Understanding Migraine and Other Headaches

Book excerpt: Health & SICKNESS -- Consumer Health . In the United States, eighteen percent of women, six percent of men, and four percent of children suffer from migraine headaches. All races are affected, although, for reasons which are unknown, whites are more likely than African Americans to be afflicted with the condition, and Asian Americans are least often migraine sufferers. Migraine is an inherited condition-many families can trace it back for generations-and it has enormous economic and social consequences, both to individual sufferers, and to the society as a whole. The cost to the U.S. society alone is in excess of $13 billion per year in lost productivity and in health care. Understanding Migraine and Other Headaches provides up-to-date information on the causes and diagnoses, as well as current preventive measures, effective treatments, and surgical procedures. The book gives an overview of every major type of headache, including the debilitating, nausea-inducing forms of migraine, episodic tension-type headaches (the most common form), chronic daily headaches, and more obscure head-aches such as trigeminal neuralgia and cluster headaches. This book is intended for those who are burdened by headaches as well as for their families, coworkers, employers, and friends. As such, it is written in a lucid and simple style that is accessible both to lay readers and medical professionals. In the last two decades, revolutionary new migraine-specific medications have been developed. This book undertakes a comprehensive look at medications for acute as needed treatment of headaches and for preventing the onset of an attack. It offers guidelines for assessing headache pain, the level and type of medication needed, possible side effects, and drug effectiveness. Stewart J. Tepper is director of the New England Center for Headaches in Stamford, Connecticut.