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Some patients suffering from headache require neurologic examination. The objective of the guidelines for the treatment of headaches is to help physicians in their daily care for headache patients. In most patients, the diagnosis of migraine has not been made by a physician and they have not received appropriate care to treat migraine attacks. New therapeutic methods (for acute and preventive treatment) have been introduced in the past fifteen years. Triptans should be offered to patients that fail to respond to usual analgesics, those with moderate to severe migraine in particular. Depending on comorbidity, preventive therapy should be recommended to individuals with frequent or prolonged migraine attacks. In patients with tension headaches, organic causes underlying the headache should be ruled out, while the treatment includes pharmacological and non-pharmacological measures. Although rare, patients with cluster headaches suffer severe pain; oxygen inhalation or triptans are recommended for acute attack, and preventive therapy may be indicated in some cases. The guidelines provide classification, diagnostic criteria and therapeutic principles for primary headaches. All recommendations listed in the guidelines are based on meta-analyses and recommendations from the world literature, with special reference to therapeutic options available in Croatia.