About & editorial information
About Headache Map
Headache Map is a free, browser-based tool for recording where head pain is felt and how deep it seems to be. It exists to make conversations about symptoms more precise. It is not a diagnostic product.
Author
Headache Map is built and maintained by Jerry Zhang, an independent product maker and front-end engineer. The site is a personal, non-commercial project: there are no ads, no affiliate links, no sponsored content and no paid placements.
Medical review status
This content has not been clinically reviewed by a clinician. No physician, neurologist, headache specialist or other healthcare professional has reviewed or endorsed the educational text, the eight-area location chart, the red-flag list, or the depth scale. We do not claim medical expertise, and we do not present the tool as a medical device.
The 0–40 mm depth scale is an illustrative subjective scale for describing a feeling over time, not an anatomical measurement. Region names are approximate labels, not clinical anatomy. The tool cannot tell you what type of headache you have.
We state this plainly because health information should be transparent about who stands behind it. If clinical review is arranged in the future, this page will name the reviewer, their credentials, the scope of the review and the review date. Until then, please treat everything here as general education and discuss symptoms with a qualified healthcare professional.
How the content was put together
The educational sections were written from publicly available, authoritative guidance and then rewritten in plain language. They are intentionally conservative: where sources disagree or where a symptom pattern overlaps several conditions, the text says so rather than offering a single confident answer. Common patterns (for example, one-sided throbbing pain with migraine, or a tight band with tension-type headache) are described as often reported, never as rules.
Sources used for the educational material are listed below and also in the Sources & further reading section of the main page. We do not reproduce their text, and linking to them does not imply endorsement of this tool.
Sources
- International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition (ICHD-3)
- National Headache Foundation — The Complete Headache Chart
- National Headache Foundation — Headache Types
- American Migraine Foundation — Sinus headaches
- NHS — Headaches
- World Health Organization — Headache disorders fact sheet
Editorial policy & corrections
We aim to keep the location chart, red-flag list and FAQ consistent with current public guidance. When guidance changes, a mistake is reported, or a source moves, we correct the page and update the date below. Corrections are not silently folded into old text without a date change.
Last updated: (initial publication, version 1.0). The current version covers the 3D map tool, the eight-area chart, headache types, red flags, the pain-depth explanation and 15 frequently asked questions.
Privacy & data
The tool runs entirely in your browser. Markers, notes and settings are stored in your browser's local storage and are never uploaded. See the Privacy policy for the full details, including what the hosting provider may log.
3D assets & credits
The male head is the Lee Perry-Smith head by Infinite-Realities, distributed with the three.js decal example under CC BY 3.0. The female head is a converted, untextured mesh derived from the three.js Face Cap head. Rendering uses three.js. All assets are served locally from this site; nothing is loaded from a third-party CDN.
Contact & scope
This is a small independent project. It cannot answer medical questions, interpret an individual's symptoms, or provide an appointment. For anything health-related, contact a healthcare professional; for a suspected emergency, call your local emergency number.