Liječnički vjesnik, Vol. 146 No. 9-10, 2024.
Review article
https://doi.org/10.26800/LV-146-9-10-3
Hypnic headache: What does the turtle have to do with it?
Denis Čerimagić
*
Ervina Bilić
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
According to the International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition, hypnic headaches (headaches that occur during sleep) are classified as primary headaches. Unlike other primary headaches, such as migraine, tension, and trigeminal autonomic headaches, they are often unrecognized or misdiagnosed in clinical practice. A turtle headache occurs when you wake up in the morning, fall asleep, and then wake up again. It occurs in people who tend to cover their heads with a blanket during sleep (this is where the analogy with a turtle pulling its head in and out from under its shell comes from). Although it was described in the literature before hypnic headache and is considered its rare subtype, it has not yet been included in the International Classification of Headache Disorders. In this paper, we present a patient with long-term hypnic and turtle headaches. We encountered numerous differential-diagnostic dilemmas that require additional clinical and neuroradiological investigations. Determining the type of headache is based on a detailed history and strict application of the diagnostic criteria of the International Classification of Headache Disorders. The importance of a correct diagnosis is also significant from a therapeutic point of view because the pharmacotherapy and preventive treatment of hypnic and turtle headaches differ from the therapy of other primary headaches. The International Classification of Headache Disorders contains extremely unusual conditions such as nummular headaches and burning mouth syndrome, so we believe that the turtle’s headache deserves to be included in this classification.
Keywords
HEADACHE DISORDERS, PRIMARY – diagnosis, drug therapy; DIAGNOSIS, DIFFERENTIAL
Hrčak ID:
322404
URI
Publication date:
18.11.2024.
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