The journal of headache and pain
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Effective acute treatment of headache begins with making an accurate diagnosis and ruling out secondary causes of headache. Once a primary headache is diagnosed, it is important to choose the right combination of behavioural therapy and acute care (abortive and symptomatic) therapy for each patient. Some patients may need preventive medication on a daily basis. ⋯ The effectiveness of the 7 available triptans in early, double-blind, controlled trials is more similar than different. How and when to give them will be discussed. Treatment of cluster headache will be presented briefly.