benign headache seen mainly in women. It is characterized by ultra-brief attacks of pain lasting one second or less and having either single or multiple foci. The orbital region is by far the most frequently affected. Hardly any triggering factors or accompanying symptoms have been identified. The frequency of paroxysms is highly variable, ranging from one attack per year to more than 50 per day. Under extreme circumstances, stabbing pains can come as often as one attack per minute. The timing is erratic, with paroxysms that can be either sporadic or grouped within symptomatic periods, but rarely is the clinical course persistently chronic. Treatment with indomethacin usually provides considerable relief. Idiopathic stabbing headache may exist per se, with its own category, but often occurs alongside other primary headaches. In such cases the two types of pain may coincide or not.