International Headache Society (IHS) Diagnostic criteria.

I searched the site here quite extensively for this info (EDIT; I stuffed it up, sorry, see post below) and was shocked not to have easily found it. It has proved an invaluable resource to Australian sufferers of head pain and enquirers of all headache types.

This is not to suggest self-diagnosis; but often an individual's cursory glance at the criteria in comparison with said individual's presented symptoms, will enable as yet undiagnosed sufferers of head pain to have a look and perhaps "see what fits", before seeing, or in conjunction with their Specialist and/or Doctor.

This is not an untried resource, we run it on the Australian site as an information tab. There, it has not resulted in mass self-diagnosis; to the contrary - Over the last 2 years it has been there, it has helped many compare what they are experiencing, with what their GPs and specialists have, or haven't said - with great success.

Many a print-off has resulted.
Many pages have been taken and shown to Practitioners.
Many correct differential diagnosis made.
Many a diagnosis revised, or misdiagnosis picked up.
Many diagnosis made official, or corrected, after years of suffering not only head pain, but lack of information, or misinformation.

All as a result of being able to freely browse the IHS criteria - web based application.

Many, many times I have passed on a few different pages to people asking questions about their head pain.
They always check it with their specialists.
Neither am I suggesting a diagnosis - I simply do not offer diagnosis nor would I - I am not qualified to do so. Differential diagnosis of headache conditions is the job of professional, medically qualified Headache Specialists.

The value of the info speaks for itself. I suspect it has saved lives, if not much suffering, by being made an available resource on the Australian CH site.

START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE

I hope it becomes as valuable a resource to many here, as it has proven to be on the Australian CH site.

EDIT: Perhaps a TAB of it would be useful?

P/F days to all.

Cheers, Ben.

The IHS criteria are often mentioned here with the search finding nearly 800 references to IHS.

START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE

At an OUCH US talk (available on youtube) Prof Goadsby pointed out how the criteria are not exact and there is plenty of room for discussion, e.g. around what the definition of chronic should be and the boundaries for the CH durations.

Sorry Mike NZ,

I used the provided search TAB within forums, didn't see the default setting to search within the last week (been using too much familiar php stuff and missed that in my current 5 attack per day haze, sorry); START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE

It did seem quite an anomaly to me that such a pivotal organisation as the IHS would not have got far more than a few mentions here.... the sheer number of people asking questions on the forums here that could be easily answered by the IHS criteria, led me to believe the remote possibility that perhaps it had been overlooked.

As a newbie, 2 conflicting search features is confusing to me. Perhaps I am accustomed to the prominent IHS tab we put up in Oz... Perhaps I am just an IT moron? ;D

I did not use the second "google powered" search window.
Elsewhere, I am used to it spewing out every reference Google has to offer, so usually avoid it. It's the first functioning custom one I have seen that actually works.
A credit to admin.
Sorry, my mistake. :-[

I still can't see the classification link ( START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE ) listed anywhere prominent where users can easily get to it.

Yeah, I know the criteria are pigeonholes and up for debate, submissions for the ICHD-3 were being taken last time I looked. I look forward to the revised editions.
As my specialist said "Our bodies can't read the textbooks".

Oh well, apologies.
I stuffed up.
What do we do, delete the thread?

Cheers, Ben.