Hemicrania continua (HC) is a persistent unilateral headache that responds to indomethacin. 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. Symptoms
In hemicrania continua, basal pain is a dull aching pressure similar to that of TTHs that occurs nearly always on the same side of the head and face. Pain ranges from mild to severe and is characterized by fluctuations where it increases in intensity up to three to five times per 24-hour cycle. The range of duration of exacerbations has no boundaries and varies from a few seconds to up to two weeks. While attacks tend to be more frequent at night, no circadian periodicity such as in cluster headache can be observed. The nature of pain changes during the exacerbation phase, becoming more piercing, throbbing, and intense, generally paired with other highly debilitating symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and sensitivity to light and sounds. During these exacerbation phases, hemicrania continua may mimic other primary and secondary headache disorders, with up to 70% of patients fulfilling the diagnostic criteria for migraine. Physical exertion,changes in sleep patterns, stress, or alcohol consumption can make the headache pain more severe in some patients.In addition to persistent daily headache of HC, which is usually mild to moderate (and frequently severe), HC can present other symptoms.
2, by G.S.Davis, and the incident has been cited in Kings American Dispensatory (1898 and later editions) in the description of the strong analgesic Jamaican Dogwood, a relatively low dose of which reportedly produced convulsions and prolonged respiratory depression over six hours in an elderly woman with this condition.In newer times, Hemicrania continua was described in 1981; at that time around 130 cases were described in the literature. However, rising awareness of the condition has led to increasingly frequent diagnosis in headache clinics, and it seems that it is not as rare as these figures would imply. The condition occurs more often in women than men and tends to present first in adulthood, although it has also been reported in children as young as 5 years old. References


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