Migraines are the most common form of headache that we see in general, and it’s typically by the FDA’s definition of chronic migraine, which is greater than 15 days of headache per month.
The big issue here is that they’re genetic and patients have a predisposition to headaches. Usually, they know that somebody in the family has had migraines in the past. They may not have called the migraines that may have caused them sinus headaches or tension headaches, but typically it’s a pretty classic migraine.
There are more common in women, the more common around their periods. They’re more common, especially with stress or anxiety. They usually throbbing in quality and they may decrease the patient’s activity.
It’s more commonly on one side of the head. And a lot of times it’ll start on one side, as it gets worse, it spreads to the other side of the head.
The most common symptoms are nausea or vomiting, sensitivity to light, or sensitivity to sound.
If you receive injections of botulinum toxin, including Botox, the effect lasts about three months. Just in the last month, there is two new medications that have been approved for migraine headache. And these medications are designed specifically for migraine.
There’ll be another several out in the next couple of years for headaches. And it’s actually a very exciting thing.
