Rhinogenic contact point headache – A review

Abstract

Headache is a universal symptom in the course of everyone's life. There are myriads of causes for headache ranging from simple migraine, tension headache, refractory errors in the eye, temporomandibular joint arthralgia, and myofascial spasm to severe form of headache by brain tumors. The anatomical variations in the nasal cavity result in mucosal contact between the opposing surface and cause rhinogenic contact point headache (RCPH). RCPH is a new type of headache in medical literature. The pathogenesis of the RCPH is still the subject of controversy. Nose has diverse anatomical variations. Deviated nasal septum or spur, middle turbinate concha bullosa, and enlarged bulla ethmoidalis are the common anatomical variation in the nasal cavity which can cause RCPH. Diagnostic nasal endoscopy and computed tomography scan are helpful to confirm the mucosal contact points inside the nasal cavity. The precise excision of the contact points with the help of endoscopic approach in patients of RCPH is very effective. Clinicians should not ignore the anatomical variation of the nasal cavity during management of the headache. There is not much literature for RCPH indicating that this clinical entity is neglected. This review article presents an overview of the current aspect of RCPH.