A story in Reuters Health on Friday, June 22, 2007, By Anthony J. Brown, MD says that new research is suggesting an effective treatment for chronic recurrent headaches, in children and adolescents, involves training them in self-hypnosis. Two doctors in Minnesota assessed the outcome of training to deal with headaches through self-hypnosis of 178 young people, with an average age of 11 years.

A report in The Journal of Pediatrics indicated that training of the young participants, in inducing self-hypnosis, took place during three or four visits. Choices of therapeutic hypnotic suggestions were given to the youngsters to assist them in intensifying the hypnotic state. An example of a hypnotic suggestion used in the story was "when you have a headache, let yourself imagine you are somewhere where you never have a headache, and go there." The youngsters were encouraged to practice self-hypnosis at home at least twice a day.

The report indicated that data available for analysis included headache severity, frequency, and duration before, during, and after learning self-hypnosis. Apparently, the training in self-hypnosis led to a reduction in the average duration of a headache from 23.6 hours to three hours for those studied. The frequency of headaches reported dropped from 4.5 a week to 1.4 per week and the average intensity dropped from 10.3 to 4.7 on a 12-point scale.

Dr. Daniel P. Kohen, from the University of Minnesota, and Dr. Robert Zajac, from Glencoe Regional Health Services acknowledge long-term follow-up of patients is necessary.

Headaches occasionally are a warning of a more serious disorder, although this is rare. Tell your health care provider if you have sudden, severe headaches. If a headache occurs after a hard hit to your head, or you experience a stiff neck, fever, confusion, loss of consciousness or pain in the eye or ear along with the headache, seek medical attention immediately.

Some common headaches are migraines, cluster headaches, and sinus headaches. Usually taking pain relievers and learning ways to relax are sufficient remedies for most people.

A correct headache diagnosis is necessary to establish an effective treatment plan. If you would like to assist your doctor in determining the cause of your headaches, you should keep a journal about each of your headaches.

• What seemed to trigger the headache (for example, do certain situations, foods, or medications usually trigger the headache?)
• When did it begin, what time of day or night
• How long did it last
• Did it seem to be a single type of headache or multiple type
• How often the headaches occurs
• Does physical activity make the headache pain worse
• What events are associated with the headache
• Who else in your family has headaches
• What symptoms, if any, occur between headaches
• Where the pain is located
• What it feels like
• How severe the headache pain is, using a scale from one (mild) to 10 (severe)
• Are there changes in vision, blind spots, or bright lights before the headache
• What other symptoms or warning signs occur with the headache (weakness, nausea, sensitivity to light or noise, decreased appetite, changes in attitude or behavior)

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