Think You Are Suffering From AS inus Headache? Think Again (NAPSA)—For the past few years, Crystal Kantaroglu says she suffered from the same uncomfortable sinus headache symptoms, including stuffiness, runny nose and head pain. When decongestants didn’t relieve the pain, Crystal’s daily routine becamedifficult to manage. Heeding her physician’s advice, she began keeping a headachediary to record each attack. “All my life I’ve had headaches with pressure in my nose area and behind my eyes, and I’ve always been told I have sinus headaches,” said Crystal. “When I finally kept track of all my symptomsI realized I had more going on than just feelings of pressure around the nose and eyes. I talked to my doctor, and he determined I wasactually suffering from migraine. Now, with the right migraine medicine, I can treat my migraine and get on with mylife.” Crystal isn’t alone. Migraine affects 28 million Americans and can result in missed days of work, lost time with family and friends and a disrupted lifestyle. Migraine is characterized by moderate to severe headache pain, nausea, and sensitivity to light and sound. In addition, migraine attacks can include symptoms commonly interpreted as signs of sinus headache (i.e., nasal congestion, runny nose, watery eyes). A recent study enrolled more than 2,500 people with selfdescribed or physician-diagnosed sinus headache. Patients with evidence of acute sinus infection were excluded. Ninety percent of the patients described symptoms s. Help is available for people whoget migraine headaches. that met International Headache Society criteria for migraine. Migraine pain results from an interaction between the trigeminal nerve and blood vessels around the brain. Since branches of the trigeminal nerve are located around the sinus cavity, during a migraine attack, some people can perceive pain in the region of the sinuses. When this happens, sufferers often think that the source of their pain is the sinuses when in fact the pain is due to a migraine. “Many people who believe they have sinus headaches and also have migraine-related symptoms find the treatments they’re taking do not always providerelief,” said Dr. Curtis Schreiber, a neurologist at the Headache Care Center in Springfield, Mo., and co-author of the study. “Our goal of getting a better diagnosis for patients with migraine may help them receive a better treatment so they can get back to theirlives.” If the diagnosis is migraine, then migraine-specifie prescription therapies, like Imitrex (sumatriptan succinate) Tablets and Injection and Imitrex (sumatriptan) Nasal Spray, which are manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, are available to treat the pain and associated symptoms of migraine without causing sedation. Imitrex was the first prescription drug in a class of drugs called triptans to receive U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the acute treatment of migraine in adults. It should only be used where a clear diagnosis of migraine has been established. Imitrex is not for use in patients with sinus symptoms in the absence of a diagnosis of migraine. Imitrex is contraindicated in patients with history, symptoms or signs of ischemic cardiac, cerebrovascular or peripheral vascular syndromes. In addition, patients with other significant underlying cardiovascular diseases should not receive Imitrex. Patients with risk factors for heart disease (such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, smoking, strong family history of heart disease, or are postmenopausal or a male over 40) should be evaluated by a health care provider to determine if Imitrex is appropriate therapy. For more information, please visit www.migrainehelp.com. + Schreiber, Curtis; Hutchinson, Susan; Powers, Connie; Webster, Christopher; Petrie, Jonathon L., “Physician Diagnosed and Patient Self-Described Sinus Headache Is Predominately Migraine,” 2002. eee WO eee Note to Editors: For complete prescribing information for Imitrex Tablets, Nasal Spray and Injection, please contact Katie Cline, DeVries Public Relations, 212-891-0437, kcline@devries-pr.com.
