Teens who suffer with migraines can now track their symptoms with a specially designed migraine app.
The migraine app – tested by researchers from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio – prompts users to input information about the type, duration, and severity of their headaches.
They are also asked about their mood, stress levels, how much sleep they are getting, and the impact of migraines on their school performance.
The study – published at the American Headache Society’s 54th Annual Scientific Meeting – involved 24 people, with an average age of 14.4 years, who used the migraine app to record information about their migraine four times per day for 45 consecutive days.
Dr Brandon S. Aylward, PhD, who led a study that investigated the utility of the migraine app, commented: “The study demonstrated that the device helps teens learn the ‘ABCs’ of their headaches in ‘real-time’ fashion.”
“They learn the potential triggers for their headaches, or notice the things that happen when they have headaches that might impact their mood, for example, they may notice that they’re more irritable or that they’re irritable first, and that triggers a headache.”
The goal is for patients and physicians to be able to share the information, such that treating physicians can be more in tune with the patient’s experience and response to prevention and treatment.
“The current version of the app is available for Apple devices such as iPhones and iPods, but another version soon to be rolled out, likely available for free, will be usable on other smart phone devices,” Dr. Aylward said.
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