It's Migraine Awareness Month - Do You Know What Type Of Headache You Have?

Main Category: Headache / Migraine
Article Date: 12 Jan 2005 - 11:00 PST

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Recent Study Reveals 80 Percent of Reported Sinus Headache Sufferers May Actually Have Migraines -

Research Triangle Park, NC - With the holidays now over and a new year beginning, millions of Americans are resolving to take control of their health.

Yet while so many people are plagued by frequent bad headaches, seeing one's doctor about recurring headaches is rarely a top resolution. January is Migraine Awareness Month, the perfect time to make getting a proper diagnosis and treatment for your headaches a priority.

A recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine showed that 80 percent of nearly 3,000 patients who complained of sinus headaches were actually found to be experiencing symptoms of migraine. "The fact is, sinus headache is an uncommon occurrence that affects a small percentage of people," said Curtis Schreiber, MD, a headache specialist and Associate Director of the Headache Care Center in Springfield, MO. "The confusion comes from prematurely assigning symptoms like congestion and facial pain to sinusitis instead of considering the other medical conditions that can produce the same or similar symptoms."

Symptoms of migraine vary by person, and one migraine may exhibit different symptoms from another. Migraines include some of the following symptoms: pain on one side of the head, moderate to severe pain, throbbing pain, worse pain when moving or bending over, nausea or vomiting, sensitivity to light and sound, aura (flashing lights, visual disturbance).

Migraines do not always include such classic symptoms as auras, however. In fact, according to the American Migraine Study II, only about 24 percent of people without a previous physician diagnosis of migraine actually reported having aura.

Additionally, migraines also can have other symptoms that overlap with other kinds of headaches. Migraines are sometimes mistaken for "sinus" headaches because migraine pain can be felt on the face, around the eyes, or in the sinuses; symptoms can include stuffy or runny nose and watery eyes; migraines can be triggered by weather changes and allergies.

Diagnosing migraines has been historically difficult. For years researchers have acknowledged that migraine is often misunderstood, misdiagnosed, and under-diagnosed, leading to under-treatment. A study published in the medical journal Headache evaluated over 1,200 patients who visited a physician about their headaches found that 9 out of 10 patients had migraine or probable migraine and one in four did not get the proper diagnosis.

Understanding various headache types and seeing your doctor are the first steps one can take to ensure proper diagnosis and treatment of migraines. If you suffer from frequent bad headaches, you can play a critical role in proper diagnosis. Additional tips to help you take control of your headaches include:

• Educate yourself about migraines

• Go to http://www.headachequiz.com and take the migraine quiz

• Keep a headache diary. Be ready to describe how your symptoms are affecting your life, and which activities tend to trigger symptoms

• Visit a doctor specifically about your headaches

• Ask about what treatment is right for you, and for detailed instructions on how to take the medicine

• Follow up with your physician regularly to let him or her know how you are doing If your doctor diagnoses your headaches as migraines, he or she may prescribe a migrainespecific medicine, such as Imitrex® (sumatriptan succinate) Tablets, the first and most widely prescribed medication of its type, to help alleviate symptoms.

About Imitrex

Imitrex is a prescription medication indicated for the acute treatment of migraine in adults. Imitrex should only be used where a clear diagnosis of migraine has been established. It is not for use in patients with sinus symptoms in the absence of a diagnosis of migraine. Patients should not take Imitrex if they have certain types of heart disease, history of stroke or TIAs,

peripheral vascular disease, Raynaud syndrome, or blood pressure that is uncontrolled. Patients with risk factors for heart disease, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes or are a smoker, should be evaluated by a doctor before taking Imitrex. Very rarely, certain people, even some without heart disease, have had serious heart related problems. Patients who are pregnant, nursing, or taking medications should talk to their doctor.

About GlaxoSmithKline

GlaxoSmithKline, with U.S. operations are in Philadelphia and Research Triangle Park, N.C., is one of the world's leading research-based pharmaceutical and health care companies. The company is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer.

Please consult full prescribing information, available at http://www.Imitrex.com or by calling Robin Gaitens at GlaxoSmithKline (USA) at (919) 483-2839.

This is a Press Release from GlaxoSmithKline

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