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Muggle migraines
Posted on Jun 30th 2007 7:30PM by Maggie VinkFiled Under: Nutrition & Supplements
Are you a Harry Potter fan? I know I'm anxiously awaiting the release of the last book and the newest movie. But when Harry Potter references make their way into health news, I think Potter-mania has gone a bit too far!
In the Harry Potter series, Harry has a lighting bolt-shaped scar on his forehead; if he's too close in proximity or thought with the series' main bad guy, Voldemort, Harry gets searing pains in his head. Research in the recent edition of Headache magazine shows that one in 20 children and teens suffer from migraines. Researchers compared migraine symptoms in Muggle kids ("Muggle" = non-magic in Harry Potter-speak) kids to the pains Harry has.
The primary researcher in the study was a 17-year old high school graduate (and Potter fan). She re-read all 6 released books in the Potter series and extracted any quotes or information pertaining to Harry's headaches. The information from the books was passed to the other authors of the study -- Dr. Fred Sheftell, director of the New England Center for Headache and president-elect of the American Headache Society, and Timothy J. Steiner, a headache specialist at Imperial College of London and chairman of the World Health Organization's Global Campaign to Reduce the Burden of Headache Worldwide. Authors tried to match information describing Harry's headaches to traditional symptoms of migraines.Harry's symptoms like the "needle-sharp pain" and feeling as if his head were "about to split in two" are similar to what Muggle migraine sufferers feel. Beyond that, Harry's symptoms started when he was 11; typical in that most of the 28 million who experience migraines begin getting them as children or teens. Other of Harry's symptoms, like nausea and vomiting, also match up with migraine symptoms.
To manage migraine pain, however, you shouldn't hope for the wave of a magic wand. Children or adults who experience migraines should visit their doctor for recommendations.
In the Harry Potter series, Harry has a lighting bolt-shaped scar on his forehead; if he's too close in proximity or thought with the series' main bad guy, Voldemort, Harry gets searing pains in his head. Research in the recent edition of Headache magazine shows that one in 20 children and teens suffer from migraines. Researchers compared migraine symptoms in Muggle kids ("Muggle" = non-magic in Harry Potter-speak) kids to the pains Harry has.
The primary researcher in the study was a 17-year old high school graduate (and Potter fan). She re-read all 6 released books in the Potter series and extracted any quotes or information pertaining to Harry's headaches. The information from the books was passed to the other authors of the study -- Dr. Fred Sheftell, director of the New England Center for Headache and president-elect of the American Headache Society, and Timothy J. Steiner, a headache specialist at Imperial College of London and chairman of the World Health Organization's Global Campaign to Reduce the Burden of Headache Worldwide. Authors tried to match information describing Harry's headaches to traditional symptoms of migraines.Harry's symptoms like the "needle-sharp pain" and feeling as if his head were "about to split in two" are similar to what Muggle migraine sufferers feel. Beyond that, Harry's symptoms started when he was 11; typical in that most of the 28 million who experience migraines begin getting them as children or teens. Other of Harry's symptoms, like nausea and vomiting, also match up with migraine symptoms.
To manage migraine pain, however, you shouldn't hope for the wave of a magic wand. Children or adults who experience migraines should visit their doctor for recommendations.
