Hemicrania Continua

Hemicrania Continua:
Persistent One sided Headache(for easy search) 

The reason why  I select this picture: she's very pretty. 

Many times, when someone asked me about their persistent unilateral headache, I tried my best to know the cause and it's type.Either , migraine , cluster, tension, hormonal and etc..but a day, I came across this, something wasn't in the book.Maybe not in the books that I was using. :P 

For many times,I have seen myself doctors prescribed paracetamol, aspirin for patient with  persistent headaches, but they kept coming back with the same complaint.So the doctor at time asked the patient to do a CT scan and CT reveals nothing.Then I came across this type of headache that responds well for Indomethacin (for sometime maybe).This is just an info, so If you having any of the symptoms, don't make your own assumption.Just check with you doctor before taking the over-the-counter drugs.

Hemicrania continua  is a persistent unilateral headache . It is usually unremitting, but rare cases of remission have been documented. Hemicrania continua is considered a primary headache disorder, meaning that it is not caused by another condition.

The following diagnostic criteria are given for hemicrania continua:
1.Headache for more than 3 months fulfilling other 3 criteria

2.All of the following characteristics:
-Unilateral pain without side-shift
-Daily and continuous, without pain-free periods
-Moderate intensity, but with exacerbations of severe pain

3.At least one of the following autonomic features occurs during exacerbations and ipsilateral to the side of pain:
-Conjunctival injection and/or lacrimation
-Nasal congestion and/or rhinorrhea
-Ptosis and/or miosis

4.Complete response to therapeutic doses of indomethacin, although cases of hemicrania continua that do not resolve with indomethacin treatment have been documented.

A variant on hemicrania continua has also been described, in which the attacks may shift sides, although meeting the above criteria in all other respects.

Main features differentiating Hemicrania continua from cluster headaches (migrainous neuralgia, etc) are the higher frequency and shorter duration of attacks, higher incidence in women, and the response to treatment with indomethacin. Also hemicrania continua is not associated with cranial nerve palsies.

Remember, check with your physician for better information.