A 35-year-old man comes to your office with a history of headaches that last 1...

This patient’s headache is consistent with tension-type or stress-related headache. The symptoms are mild, responsive to over-the-counter medications, and without red flags (neurologic signs, worsening pattern, nocturnal pain). Reassurance is appropriate.

Toronto Notes 2023 – Neurology, “Headache” Section:

“In the absence of red flags (e.g., sudden onset, focal deficits, age >50, worsening pattern), reassurance is the best course. Tension headaches are often related to stress and improve with lifestyle modification and simple analgesia.”

MCCQE1 Objectives (Internal Medicine > 76-6: Neurologic Symptoms):

“Candidates should recognize benign headache patterns and avoid unnecessary investigations.”

CT head (B) is not indicated. Stronger analgesics (D) may cause rebound headache. Specialist or psychiatric referrals (A, E) are premature.