ABSTRACT
A 21-year-old woman presented to her general practitioner complaining of a throbbing pain over the right side of her head. The onset of the headache was preceded by an awareness of ‘flashing lights’ in the patient’s vision. The pain was worsened by movement and bright lights and was relieved by resting in a dark, quiet room. There was associated nausea; she had vomited several times. She had experienced 5–6 similar episodes over the past year with no clear trigger. Each episode lasted for approximately 12–18 h and resolved spontaneously. The patient had no significant past medical history and had been well over recent weeks. She took no regular medications but did have an intrauterine system in situ. The patient worked as an engineering apprentice and she had not travelled abroad in the past year.
