Migraines: What causes them and how to find relief
This article explores the history and evolving medical understanding of migraines, moving from ancient misconceptions to modern neurological science. It clarifies the distinction between primary and secondary headaches and highlights the importance of recognizing migraines as a legitimate medical condition.
Why it matters
It improves public health literacy regarding a common but often misunderstood neurological disorder.
We’ve been trying to cure migraines – without much success, until relatively recently – for as long as we’ve been able to identify them as a distinct ailment. The Ebers Papyrus, a scroll dating back to 1550 BC that mentions a “disease of one half of the head”, suggests anointing the scalp with fried catfish; Galen, the second-century Roman physician whose term “hemicrania” evolved into the modern word, recommended bloodletting (this, to be fair, was his answer to a lot of things). By the 20th century, doctors were suggesting repressed emotions might be at fault, leading to suggestions that women – who suffer from migraines far more than men – were simply too fragile and neurotic.
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