The Age of the Aquarius and Your Headaches: What you should know Before You Logon
By Teshamae Monteith, MD and the New Investigator and Trainee Special Interest Section
The internet and social media have created an explosion of resources for patients to learn more about their headache disorders. As for much of what you generally read on the internet, patients should exercise caution when navigating the web for health education. The New Investigator and Trainee Special Interest Section of the American Headache Society® (AHS) is committed to the development of new researchers in the field. In recognizing the difficulties some patients may face in researching headache information, we have provided a short guide to assist patients in finding the right resources to research their headache care.
Wikipedia is a free encyclopedia that has entries listed and edited by users. You can imagine the potential for inaccuracies in an essentially unregulated process. As a saving grace, Wikipedia listings do provide references; however, references are few in number and it is ultimately the responsibility of the reader to look up those references.
Signing up for
Twitter is an interesting way to follow the latest headache news. For current headache information, you can follow ACHE (
@ahsache) and AHS (
@ahsheadache). In addition, the Migraine Research Foundation (
@MigraineRF) and the Migraine Trust (
@MigraineTrust) also have Twitter feeds. When looking for support and information from a patient perspective, Teri Robert (
@TRobert) frequently tweets and blogs.
Youtube can be a source of invaluable education at its best. You can find high quality footage such as
Brainstorm - Medication Overuse Headache with Elizabeth Loder MD, MPH, FAHS and Stephen Silberstein MD, FAHS; alternatively, you may also find
the potential for inaccuracies. For example when searching for “migraine cures”, 2,400 results were found! While the headache field has made great progress in its understanding and treatment of migraine, rigorous scientific literature does not support any evidence of a migraine cure.
Many patients go to online chat rooms and sites that rate physicians; however, the American Migraine Foundation has a new app where you can find a board certified headache specialist near you. Ultimately, developing a trusting and open relationship with your headache care provider is the best way to learn more about your headache problem and get the treatment that you need.
Dedication to Fred Sheftell, MD
Teshamae Monteith, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurology, Director of the Headache Program, University of Miami, Miami, FL.