ICHD-3 Criteria (Migraine, with and without aura)

Applies the ICHD-3 migraine criteria.

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
Headache duration untreated, hours
12
One-sided location
Yes
Pulsating quality
Yes
Nausea and/or vomiting
Yes
No better ICHD-3 explanation
Yes

Result: ICHD-3 criteria met for 1.1 Migraine without aura

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

What the result means

1.1 A
At least 5 attacks fulfilling B to D.
1.1 B
Headache attacks lasting 4 to 72 hours, untreated or unsuccessfully treated.
1.1 C
At least TWO of four: one-sided location; pulsating quality; moderate or severe intensity; aggravation by or avoidance of routine physical activity.
1.1 D
At least one of: nausea and/or vomiting; photophobia AND phonophobia.
Both, not either
Photophobia alone does NOT satisfy criterion D. The pair counts only together, though it is often carried as an either-or.
1.2 A
At least TWO attacks - not five. The thresholds differ between the two sets, and applying 5 here denies the diagnosis to patients who meet it.
1.2 B
One or more fully reversible aura symptoms: visual, sensory, speech and/or language, motor, brainstem, retinal.
1.2 C
At least THREE of six: gradual spread over 5 min; two or more auras in succession; each aura lasts 5 to 60 min; one aura one-sided; one positive; headache within 60 min.
Assessed together
Neither set contains the other, so both are evaluated on every run. A patient can meet 1.2 without meeting 1.1.

What you enter

  • Number of attacks
  • Headache duration untreated, hours
  • One-sided location
  • Pulsating quality
  • Moderate or severe intensity
  • Worse with routine activity
  • Nausea and/or vomiting
  • Photophobia
The other 14 fields
  • Phonophobia
  • Visual aura
  • Sensory aura
  • Speech or language aura
  • Motor aura
  • Brainstem aura
  • Retinal aura
  • Aura spreads over 5 min or more
  • Two or more auras in succession
  • Each aura lasts 5 to 60 minutes
  • At least one aura is one-sided
  • At least one aura is positive
  • Headache with or within 60 min
  • No better ICHD-3 explanation
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, sections 1.1 and 1.2. 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.