Doctor Blames 'Harry Potter' For Kids' Headaches
Pediatrician Warns 'Hogwarts Headaches' Could Become Trend
POSTED: 10:31 p.m. EST October 29, 2003
Has the latest Harry Potter fantasy cast a spell of Hogwarts headaches on some of its most avid readers?
Dr. Howard Bennett, a pediatrician writing in this week's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, said he had three otherwise healthy children between 8 and 10 years old complain of headaches for two to three days last summer. One child also complained of neck and wrist pain.
After some questioning, Bennett found that all three had been reading the 870-page "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" book for six to eight hours a day. Two of the children read while lying on their stomachs, and the third propped the book on her legs and rested her head on a pillow.
But Bennett, of George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, D.C., does not want people to take this condition very seriously. He said kids can keep reading, but they should take a break every once in a while.
However, two of the doctor's patients rejected this form of treatment and opted for acetaminophen instead of taking a reading break. Their headaches went away -- but not until a day or two after they finished reading the book.
Bennett noted that he didn't see these headaches when J.K. Rowling's previous "Harry Potter" books were released, but he pointed out that each new book has been bigger than the last. He said if the trend continues, there may be an epidemic of "Hogwarts headaches" in years to come.
Interactive: 
Do You Get Headaches From Reading Too Much?
Letter ExtractCopyright 2003 by ClickOnDetroit.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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