They say migraine headaches pose no danger to life. He who suffers from migraines definitely knows that such statements and realizing that this is not a life-threatening condition do not bring any relief. Constant headaches depress, debilitate, and exhaust.
Women are three times more likely to experience migraines; therefore, they can perfectly understand what this all is about. With migraine the life of a person can be long, but it is most likely to be full of pain. One does not die from this disease; however, his life is often turned by it into a nightmare.
Migraine is a form of primary headache, meaning that it is not caused by any other health disorder. It is characterized by throbbing or pulsating pain, often felt on one side of the head. This condition can be accompanied with nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light or noise.
Migraine affects people between the ages of 10 and 46. Symptoms tend to subside as person gets older. Scientists suggest that this is a hereditary disease, since estimated 80% of the sufferers report of the family history of migraine.
Migraine pain usually starts on one side of the head. It can then spread to both sides or remain localized. The pain can be dull at the beginning, turning later into the severe, disabling headache. In some cases, the attack is sharp, severe, and abrupt from the onset. Migraine pain can last from several hours to several days, leaving a sufferer tired, exhausted, and worn-out.
The symptoms can be accompanied with nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, sound, taste, and odor, fatigue, depression, dizziness, chills, restlessness, and loss of appetite. A person may experience sleepiness and neck pain after the headache subsides.
According to the specific symptoms, scientists define two main types of migraine: with aura, or without aura. Migraine with aura is characterized by the visual hallucinations before the onset of pain. A sufferer can either see bright, zigzagging, and flashing lights, or experience temporary vision loss. Non-visual auras include motor and speech abnormalities and numbness of the face and neck. Migraine without aura is not associated with all these symptoms.
Other types of migraine are: abdominal migraine, basilar artery migraine, carotidynia, headache-free migraine, ophthalmoplegic migraine, status migraine.
A number of triggers can provoke the attack of migraine pain. Although they differ from person to person, the most common are bright light, loud noise, certain odors or perfumes, stress, changes in sleep patterns, smoking, skipping meals, alcohol or caffeine and hormonal imbalances (due to menstrual cycles or birth control pills in women). Such foods as chocolate, nuts, peanut butter, avocados, bananas, citruses, onions, dairy products, and fermented or pickled foods are also said to provoke migraines.
The exact cause of migraine pain is not known. Scientists suggest that it may be caused by chemical imbalances in the brain. Changes in the brain blood vessels and nerve pathways, which transmit pain messages to the brain, are said to be involved in the development of migraine.
Unfortunately, there is no cure for migraine headaches. The main goal of treatment is to lessen the symptoms and prevent the onset of the next attacks. Migraine pain can be relieved with the help of over-the-counter pain-relieving medications like NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents: acetaminophen, ibuprofen, aspirin).
Prescriptive medicines include triptans (Imitrex, Frova, Maxalt), ergots (Cafergot), vasoconstrictors, muscle relaxants, narcotic analgesics and others. It is worthy to note that migraine pain is best controlled if the drugs are taken shortly after the onset of headache.
There are also a number of preventive measures a person can try at home: biofeedback, relaxation techniques, herbal remedies, and, of course, avoidance of the disease triggers.
Sincerely,
Mary A.Blair-Johnson
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