What should a nurse assess in a client who presents with a sudden onset headache?

Assessing the client's medication history is crucial when a patient presents with a sudden onset headache. This type of headache could potentially indicate an underlying issue related to medication use, such as medication overuse or withdrawal, side effects from recent prescriptions, or interactions between various medications. Understanding the medications the client is taking can help identify possible causes—such as the development of a headache from abrupt discontinuation of a drug or interactions that could lead to increased intracranial pressure or other complications.

In assessing other factors, such as dietary habits or family history of headaches, while they may provide useful background information, they are less immediately relevant in the context of a sudden headache and do not directly correlate to acute care decision-making. Similarly, sexual health is not typically associated with headaches and is less likely to yield pertinent insights for this specific situation. Thus, focusing on the medication history provides the most clinically relevant information for identifying the cause and appropriate interventions for the sudden headache.