Abortive Agents - medications used to reverse, abort or reduce headaches once they start.
Acupuncture - a complementary therapy. Originating in China, this age-old practice involves inserting extremely slender needles into specific points along the body, called meridians, to relieve pain or discomfort.
Analgesics – also referred to as pain-relievers or “pain-killers,” some types of these medications can be purchased off the grocery or drugstore shelf, while other — stronger — analgesics require prescriptions.
Aura - specific neurological symptoms that accompany certain types of migraine headaches. The most common aura symptoms are visual, such as bright zigzag lines, sparkling moving figures, blind spots and distorted objects.
Biofeedback - a technique that involves a learning process whereby certain visual or auditory (sound-based) feedback allows individuals to train themselves to initiate responses that help control or normalize their psychological responses to pain and may help reduce muscle tension and spasm contributing to pain.
Complementary Therapy - a recognized therapy, such as acupuncture, biofeedback, hypnosis, massage, relaxation techniques, etc., used alone or in combination with other forms of treatment, such as medications, injections or surgery.
Computerized Tomography (CT) Scans - a non-invasive diagnostic procedure used to rule out brain tumors or lesions in headache patients.
Dilate - Expand.
Homeopathic Medicine – an alternative approach used to treat illness and relieve discomfort in a wide range of health conditions.? Homeopathy, which uses very small amounts of a substance, is based on using the “law of similars” to stimulate a healing response. The law of similars states that a substance that will cause disease symptoms in a normal person can, when given in homeopathic dilutions to an ill individual, prompt the same set of symptoms to initiate a healing response.
Medications – agents that help counteract a condition’s effect on the body.
Photophobia - sensitivity to light that can accompany headaches, particularly migraine and tension headaches.
Physiological - part of the body; typically refers to the physical processes governing a bodily functions, which, when disturbed or disrupted, may lead to medical conditions and disorders.
Postdrome - symptoms that can occur after a severe migraine attack, such as feeling tired or “washed out,” irritable and listless.
Post-traumatic – occurring after an accident or injury.
Primary Headache Disorder - a condition in which the headache represents the primary symptom of a physiological, or bodily, disorder. The more common primary headache types are migraine, tension-type, cluster and “ordinary.”
Prodrome – in migraine headaches, this refers to events, such as mood changes, stiff neck, fatigue, increased sensitivity to light, sound and smells, etc., that can occur hours to days before the actual headache.
Prophylactic Agents - preventive medications prescribed when headaches occur more than twice a week and/or are extremely painful.
Reactive Headache - one that is triggered by a “reaction” to something in a person’s environment or lifestyle.
Rebound Headache – also known as a? “toxic” headache, it is caused by excessive use of certain medications, including many of the analgesics and other agents used to treat chronic headaches.
Secondary Headache Disorder - a headache that arises as a symptom of another disorder. Some of the more common secondary headache types are post-traumatic, reactive, sinus and rebound.
Sphenopalatine Ganglion (SPG) Blockade - a type of neural (or nerve) blockade that involves the injection of a nerve-blocking agent into a cluster of nerves along the skull behind the face.
Tinnitus – ringing in the ears.
Vascular – related to blood vessels.
Vertigo – a spinning sensation.
Visual Imagery - the practice of using one’s imagination to create mental pictures in a way that can help persons become relaxed and help relieve pain.

• Studies show 76 percent of women and 57 percent of men report at least one significant headache per month.
• In the United States, an estimated 60 million to 80 million people experience recurring headaches.
• By age 6, 31 percent of children have reported headaches; by age 15, this number soars to 70 percent.
• Only 30 percent of people with recurring headaches seek help, in many cases due to fear of being accused of “faking” the headache or being thought mentally ill.

Headaches are costly

• More than 1 million days of school and 160 million days of work are lost per year due to headaches.
• Headaches result in an estimated $30 billion in medical expenses each year.

Headaches can be caused by many illnesses. There are several types of headaches, including migraine, tension, and cluster headaches. Headaches can also result from sinusitis, trigeminal neuralgia, giant cell arteritis, or brain tumors. The treatment of the various kinds of headaches varies depending on the kind of headache and the severity of the pain. Often, non-opioid medicines are used. But, in some cases, opioid therapy is needed.

Migraines are often on one side of the head. They can be associated with nausea and vomiting, photophobia (light hurting the eyes), phonophobia (sound hurting the ears), and scintillating scotomata (parallel lines that vibrate at the edges of objects, especially at the borders between light and dark places). Sometimes these auras appear before the headache starts and alert you that a migraine is coming. Migraine pain can vary in intensity from mild to severe. There are many specific medications for migraine. Sumatriptan (Imitrex) is particularly useful for some, but not all, migraine sufferers.

Cluster headaches come in groups, sometimes several times a day, lasting for days to weeks. Many cluster headaches are severely painful. Oxygen therapy may be helpful for some cluster headaches.

Sinusitis can cause facial pain and is frequently worse in the morning. Sinus pain may respond to antibiotic treatment along with decongestants. Sometimes sinus surgery is needed.

Trigeminal neuralgia is actually a peripheral neuropathy (nerve pain) that is severe. It occurs on one side of the head and face and has a “trigger point,” usually on the side of the face, which causes intense pain if it is touched. Anticonvulsants (antiseizure medicine) are often helpful for this type of pain.

There are more headache articles in http://www.usadruglist.org/Headache/index.html.