Migraines and Other Headaches

Medicine Encyclopedia

Migraines and Other Headaches - What Are Migraine Headaches - What Is Migraine?, How Common Are Migraines? - At What Age Do Migraine Headaches Start?, Who Gets More Migraines—Guys or Girls?, Migraine Equivalents

“I ‘m the youngest of four kids in our family, and the only one, except my mom, who gets migraines,” says Maria. “Sometimes I wake up with it — it's like a knife in my eye. I just want to go back to sleep, but my mom makes me get up and go to school. I sit on the bus with my head between my knees and I press on my eye. I take aspirin or ibuprofen as soon a…

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Migraines and Other Headaches - When Headaches Are Not Migraines - Tension Headaches, Less Serious Headaches

People who have frequent headaches often have more than one type of headache. Sometimes one kind of headache merges into another. Last Halloween, Lisa had a tension headache. She remembers it well because it felt as if she was carrying a twenty-five pound pumpkin on her head. By the next day, the pain had moved to her eye socket and began to throb. The nurse at school said that Lisa's heada…

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Migraines and Other Headaches - Recognizing Migraine Headaches - Who Can Help?, The Doctor Takes The History, The Physical Exam, Other Diagnostic Tools - Draw A Picture Of Your Headache, Honesty Is The Best Policy

Headaches are scary. Headaches interfere with your life. Headaches make you depressed. However, the more you know about your headaches, the better you will be able to deal with them. Steve Lindner, M.D., a pediatric neurologist in Dallas, Texas, says that most kids want to know three things about their headaches: Most people don't go to the doctor if they feel they don't have to. Eve…

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Migraines and Other Headaches - Prevention - Avoiding Stress, Learning To Relax, Liking Yourself, Migraine Prevention Medications - Avoiding Headache Triggers, Staying in Shape, Herbs, Vitamins, and Minerals

When it comes to headache prevention, there is good news and bad news. The bad news is that preventing your headaches may not be entirely possible. The good news is that prevention is definitely worth a try Work on the lifestyle changes listed below. They won't hurt and they may help. (Medications for headache prevention are listed last, because doctors prescribe them only for frequent and …

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Migraines and Other Headaches - For Further Reading

Albright, Peter, M.D. The Complete Book of Complementary Therapies: The Best Known Alternative Therapies to Relieve Everyday Ailments. Allentown, PA: People's Medical Society, 1997. Cady, Roger, M.D., and Kathleen Farmer. Headache Free: A Personalized Program to Stop Migraine, Cluster, Sinus, Tension, Menstrual, and Rebound Headaches. New York: Bantam Books, 1996. Cassileth, Barrie R. The A…

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