Into the 16th and 17th centuries migraine disease continued to gain acceptability as a bona fide medical condition. Cures and remedies are prolific in the literature of the day. In 1642 Jane Jackson, a well-known writer, gave no less than six recipes for the condition "Migrim in the Head". In addition Jackson proposed migraine existed on a spectrum, with both episodic and chronic versions.  At this point in time it seems that migraine was poised to take its place with other conditions of the day: looking forward to a great leap forward in medical understanding that the Age of Science would drive it through to the 18th and 19th centuries.

What happened to derail the legitimacy of migraine illness? During the 1700s migraine became the stuff of sarcasm and unfair characterizations. It was mocked in cartoons and was most often associated with women, in a less than flattering way. This would make women and migraine an easy target since constitutionally 70-80% of migraine sufferers are female, as we now know. During this time migraine evolved into a condition to joke about, and became associated as an illness of some "fashion". By the 19th century migraine became further linked with young female "martyrs". "Sick headache" and migraines became viewed as a disorder of "mothers in the lower classes of life" who were physically and emotionally deteriorated by poor sleep, inadequate diet and "constant lactation". In short, we devised a perfect formula for stigma. And stigma, once established, can be very stubborn to eradicate.

Certainly education can help. However, education in itself is not enough to eliminate stigma. Witness epilepsy: an acknowledged neurological disease, yet still a highly stigmatized condition. What causes some illnesses to remain stigmatized in spite of all educational efforts? There are numerous social variables at work here, many unrecognized. It will take a combination of science, education, understanding and empathy to eliminate migraine stigma. The efforts must reach into our homes, schools and workplaces to better accommodate and understand the millions of sufferers.

It took us nearly 300 years to cultivate the stigma we now associate with migraine illness. Let's hope it doesn't take another 300 years to rid ourselves of it.