|
|
Migraine is a common episodic pain disorder, the treatment of which can be acute to stop an attack or preventive to reduce the frequency, duration or severity of attacks. Preventive treatment is used when attacks are frequent or disabling.
|
|
|
Headache is a very common complaint encountered by practitioners in almost every specialty of medicine and surgery. More than 90% of the population experience headache of one type or another at least once during life.
|
|
|
Nothing in clinical neurology exceeds the demands on the clinician more than diagnosing and managing the patient with headache, a process that demands a combination of clinical skill and good interpersonal relationships. The physician dealing with the patient who presents with headache will by the history determine the likely diagnosis; by the brief, structured examination receive some reassurance that there is no lurking lesion causing the problem; and by his or her ability to see past the patient's naive words of complaint, recognize a pattern of symptomatology, allowing a confident diagnosis that will allow equally confident management.
|