Headache or Migraine,

Acute or Chronic?
By Mark Forshaw

1. Headaches differ in both intensity and type, or quantity and quality if you like, which
means that two headaches of similar type but differing in intensity can end up in two
different categories. However, as with many things in life, there can be confusions in
the grey areas where one category meets another. (Could anyone say exactly when
they stop liking someone and start loving them, or exactly when day becomes night?)
To confuse the issue further, within the category of 'headache' there are many sub-
types. In addition, how long you have them for can influence whether a doctor
perceives you to be a victim to either acute or chronic headaches.

2. Strictly speaking, a migraine is a form of headache (it is even referred to as a 'migraine

headache'). However, because it is rather a special form, it, usually seen as separate,
is given its own name, and people study it specifically. It is probably easier to begin
with defining a migraine first, since headaches tend to be defined as anything other
than a migraine.

3. Migraines tend to be on one side of the head only (they are unilateral). Many people
know that a migraine is going to occur because they might feel irritable, unduly tired,
crave certain foods or even yawn excessively for hours or even days before it begins.
This period is called the 'prodrome'. Some people then experience an aura which
tends to begin just before the migraine itself. This aura is often in the form of a visual
disturbance. We can divide migraineurs into two types based upon the aura, and these
two different kinds of migraine were previously known as 'common' or 'classic'.
Although some doctors will still use these terms, they have now been officially
abandoned in favour of 'migraine without aura' and 'migraine with aura'. Most
migraines are not accompanied by an aura. A migrained aura can come in a number of
forms, which can include a strange taste in the mouth, or smelling something that is
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not there, or even a sense of feeling detached from reality. Most commonly, there is
some visual disturbance, often a rainbow-like arc which moves across the visual field
(a term we use to describe what you can see when your eyes are open). Sometimes it
is in the form of flashing lights before your eyes, called phospenes. (Don't confuse this
with what can happen when you suddenly stand up after having been bending down
for some time, although it can appear to be the same.) phosphenes

4. Migraines tend to be pulsating: they throb. The pain is very strong, and you will
commonly feel sick, or perhaps even vomit. You are likely to be unable to withstand
strong light, often just normal dim daylight, and you are possibly equally averse to
sound. In addition, moving around, especially moving the head, can make migraines
much worse. So, a person with a migraine is typically someone who feels the need to
go to bed, seeking quiet, darkness, and inactivity. Some people can go to sleep with a
migraine and wake up fine, whereas others can wake up still in pain. Generally, a
migraine lasts from about 4 to 72 hours. Itf you go to sleep with a migraine and wake up
with it, you would count your time asleep in its duration.
but
5. A headache, on the other hand, can be any pain in the head which is not a migraine.
However, certain head-pains are not headaches. Toothache, for instance, is an
obvious example, but sometimes toothache can cause pain in the head which is
actually felt on the skull. This kind of confusing pain is known to doctors as referred
pain (because it is being 'referred' from one part of the body to another). One useful
way to tell whether you have a headache that is actually toothache is by tapping your
teeth, one by one, with your finger. You have to be brave, because when you find the
right tooth you will get a lot of pain. In fact, anything going wrong with the head area,
such as an ear infection, can create a pain that is quite indistinguishable from a
headache.

6. The most common true headache is the tension-type, which might be called a 'stress
headache' by your doctor. Stress headaches are the ordinary everyday headaches that
most people have every now and then, and they are usually brought on by some kind
of muscular stress in the neck or shoulders. This type of headache can be the result of
psychological stress, because stressed people hunch up and tense their back and
neck muscles even if they are not aware of it. Tension-type headaches can last for
days but are often relieved quite quickly if the person takes some aspirin or other
painkiller. They tend to be all over the head, commonly feeling as if someone has put a
tight band around the head. They do not tend to be associated with other symptoms,
unlike migraine, although some sickness can occur. When people get other symptoms,
they are usually individuals who also suffer from migraines.

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1. Main Idea Check

Here are the main ideas of paragraphs 1-6 in the reading. Match each paragraph
to its main idea. Write the number of the paragraph on the blank line.

4 A There are several clear signs of a migraine.

____
____
6 B Doctors call the tension-type headache as a stress headache.

____
2 C A migraine is a special form of headache that is basically different from a mere

headache.
5 D A pain in the head is a headache, but not all head-pains are headaches.
____
____
1 E It is still a matter of confusion when it comes to categorizing different

headaches.
____
3 F People know a migraine is going to happen when they experience either a

period called prodrome or an aura.

2. Looking for details

Look back at the reading to answer the following questions.

1. If you suffer a long period of a pain, a doctor may describe as a victim of chronic
headaches. True or False?

2. According to paragraph 2, people study a migraine separately because ____.

a. it is a form of headaches
b. it is studied extensively
c. a headache is closely related to it
d. a headache is defined in various ways

3. According to paragraph 3, one sign of an incoming migraine is when people _____.

a. laugh hysterically
b. yawn excessively for hours
c. unusually want to go somewhere
d. exhausted from work

4. When people have a migraine with aura, they ______.

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a. see flashing lights in broad daylight

b. feel something is going wrong
c. smell something more intensely
d. see something that is not there sense

5. According to paragraph 4, when you are suffering from a migraine, you must not
shake your head perpetually. True or False?

6. According to paragraph 5, people misunderstand a toothache for a headache because

_____.
a. the pain occurs in the head
b. they can feel the pain in their skulls
c. it causes an ache in their skulls
d. it occurs near an ear area

7. According paragraph 6, one cause of a stress headache is _____.

a. bodily movements
b. muscular stress in the neck
c. perpetual sickness
d. inappropriate sit posture

3. REINFORCING VOCABULARY

A: Definitions
Find the words in the article that complete the following definitions.

1. ____________ are classes or divisions of people or things regarded as having

particular shared characteristics. (n.) Par 1.
2. A very severe or intense feeling or even situation can be described as _____________.
(adj.) Par 1.

3. If something __________ to happen, it usually happens or it often happens. (v.) Par 2.

4. When you want to have something very much, you ____________ it. (v.) Par 3.

5. If you feel or are affected by a feeling, you _____________ it. (v.) Par 3.

6. ____________means at some time before the period that you are talking about. (adv.)
Par 3.

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7. A/n ____________ is a smoothly curving line or movement. (n.) Par 3.

8. To ____________ means to be strong enough to remain unharmed by something such

as great heat, cold, pressure etc. (v.) Par 4.

9. Something that ____________ continues for a particular length of time. (v.) Par 4.

10. We describe something that is easy to notice or understand as ___________. (adj.)

Par 5.

11. Something that is ______________ is not easy to recognize as being different from
something else. (adj.) Par 5.

12. A medicine which reduces or removes pain is known as a ____________. (n.) Par 6.

B. Choosing the correct variant

Choose the word that has the closest meaning to the numbered word in each item.

1. differ a) become salient b) arise c) spread d) vary

2. meets a) sees b) fulfills c) pays d) greets
3. further a) closer b) additionally c) also d) remote
4. strictly a) especially b) rigidly c) harshly d) toughly
5. defined a) explained b) enlightened c) discussed d) proposed
6. occur a) happen b) arise c) take roots d) obtain
7. excessively a) timidly b) overly c) swiftly d) importantly
8. disturbance a) illness b) brawl c) trouble d) hardship
9. in favour of a) unlike b) for c) against d) probably
10. called a) known as b) shouted c) woken d) phoned
11. some time a) an amount of time b) occasionally c) a long time d) some day
12. commonly a) often b) rarely c) profoundly d) publicly
13. likely a) perhaps b) sure c) probable d) possibly
14. duration a) interval b) stage c) period d) generation
15. for instance a) to illustrate b) particularly c) for one thing d) including
16. way a) route b) method c) road d) style

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secretly
17. every now and then a) at times b) constantly c) surreptitiously d) repeatedly
18. symptoms a) shows b) indications c) cases d) reports

C: Choosing grammatically correct form

From the list of inflected forms in parentheses, choose the form that grammatically fits into
the space. Add endings (–s or –ed, for example) if necessary.

1. (differ, different, difference):

1.1 Researchers found a number of important ______________in
differences the way boys and
girls learn.

differ
1.2 I still remember the taste of those eggs, which ___________ from normal ones I
had every morning.

different
1.3 Women are ____________ from men, but it is time to say farewell to the politics
of difference.

2. (love, lovely, loveliness):

lovely
2.1 The building looks __________ at the moment.
would
love
2.2 I'd absolutely __________ to hear what you have to say!

loveliness
2.3 The ___________ of the location is matched by exceptionally attractive
performances from the leading players

3. (define, definition, definitive): about

definitive
3.1 No one has come up with a ____________answer as to why this should be so.

3.2 It's fun to ask people to ____________the

define phrase ‘graphic novel.
report
definition
3.3 Of course, newspapers have to cover the news and, by __________this is not
always pleasant

4. (excessive, excessively, excessiveness):

excessive
4.1 Her family complained that she was overactive and spending ______________
amounts of money.
excessiveness of the pay demand has succeeded in undermining public
4.2 The ______________
support for the fire fighters.

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excessively
4.3 Mum had started taking pills and drinking _____________.

5. (form, formal, formation):

formal
5.1 Mr Kelly has lodged a ___________complaint against the police.

5.2 Currently there is much interest in spiritual disciplines and the process of spiritual
__________.
formation
5.3 Creating a trip is as easy as filling in a _________.
form

6. (create, creative, creation):

created
6.1 But, the talk was so inspiring that it __________a huge impact and people
listened to him.

creative
6.2 Even without trying you're able to come up with lots of new and ___________
ideas.
clearly
creation
6.3 I think wealth ___________is undoubtedly something that we need to do in
society.

7. (psychology, psychological, psychologist):

psychology
7.1 There is a subdiscipline of ____________devoted to the study of individual
differences, too.

7.2 As a ___________
psychologist and educator, she was keenly aware of individual differences.

psychological
7.3 His research provides a __________ framework which offers a useful guide to
thinking about risk assessment.

8. (relieve, relievable, relief):

relieve
8.1 The drug was used to promote sleep and to __________ pain.

8.2 It's a _________to

relief get out of the office once in a while.

8.3 He has a salary of £75,000 and benefit in kind of £15,000, making total
______________
relievable earnings of £90,00.0

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Ear infection1
An ear infection occurs when a bacterial or viral infection affects the middle ear — the
sections of your ear just behind the eardrum. Ear infections can be painful because of
inflammation and fluid build-up in the middle ear.

Ear infections can be chronic or acute. Acute ear infections are painful but short in
duration. Chronic ear infections either do not clear up, or they recur many times. Chronic
ear infections can cause permanent damage to the middle and inner ear.

An ear infection occurs when one of your eustachian tubes becomes swollen or blocked,
causing fluid to build up in your middle ear. Eustachian tubes are small tubes that run from
each ear directly to the back of the throat. The causes of eustachian tube blockage
include: allergies, colds, sinus infections, excess mucus, smoking, infected or swollen
adenoids (tissue near your tonsils that trap harmful bacteria and viruses), and changes in
air pressure.

Stress2
Stress is your body's way of responding to any kind of demand. It can be caused by both
good and bad experiences. When people feel stressed by something going on around
them, their bodies react by releasing chemicals into the blood. These chemicals give
people more energy and strength, which can be a good thing if their stress is caused by
physical danger. But this can also be a bad thing, if their stress is in response to
something emotional and there is no outlet for this extra energy and strength. This class
will discuss different causes of stress, how stress affects you, the difference between
'good' or 'positive' stress and 'bad' or 'negative' stress, and some common facts about how
stress affects people today.

1 https://www.healthline.com/health/ear-infections#causes
2 http://mtstcil.org/skills/stress-definition-1.html

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