Heading Off Migraine Pain

In the first quarter of Super Bowl XXXII last January, Denver Broncos running back Terrell Davis was hit hard and walked off the field with a towel draped over his head. A developing migraine made the sunlight difficult to bear.In the first quarter of Super Bowl XXXII last January, Denver Broncos running back Terrell Davis was hit hard and walked off the field with a towel draped over his head. A developing migraine made the sunlight difficult to bear.

So how did a person suffering from migraine, a condition that can cause debilitating pain, return after halftime to score the winning touchdown and earn Most Valuable Player status? The answer: He recognized the early warning signs and immediately took an effective drug to control his pain.

Michael John Coleman, founder of Migraine Awareness Group: A National Understanding for Migraineurs, or MAGNUM, appreciates the challenges migraine sufferers face. Coleman has himself suffered with bouts of severe migraine headache pain since age 6. During an attack, he says, "I felt like I was being beaten up by a gang." Coleman's attacks used to last 72 hours or more; a couple lasted more than two weeks straight. "It was nightmarish, when I look back at it. I don't know if I could live through that again."

Not Your Usual Headache

More than 26 million Americans suffer from the neurologic disorder of migraine, according to the American Medical Association. No medical test exists for migraine, so the diagnosis is based on having some or all of the following symptoms:

• a moderate to severe throbbing pain for four to 72 hours that is frequently on one side of the head (the word migraine comes from the Greek hemicranios, meaning half a head)
• nausea, with or without vomiting
• sensitivity to light and sound (see "Is It a Migraine?" below)

About 15 to 20 percent of migraine sufferers experience visual and other disturbances about 15 minutes before the head pain. These symptoms, collectively known as "aura," may include flashing lights, zig-zag lines, bright spots, loss of part of one's field of vision, or numbness or tingling in the hand, tongue, or side of the face. Migraines preceded by an aura are called classic migraines; all others are referred to as common migraines. According to news reports, the Broncos' Davis experienced an aura during the Super Bowl, allowing him to get early treatment to prevent a full-blown migraine.

Migraines strike some people about two or three times a year and others as frequently as twice a week or more. They appear to have a genetic link. According to the American Council for Headache Education, up to 90 percent of people with migraine have a family history of the condition.

While migraines usually appear in young adulthood, children aren't immune. In children, pain sometimes occurs on both sides of the head. Associated symptoms can include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.