Migraine Headaches; Women's Health; Scientific American Presents; by Schmiedeskamp, Sheftell; 1 Page(s)

Some 20 million women in the U.S.-nearly one in seven-suffer from migraines, making this ailment one of the most common to strike women. The majority of migraine patients have their first attack before age 30. MIA SCHMIEDESKAMP, special correspondent for SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, talks about migraine with FRED D. SHEFTELL, M.D., cofounder of the New England Center for Headache and president of the American Council for Headache Education.

Q:How would you describe a migraine headache? A:A typical migraine is characterized by throbbing pain on one side of the head, nausea, sensitivity to light and sound and, in some cases, visual or other sensory disturbances. Surprisingly, 60 percent of sufferers have never been diagnosed. Indeed, many U.S. doctors leave their training woefully unprepared to recognize and treat migraine: on average, they receive just one or two hours of instruction on common headache ailments.