Migraine 1-2-3-4-5: a candidate communication aid for adult migraine without aura

Migraine remains under-recognised despite its substantial global burden. This Correspondence presents Migraine 1-2-3-4-5 as a candidate communication aid for adults aged 18 years or older with recurrent headache. It reorganises selected positive clinical features of migraine without aura from the International Classification of Headache Disorders, third edition (ICHD-3), into five numerical anchors spanning four clinical domains: one associated-symptom category, at least two headache features, one 4–72-hour duration condition jointly encoded by 3 days and 4 h, and at least five attacks. Its proposed value is a compact, visible structure for discussing clinically relevant history before or during a clinical encounter; whether it improves comprehension, recall, or reporting is unknown. It is not a questionnaire, score, diagnostic rule, or exclusion rule. Interpretation requires several caveats: successfully treated attacks may be shorter than 4 h; fewer than five otherwise typical attacks may meet criteria for probable migraine without aura; and new, sudden, progressive, atypical, or concerning headache requires clinical assessment. This is a conceptual article; no participants were enrolled and no outcomes were measured. Validation should proceed hierarchically from comprehension, recall, and accurate symptom reporting to communication outcomes, followed by diagnostic-concordance and safety outcomes. Comparative usability testing against an information-matched plain-language presentation is required before routine public use can be recommended.