See how headaches have made their mark.
From the earliest days of recorded human history, headaches and migraines have been a mysterious problem. The ancient Greeks believed they were caused by evil spirits called Keres.1 Aristotle mentioned that the head is subject to pain, because of evil humors proceeding from the stomach and disturbing the brain.2 The Romans simply blamed headaches on the gods.
Given the creative theories about the cause of headaches throughout history, it comes as little wonder that historical headache remedies tended to be just as outlandish. Here's an abbreviated look at diagnosing and treating headache pain throughout history.
4,000-2,000 B.C
Archaeological evidence suggests that trepanation - a form of primitive brain surgery that involved boring a hole through a person's skull - was widely practiced by ancient civilizations.
460 B.C.
The father of medicine himself, Hippocrates, highlighted his own suffering from what sounds like a migraine.2 He described a shining light that was typically seen in one eye and followed by severe pain.
100-208 A.D.
Prominent Greek Physician Aelius Galenus first classified migraines. Called "hemicrania."
1000 A.D.
Pioneering Arabic doctor Avicenna observed that headaches could be localized - they could occur frontally, at the back of the head, or generalized.6
17TH CENTURY
Nicholas Culperer, an English herbalist and physician, suggested the prescription of valerian, a perennial herb, for the nervous headache. This remedy would be used well into the 19th century.6 Lavender was also used in several forms for headaches during this period, including as an essential oil. Also in this century, English doctor Thomas Willis introduced the term "neurology" for the first time.7
18TH-19TH CENTURIES
Erasmus Darwin, physician and grandfather of Charles Darwin, subscribed to the vasodilation theory and believed that centrifugation could force the blood from the patient´s head to his feet.8 In 1886, British neurologist William Gowers published "A Manual of the Nervous System" in which he highlighted the greater prevalence of migraines in female patients and that its onset begins in the first half of life.
