Every time you have a headache, make notes in your diary. A sample headache diary is included on the back of this handout. Download patient tools such as food and exercise diaries, a chronic pain. Keeping a headache diary helps you to determine which factors might influence your headache pattern. A diary to help patients track their headache symptoms. Painkillers, taken only when needed for the pain, work well in most cases. Horton, an american neurologist who proposed a theory for the mechanism underlying cluster headaches, described the. Headache diary allow you to easily track all situations of the occurrence of headaches, fix the strength level of the headache, its duration, types and localization of pain. A headache diary consists of tracking the following. T hose who deal with any form of chronic pain know that one of the best ways to get relief is to keep track of potential triggers and effective treatment methods. It helps you and your doctor track your migraines and how well your. Tracking and fixing in the application all situations when you have a headache, you can add potential triggers and context, in order to understand your body and determine.
The diary allows you to list date, duration, trigger factors, treatments and time until relief of headache. Understanding these triggers may help you and your child take steps to prevent or manage the headaches. You also may be able to identify headache triggers, such as certain foods, stressful events. Use the pictures to help the child explain how much their head hurts. The 6 best apps for headaches and migraines to check out. The national headache foundation also recommends keeping a headache diary to track the characteristics of your headaches. Tension headache is the most common form of headache.
Keep a headache diary or calendar to help find and avoid things that trigger your headaches. Migraine severity in this section, each day is broken down into morning, afternoon, and evening. If you experience recurring headaches or migraines, keeping track of them may help. If you have migraine or get frequent headaches, you may benefit from keeping a headache diary. Headache can be caused by sensitivity to certain foods.
Download patient tools such as food and exercise diaries, a chronic pain medication agreement, and a new patient welcome letter. Date time ha began time ha ended warning signs aura location. Date time startfinish intensity rate 1 10 most severe being 10 preceding symptoms triggers medication and dosage relief. Common headache triggers many headaches are caused by outside factors, sometimes known as triggers. Monthly diary by keeping this diary over a period of 2 or 3 months you may see a pattern to your migraines and. An integrative approach to recurring headaches determine if headaches are from medication overuse create a plan for discontinuation of pain medication. Download a free printable logged template for excel keep a journal of your headaches and migraines to help learn how to prevent them images for headache.
The 68 hours before the migraine attack are particularly important to record. Where exactly did you feel the pain of the headache e. By keeping this diary over a period of 2 or 3 months you may see a. Migraine is a common clinical problem characterized by episodic attacks of head pain and associated symptoms. Children with headache problems are evaluated in our headache program. About your headache how would you rate the level of pain from the headache, if on a scale of 010, 0 no pain and 10 worst possible pain.
On the days you have migraine pain, write a number in the appropriate box from 1 to 3 that. Pdf background headache diaries are often used by headache sufferers to. Headache disorders are highly prevalent, with 46% of adults and 51% of children and adolescents presenting with an active headache disorder worldwide. Unless otherwise stated, user may print or download information from. Subjects indicate whether a headache was present yesno, its peak severity mildmoderatesevere and duration download. Monthly diary by keeping this diary over a period of 2 or 3 months you may see a pattern to your migraines and headaches. It is important to write down information about your headaches. Guidelines of the international headache society for. Headaches and migraines university health services. Download patient tools such as food and exercise diaries a chronic pain medication agreement and a new patient. Each diary sheet is for one month, with a column for. Patterns identified from your diary may help your doctor determine which type of headache you have and the most beneficial treatments. A daily headache diary is one of the most important tools your treatment team has to help you. Migraine diaries this fact sheet is a general guideline about the ways you can record your migraine attacks.
Headache days record each day that you get a headache. Dateday of the week of headache time of onset time of resolution warning signs locations of the pain type of pain intensity of the pain additional symptoms activitiescircumstances at time of onset. Write down your highest headache severitydisability for each day 0 headache free, 1 mild, 2 moderate, 3. Commercially available mobile phone headache diary apps. Headache diary pdf free ebook download headache diary pdf download. Cluster headache was nicknamed suicide headache in 1939 after dr. The effect of different aspects of your lifestyle on your migraine may also become clear, and you may identify new triggers. My headache diary use this diary every day to capture information that can help you and your doctor better understand, and manage, your migraines. This is one of a range of fact sheets written and researched by the migraine trust to help you. Date time startfinish intensity rate 1 10 most severe being 10 preceding symptoms triggers medication and dosage relief completemoderatenone for more information about headache causes and treatments, visit the nhf web site at. The complete headache chart migraine apps headache topic sheet spanish headache topic sheet menstrual migraine brochure your migraine, your symptoms. Keep a headache diary or calendar to help find and avoid things that. A headache diary may be helpful to identify such triggers. This information is valuable in assisting the doctor with diagnosis, assessing.
Keeping a headache diary may help identify the types of headaches you have and lead to effective treatment. Migraine is a recurrent headache disorder with intense pain that may be unilateral onesided and accompanied by nausea or vomiting as well as photosensitivity sensitivity to light and. Together you can look at your headache history and look for patterns to your headaches. Headache diaries the purpose of migraine diaries is to record information about the attacks of migraine and other headaches. These definitions allow the use of a relatively simple headache diary. Attention to lifestyle factors, such as stress, posture and.
Migraine and headache diary national migraine centre. Headache diary diaries can be a useful tool to identify triggers, to keep track of your headaches, and to help your health care provider better understand your headaches. In a sample of 61 migraine patients 23 with migraine and 38 with migraine and tensiontype headache receiving clinical care in 1990 in a headache research unit, russell et al. Print this migraine diary and use it to keep track of your headaches. The following list contains some of the more common headaches triggers. What i ate before the headache caffeine, diet soda, chocolate, hot dogs, food with artificial sweeteners, processed foods activities before headache occurred. A sinus headache causes pain in the front of the head and face. Show the child the pictures when the headache starts, during the headache, and again. Monitor the frequency, duration and severity of your headaches. Possible bridge therapy naproxen sodium or meclofenamate sodium or prednisone acupuncture raskin protocolmost effective for severe rebound headaches identify and remove headache triggers.