People who don't get migraines don't always understand how distressing these attacks can be. They may think you're making a fuss if you're out of school with a headache or need to rest in a darkened room. But getting lots of migraines can stop you from doing the things you enjoy, and have a big effect on your life.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Goadsby PJ, Lipton RB, Ferrari MD.
Migraine: current understanding and treatment.
New England Journal of Medicine. 2002; 346: 257-270.

 

 

 

 

 

¹

It might make you feel better to know that although migraines can feel terrible, they don't mean that there's anything seriously wrong, such as a brain tumor.

If you're a parent of a young child who gets migraines, you might be able to make them feel better by reassuring them that there's nothing seriously wrong.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
British Association for the Study of Headache.
Guidelines for all doctors in the diagnosis and management of migraine and tension-type headache.
August 2004. Available at http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/11489/Documents/BASH_guidelines_slides.ppt (accessed on 21 January 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

²

If you get migraines as a child, the good news is you might stop getting them when you reach

 

 

 

 

 

puberty
Puberty is the time when boys and girls develop secondary sexual characteristics. For boys, the major changes include pubic hair, a deeper voice, and growth of their penis and testicles. For girls, major changes include pubic hair, breasts and starting to have periods. After puberty, girls are able to become pregnant and boys are able to father children.

 

 

 

 

 

puberty.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Amery WK, Vandenbergh V.
What can precipitating factors teach us about the pathogenesis of migraine?
Headache. 1987; 27: 146-150.

 

 

 

 

 

³ There's more than a 50 percent chance that you'll stop getting them.

If you start getting migraines as a teenager, you'll probably still get them when you're an adult. But migraines tend not to be as bad when you get older.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Pearce JMS.
Migraine.
In: Weatherall DJ, Ledingham JGG, Warrell DA (editors). Oxford textbook of medicine. OUP, Oxford, UK; 1996.

 

 

 

 

 

⁴

There are also things you can try yourself to help with migraines. To read more, see How to help yourself.

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