Guest(s)
Dr. Mark Green
Topic
Headaches
Topic Info
June 7-13 is National Headache Awareness Week. If you have ever had a migraine, you know the pain and misery they can inflict. More than 45 million Americans suffer from severe headaches, but those who suffer specifically from migraines are approximately 7 million. While stress is the number one migraine trigger, it is estimated that 30 % of migraines are triggered from food and beverages. Dr. Mark Green, Director of Headache Medicine at ColumbiaDoctors Eastside joins Dr. DeSilva.
Guest Info
Dr. Mark Green, Director of the Headache Center at Columbia-Presbyterian Eastside in Manhattan, wants to educate the public about the different kinds of headache pain and the best medication to treat it. For example, Dr. Green explains that the principle of using opiods or “pain killers” to relieve migraines is inappropriate since head pain is conducted through a group of nerves called “trigeminovascular neurons” which have very few opiod receptors. Triptans, on the other hand, do work on these receptors and thus are far more effective in treating a migraine. Mistreatment of headaches can have many dangerous effects, such as the further perpetuation of the pain caused by a “rebound headache:” if pain relievers are overused, the headache may rebound as the last dose wears off, leading one to take more pills.
Website
Host
Dr. Derrick DeSilva
Show Date
6 / 12 / 2009
