Harry Potter’s headaches are finally diagnosed by leading neurologists (really?)

by · February 7, 2012

In a new article released by Everyday Health, muggle doctors have spent years trying to come up with a diagnosis for Harry Potter’s mysterious searing headaches. Now, they say they finally have one!

Labeled the Headache-That-Could-Not-Be-Named, leading doctors of neurology have been trying to explain the skull-splitting forehead pain experienced by Harry Potter using the words of author J.K. Rowling.

Back in 2007, a group of specialists at the New England Center for Headache in Stamford, Connecticut, thought they solved the mystery and labeled them “probable migraines” by citing this passage:

“His forehead hurt terribly…it was aching fit to burst. He opened his eyes…he felt as though a whitehot poker were being applied to his forehead…He clutched his head in his hands; the pain was blinding him…he rolled right over and vomited over the edge of the mattress.”

But for anyone who suffers from migraines, they will tell you that a migraine will last for hours, not come and go within minutes. Besides, Harry’s pain was described in the series as “piercing,” “needle-sharp,” and sudden. Not a set of typical migraine symptons.

Using information found in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, neurologists have come up with a new diagnosis, which they detailed in Headache, the journal of the American Headache Society. Their verdict? Harry suffers from Nummular Headaches! A disorder characterized by localized stabbing pain that generally lasts less than two hours.

Nummular headaches are a relatively recent and rare discovery, in fact, many doctors have never even heard of them. The most telling sign – the pain is always centered around one spot (Harry’s scar). Nummular headaches are often sparked by a severe head injury (such as a killing curse) and then recur exclusively in that same spot over time.

Glad they figured it out! This editor thought it was magic the whole time.

Harry Potter not only helps with informing the public about headache diagnosis, but it can also help in genetic study as we reported before. The Invisibility Cloak is getting more of a reality as well. So what is next for Harry Potter and the world of medicine or science?

Thanks to Erin B. for the tip!