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Home > Special Health Reports > Headaches: Treating and preventing migraine and other headaches  
 

Headaches: Treating and preventing migraine and other headaches

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Headache Health Report
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Headache is one of the most common types of pain. In any given year, almost 90% of men and 95% of women have at least one headache.

In most cases, the pain probably isn’t an omen of some terrible disease, but instead a response to the realities of modern life: stress, fatigue, and lack of sleep. Of course, that doesn’t make your headaches any less painful. But there are effective strategies for treating and even preventing them.

This report discusses a wide range of available medications and headache-management techniques. It also offers in-depth information on the most common kinds of headaches (tension, sinus, and migraine) and the treatment strategies that work best for each. Although some form of head pain will occasionally visit most people, no one should have to live with it. (updated: 2006)

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Table of Contents:

  • Introduction
  • Headache basics
    • What type of headache do you have?
    • Headache caused by a medication or illness
  • Evaluating your headache
    • When to see your doctor
    • The office visit
    • Diagnostic tests
  • First steps in treatment
    • Over-the-counter medications
    • Working with your doctor
  • Tension headache
    • Triggers and aggravators
    • Treating tension headache
    • Preventing tension headache
  • Sinus headache
    • How sinus headache develops
    • Treating sinus headache
    • Preventing sinus headache
  • Migraine headache
    • Migraine triggers
    • Treating migraine headache
    • Preventing migraine headache
    • Migraine treatments under investigation
  • Cluster headache
    • Treating cluster headache
    • Preventing cluster headache
  • Chronic daily headache
    • Treating chronic daily headache
    • Preventing chronic daily headache
    • Further options
  • Other tactics for coping with headaches
    • Avoiding triggers
    • Physical therapy
    • Mind-body techniques
    • Exercise
    • Acupuncture
    • Psychotherapy
    • Herbal remedies and dietary supplements
  • Headache diary
  • Glossary
  • Resources
    • Organizations
    • Books

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Here's an Excerpt from this Headache Special Health Report

Migraine pain has been called indescribable, yet 35 million Americans know it all too well. Migraine is the French derivation of the Greek word hemikrania, meaning “half a head,” referring to the typical pattern of migraine distress—pain only on one side of the head, most often at the temple. The affected side can vary from one attack to the next or during a single episode.

When migraine headaches are not particularly intense, you may want to try some home remedies before seeing a doctor. For some folks, strong, caffeinated black coffee is a simple and safe solution. Caffeine acts as a vasoconstrictor, meaning it causes blood vessels to narrow (see Figure 7). A migraine headache may also respond to an OTC analgesic (see “Over-the-counter medications,” page XX), if it’s taken when the pain is still mild. The prescription medication isometheptene (Midrin), which is a mild vasoconstrictor, may also be helpful. Even then, this treatment is likely to only lessen, not eliminate, the pain.

Most people with migraine headaches turn to their doctors for prescription medications, and the sooner the better. A crucial principle in treating migraine headache is that it’s much easier to nip it in the bud than to end an entrenched attack. It takes a quick-acting medication to squelch migraine pain. Most physicians start by prescribing a class of drugs called selective serotoninagonists, or triptans. If this initial strategy doesn’t work, other options are available.

When migraine headache attacks are particularly severe, do not respond to treatment, or occur more than three to four times a month, it’s wise to investigate preventive strategies. Generally, preventive therapy involves taking a course of medication daily, gradually tapering the dose, and ideally eventually discontinuing it altogether.

Beta blockers, used to treat high blood pressure and angina, and tricyclic antidepressants can reduce the frequency of migraine headaches by 50%–60%. They can also reduce the intensity and duration of the headaches. Calcium-channel blockers, also used to treat high blood pressure and angina, don’t have the track record of the beta blockers, but they show promise. Anticonvulsant medications may also help.

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