Should my child take migraine prophylaxis?
As is described above, migraine prophylaxis is typically considered when there are 8 or more migraine days each month. However, there are circumstances where prophylaxis may be appropriate with less frequent migraines. For example, if your child has debilitating migraines that make him miss school…
How can I help my teen to deal with migraines?
In addition to seeing your physician about recommended acute and preventive treatment options, there are many things that you can help your teen with that do not require prescriptions. Several lifestyle issues have been shown to significantly contribute to the severity of migraines. Maintaining…
Can migraine make a child miss school?
It is relatively common for children with severe migraines to miss school during an attack. In some situations, severe and frequent migraines may significantly impair a child’s ability to attend school and perform well in school. This is perhaps why children and adolescents with migraine…
Is it possible to have more than one type of headache?
It is possible to have more than one headache type. There more than 200 types of headaches as categorized by the International Headache Society. It is important to realize that people with primary headache disorders, like migraine, can also have secondary headaches as well. It…
What is cluster headache?
Cluster headache is a type of primary headache disorder. These headaches are caused by an electrical or chemical problem in the brain as opposed to an underlying medical problem such as a brain tumour that might occur in secondary headaches. People often describe the headaches…
What is trigeminal neuralgia?
Trigeminal neuralgia is one of the most common causes of sudden and severe pain in parts of the face. It is caused by a problem with the trigeminal nerve, which is a nerve that is responsible for sensation in the face. There are many causes…
What is medication overuse?
Acute medications are those medications that you take at the time the headache is occurring. People who have frequent headaches, who take acute medications on a regular basis, could be making their headaches worse, leading to more headaches. These headaches are known as medication overuse…
Can sleep apnea cause headache?
Screening for sleep apnea may help your headaches! Sleep apnea is commonly caused by obstruction of the air flow during sleep leading to short arrests of breathing. When breathing is blocked, oxygen gets low in the blood, blood pressure gets high, and this may lead…
I have bruxism. Could it explain my headaches?
Bruxism is repetitive stereotypical teeth grinding and clenching. If occurring during sleep, it is associated with sleep arousal activity. Diagnosis is often based on reported history of tooth-grinding sounds during sleep, morning jaw muscle pain and stiffness, masseter muscle enlargement and teeth wear/damage. Bruxism may…
Is Migraine a Vascular Headache?
For many years, people have tried to understand where the pain of a migraine headache comes from, and what causes it. Over time, our understanding of migraine and what causes migraine attacks has improved, although there are still many things about migraine that are unknown….