Migraine
Migraine is a painful neurological condition, of which the most common symptom is an intense and disabling episodic headache . More than 28 million Americans -three times more women than men -suffer from migraine headaches, a type of headache that's often severe. This vascular headache is most commonly experienced between the ages of 15 and 55, and 70% to 80% of sufferers have a family history of migraine. In some cases, these painful headaches are preceded or accompanied by a sensory warning sign (aura), such as flashes of light, blind spots or tingling in your arm or leg. Migraine's secondary characteristics are annoyingly inconsistent. Triggers precipitating a particular episode of migraine vary widely. The simplest treatment, applying warm/hot water or cold water soaked cloths to the affected area of head, is contradictory - hot or cold can either increase or decrease pain, though it is consistent in the same patient. Some people have frequent attacks - sometimes several a week. Others have attacks only now and then. People with migraine tend to have recurring attacks triggered by a lack of food or sleep, exposure to light, or hormonal irregularities (only in women). Anxiety, stress, or relaxation after stress can also be triggers. Although there's still no cure, medications can help reduce the frequency of migraine headaches and stop the pain once it has started. Prescription medicines are usually necessary, but doctors do not have all the answers. Because a migraineur's daily actions usually have so much effect on the frequency and intensity of illness, there is significant advantage to learning both the scientific medicine and folklore of migraine.
Migraine is a form of headache which is severe and usually one sided, frequently associated with nausea and vomiting. Less than half of all migraine sufferers have received a diagnosis of migraine from their healthcare provider. A migraine headache is also often accompanied by other signs and symptoms, such as nausea, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound. Absent serious head injuries, stroke, and tumors, the recurring severity of the pain indicates a vascular headache rather than a tension headache. Migraine, a debilitating condition characterised by severe headaches and a range of other physical symptoms, affects approximately 10% of the UK population . Patients who get auras typically see a flash of brightly colored or blinking lights shortly before the headache pain begins. However, still other migraine types might be functionally acquired due to hormone organ disease or injury. Three-fourths of adult migraine patients are female, although pre-pubertal migraine affects approximately equal numbers of boys and girls. Fortunately, management of migraine headache pain has improved dramatically in the last decade. If you've seen a doctor in the past and had no success, it's time to make another appointment. Hormonal migraine is a likely consequence of periodically falling hormone levels causing reduction in protein biosynthesis of metabolic components including intestinal tract serotonin.
Causes of Migraine
The common Causes of Migraine :
- Fatigue or emotional stress
- Certain medications can aggravate migraines.
- Specific foods or alcohol
- A change of weather, season, altitude level, barometric pressure or time zone can prompt a migraine headache.
- Certain foods appear to trigger headaches in some people. Common offenders include alcohol, especially beer and red wine; aged cheeses; chocolate; fermented, pickled or marinated foods; aspartame; caffeine; monosodium glutamate - a key ingredient in some Asian foods; certain seasonings; and many canned and processed foods.
- Hormones, eg the "time of the month" in women
- Additionally, migraines can be medication-related (medicines including nitroglycerin, lithium, and certain anti-hypertensive, anti-inflammatory, and bronchodilating drugs), or hormone-related (such as menstrual periods, hormonal treatments, or birth control pills).
Symptoms of Migraine
Some common Symptoms of Migraine :
- Nausea and vomiting
- Feeling cold or sweating
- Pain that hinders your regular daily activities
- Nasal congestion
- Sensitivity to light and sound
- Loss of appetite
- Pain that worsens with physical activity
- Confusion
- Fatigue
- Numbness, tingling, or weakness
Treatment of Migraine
Here is the list of the methods for treating Migraine :
- Conventional treatment focuses on three areas: trigger avoidance, symptomatic control, and preventive drugs.
- Patients who experience migraines often find that the recommended treatments are not 100% effective at preventing migraines
- Try avoiding any food which seems implicated and at a later stage take a small trial dose of the food again to see whether it genuinely is involved.
- Some patients find cool compresses to painful areas helpful.
- If the attacks are frequent and disruptive, then your doctor may prescribe a drug to be taken daily as a preventative.
- Sometimes relaxation and meditation techniques may be helpful as may some of the complementary therapies.
- Your doctor may prescribe something along the lines of the above, or possibly one of the more modern specific antimigraine treatments, which work on one of the chemical pathways in the brain.
- Migraine can be treated effectively with a variety of medications depending on the individual, including common painkillers (analgesics) such as paracetamol, aspirin and codeine, and the newer "triptan" medications designed specifically for migraine.
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