ICHD-3 Criteria (Cluster Headache)

Applies the ICHD-3 criteria for cluster headache.

Open the calculator → Runs in your browser. Data leaves only if you deliberately send a problem report from the interactive tool.

Example

Number of attacks
6
Severe one-sided orbital pain
Yes
Attack duration untreated, minutes
60
Attacks per day
2
Miosis or ptosis
Yes
No better ICHD-3 explanation
Yes

Result: ICHD-3 criteria for cluster headache met

The tool opens with these values already filled in. Replace them with your own.

What the result means

A
At least 5 attacks fulfilling B to D.
B
Severe or very severe one-sided orbital, supraorbital and/or temporal pain lasting 15 to 180 minutes when untreated.
C
Either or both: at least one ipsilateral cranial autonomic sign, or a sense of restlessness or agitation.
D
A frequency between one every other day and 8 per day.
E
Not better accounted for by another ICHD-3 diagnosis.
Autonomic signs
Conjunctival injection and/or tearing; nasal congestion and/or runny nose; eyelid swelling; forehead and facial sweating; small pupil and/or drooping eyelid.
Restlessness alone
Criterion C reads "either or both", so restlessness on its own satisfies it. No autonomic sign is mandatory, and only ONE is needed by the other route.
A window, not a threshold
Criterion D has a FLOOR. Attacks less often than one every other day fail it just as more than 8 a day do.
3.1.1 Episodic
At least two cluster periods lasting 7 days to 1 year, separated by pain-free remissions of 3 months or more.
3.1.2 Chronic
No remission period, or remissions under 3 months, for at least 1 year.

What you enter

  • Number of attacks
  • Severe one-sided orbital pain
  • Attack duration untreated, minutes
  • Attacks per day
  • Conjunctival injection or tearing
  • Nasal congestion or rhinorrhea
  • Eyelid edema
  • Forehead and facial sweating
The other 4 fields
  • Miosis or ptosis
  • Restlessness or agitation
  • No better ICHD-3 explanation
  • Bout pattern
How this is calculated

Headache Classification Committee of the International Headache Society (IHS). The International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition. Cephalalgia. 2018;38(1):1-211, section 3.1. Read the source ↗

A reference and educational tool. Not medical, legal, or financial advice, and not a substitute for clinician judgment.

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Built by Clay Good. Source on GitHub.