Migraines
a Problem for Harry Potter and other Children
Unlike Harry Potter, most Muggle children are not charged
with saving the world by fighting the evil Lord Voldemort.
But a surprising number of Muggles (non-wizards) do have
something in common with their wizard hero: They suffer from migraine headaches,
says a report in the medical journal Headache.
The report shows that one in 20 Muggle children and teens
suffers from migraines - many of them, like Harry's, undiagnosed.
To raise awareness of this other evil, the American and
British authors of the study decided to compare Harry's symptoms with what
is known about Muggle migraines.
Hallie Thomas, a 17-year-old high school graduate from Monroe,
Conn., was the senior author on the research. She is a Harry Potter fan and
also a migraine sufferer.
For the study, she re-read all six Harry Potter volumes
published to date, highlighting the passages where he had a headache.
Those were passed on to the study's other two authors: Dr.
Fred Sheftell, president-elect of the American Headache
Society, and Timothy J. Steiner, chairman of the World
Health Organization Global Campaign to Reduce the Burden of Headache Worldwide.
They then tried to match the references to the description
of migraine in the International Classification of Headache
Disorders, 2nd edition (ICHD-II ).
Granted, this is a Muggle book, but the study authors noted
that they had no access to wizard systems of headache classification.
The Harry Potter books abound with descriptions that Muggle
migraine sufferers will relate to:
"Then a pain pierced his head like he'd never
felt before, it was as though his scar was on fire..."
"At once, a needle-sharp pain seared across
Harry's scar; his head felt as though it was about to split in two..."
"And then, without warning, Harry's scar
exploded with pain. It was agony such as he had never felt in all his life;
his wand slipped from
his fingers as he put his hands over his face; his knees buckled; he was on
the ground, and he could see nothing at all; his head was about to split open...
The pain in his scar reached such a pitch that he retched, and then it diminished.
"His scar seared and burned... the pain of
it was making his eyes stream..."
And there is more.
Harry was 11 when his headaches started. More than half
of the 28 million Americans who suffer from these debilitating headaches start
getting them as children or teens.
Hallie Thomas recalls getting migraines since "I
was really little."
In fact, Harry's horrible headaches meet all but one of
the ICHD-II criteria for migraine.
They include pain often but not always on one side of the
head (Harry's headaches originate in the lightning-shaped scar on the side
of his forehead); nausea and vomiting (see book reference above to retching);
and disabling pain (see reference to wand slipping).
The only criterion Harry does not meet is the duration of
the headache. Harry's headaches usually last only a few minutes, while Muggle
migraines can endure for hours.
But wizards recuperate quickly from illness and injury,
the study authors point out.
"Harry's quick recovery could be due to his magical powers," says
Dr. Sheftell.
Regardless, because of the one missing criterion,
the authors give Harry the diagnosis of "probable migraine."
Hallie agrees that "maybe" Harry Potter is
getting migraines.
"He talks about searing pain, and sometimes he can't see
and stuff," she says. She adds that she sometimes cannot go out in the sun
because her migraines are so excruciating.
According to the study authors, Muggle children and teens
with frequent headaches should first be seen by their primary-care physician
(Harry saw Madame Pomfrey in the Hogwarts infirmary).
If their headaches persist, they should be seen by a specialist.
Treatment programs do not have to include medication and
can rely instead on stress management, getting proper sleep, and exercise and
avoiding triggers.
Always consult your physician for more information. |
