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Head Games: Fight Off a Migraine
Here's how to fight back

Don't blame your next blinding headache on stress or your kid's music. A new study by the Headache Care Center in Springfield, Missouri, found that 80 percent of people who thought they were having sinus headaches actually had migraines. "Men are less likely to go to a doctor, and if they go, they're less likely to be diagnosed," says Richard Lipton, M.D., vice chairman of neurology at the Albert Einstein college of medicine in New York City. He developed this three-question quiz to screen for migraines:

1. in the past 3 months, have headaches limited your activities?

2. Does headache pain make you sick to your stomach?

3. Does light bother you? "If you answer 'yes' to two questions, there's a 93 percent chance you are suffering from migraines," says Dr. Lipton. Many men are unaware of the availability of treatment.

Triggers. Common culprits are red wine, nuts, bright lights, chocolate, smoke, stress, lack of sleep, irregular exercise, climate changes, and alcohol. But almost anything can set off a migraine, says Robert Kaniecki, M.D., director of the University of Pittsburgh headache center. Your doctor can narrow it down.

Treatment. "Usually a patient just has to pin down the triggers and make minor lifestyle changes," says Dr. Kaniecki. Prescription medications can stop pain soon after onset.