<unk> -like head pain may be diagnosed as secondary headache rather than<unk> . A detailed oral history aids practitioners in correct differential diagnosis, as there are no confirmatory tests for CH. A headache diary can be useful in tracking when and where pain occurs, how severe it is, and how long the pain lasts. A record of coping strategies used may help distinguish between headache type; data on frequency, severity and duration of headache attacks are a necessary tool for initial and correct differential diagnosis in headache conditions. Correct diagnosis presents a challenge as the first CH attack may present where staff are not trained in the diagnosis of rare or complex chronic disease. Experienced ER staff are sometimes trained to detect headache types. While CH attacks themselves are not directly life-threatening, suicide ideation has been observed. Individuals with CH typically experience diagnostic delay before correct diagnosis. People are often misdiagnosed due to reported neck, tooth, jaw, and sinus symptoms and may unnecessarily endure many years of referral to ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialists for investigation of sinuses; dentists for tooth assessment; chiropractors and manipulative therapists for treatment; or psychiatrists, psychologists, and other medical disciplines before their headaches are correctly diagnosed. Under-recognition of CH by health care professionals is reflected in consistent findings in Europe and the United States that the average time to diagnosis is around seven years. Differential<unk>  may be misdiagnosed as migraine or sinusitis. Other types of headache are sometimes mistaken for, or may mimic closely, CH. Incorrect terms like<unk>  migraine" confuse headache types, confound differential diagnosis and are often the cause of unnecessary diagnostic delay, ultimately delaying appropriate specialist treatment. Headaches that may be confused with CH include: * Chronic paroxysmal hemicrania (CPH) is a unilateral headache condition, without the male predominance usually seen in CH. Paroxysmal hemicrania may also be episodic but the episodes of pain seen in CPH are usually shorter than those seen with<unk> s. CPH typically responds "absolutely" to treatment with the anti-inflammatory drug indomethacin where in most cases CH typically shows no positive indomethacin response, making "Indomethacin response" an important diagnostic tool for specialist practitioners seeking correct differential diagnosis between the conditions. * Hemicrania continua * Short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache with conjunctival injection and tearing (SUNCT) is a headache syndrome belonging to the group of TACs. * Trigeminal neuralgia is a unilateral headache syndrome, or<unk> -like" headache.
Cluster headache
Migraine
Lupus headache
Trigeminal neuralgia
Vascular headache
Trigeminal autonomic cephalgia
Tension headache
Medication overuse headache