14%* of the world's population suffer from migraine attacks, with an average duration of 18 hours. 68%* of migraine sufferers are people between 35 and 45 years old. Among them there are three times more women than men. These figures were announced by practicing neuropathologist and candidate of medical sciences Aigul Kudaibergenova at an event dedicated to the launch of the Migraine Control application in Kazakhstan.
“No one can say exactly why I have a headache.”
Our heroine Bota Suleimenova had her first migraine attack four years ago. Now it is part of her life: migraine can remind itself once a month or several times a week. It interferes with work and life.
Bota Suleimenov:
– The first attack happened in the winter of 2015, when I flew to Almaty on vacation. It was an overnight flight, and once I was home, I immediately fell asleep. When I woke up, I still had a headache. I thought it was due to jet lag. Painkillers did not help, the pain did not stop for 2-3 days: I could not get up, I felt nauseous, it was painful to open my eyes. Then I was diagnosed with migraine.
I had a concussion as a child, and at the age of 10-11 I started having constant headaches. Then they diagnosed intracranial pressure, so throughout my conscious life these pains seemed to be something normal. It didn’t really interfere with everyday life, but when I was in my first year of university, there was probably a period of exacerbation. I was again sent for an MRI and examination, which again only confirmed intracranial pressure.
According to some doctors, the migraine arose as a consequence of intracranial pressure, but no one can say for sure what exactly is causing my headache. Maybe because of intracranial pressure or migraines, or because of both.
Is it possible to get rid of headaches without medications using home remedies?
Yes, but not always. For example, against migraine (unilateral pain, often in the eye area or behind the eye, pulsating, gradually increases and lasts from 4 to 72 hours), there are no “folk” remedies. An adequate course of drug treatment is necessary.
If the headache is caused by increased blood pressure, then you need to take a blood pressure lowering drug (not a painkiller). If you have a headache, you should first measure your blood pressure before taking pills for pain.
But headaches associated with overexertion can be relieved with non-drug methods. Often the head starts to hurt due to improper posture. For example, a person works at a computer for a long time, sits in the wrong position: his shoulders are raised, his head is moved slightly forward. As a result, the neck muscles become overstrained and produce a characteristic nagging headache, not very strong, but debilitating. In this case, simple exercises to stretch the neck muscles and massage help a lot. You can even just get up from your desk, move around, and the pain will go away.
Often a headache occurs towards the end of the work week. Especially if you have a busy schedule and the person did not get enough sleep, did not eat very well, etc. In this case, you need to first of all get enough sleep (healthy sleep is extremely important for a person with a headache). You can take a hot bath, if there is no high blood pressure, drink green tea, and take a walk in the fresh air. In general, if it is possible not to take pills, it is better not to do so.
It squeezed my head like a helmet. Why does my head hurt, but the disease is not found? More details
No one knows for sure what causes migraines
Migraine is a chronic disease, the main symptom of which is an attack of throbbing headache. Sometimes migraines are accompanied by nausea, sensitivity to light and sounds: ordinary sounds and soft light intensify the already excruciating pain.
Neurological disorders can also indicate a migraine: dizziness, temporary blurred vision, lethargy. At the same time, migraine is associated with external factors - nutrition, routine, stress level.
The causes of migraines are not visible on MRI, and pain is a very subjective indicator that is extremely difficult to measure. During the intervals between attacks, the person looks quite healthy, which supports the spread of the myth that the disease is illusory.
What to do if you have a headache after being in the sun for a long time?
When exposed to the sun for a long time, the headache most often occurs due to fluid loss. In the sun, a person sweats much more than usual, especially if he moves or swims in the pool. At the same time, the amount of water you drink often remains the same as on days when there is much less sun. As a result, a headache occurs. In this case, preventive measures are most effective. During a long walk on a sunny day, drink enough water, use hats, umbrellas, and be sure to wear sunglasses. Eye strain, such as squinting into the sun, can also make headaches worse.
If a headache has already appeared after prolonged exposure to the sun, then be sure to drink water, preferably mineral water, to replenish the loss of electrolytes. You can take a cool shower, wash your hair, that is, cool your body. When you can’t take a shower, you can wet a towel with cool water, put it on your head and lie there for a while. If the headache does not go away from such general activities, you can take a painkiller tablet: paracetamol, acetylsalicylic acid, or any non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug that is in the medicine cabinet. However, if the headache after returning from a sunny beach is very strong, coordination is impaired, and dizziness appears, this indicates severe loss of fluid, an increase or a sharp decrease in blood pressure. In this situation, it is imperative to move the person to the shade, carry out all cooling measures, and give him a painkiller tablet to drink. If symptoms persist, you should definitely consult a doctor so as not to miss a more serious disease.
The headache is frequent and severe, but it is too early to diagnose migraine
There are many types of headaches, but globally they can be divided into primary and secondary. Secondary pain occurs as a consequence of some abnormality. Migraine is a primary one – its occurrence does not necessarily require any previous injuries or abnormalities.
Primary headache, as a rule, is not life-threatening, but greatly impairs its quality.
Migraines are often confused with tension headaches. Tension pain can arise from the characteristics of upbringing, psychological qualities of the individual, the level of stress or prolonged positional loads.
People describe the pain as pressing, mild to moderate, and often bilateral. It appears in the afternoon or after stress. If a tension headache lasts several days, it may be accompanied by photo- and phonophobia, as with migraine, but this is rare and is never accompanied by nausea or vomiting. At the same time, a person can move, eat, work, and physical activity does not increase the pain, and sometimes even alleviates it. With migraines, physical activity is extremely difficult.
Psychotherapy may be effective for tension headaches, but not for migraines.
What to do if your head hurts often?
Of course, in the case of chronic pain, when the headache is frequent and severe, because of which a person is forced to constantly increase the dose of painkillers, it is also necessary to go to the doctor. Otherwise, there is a high risk of acquiring a drug-dependent headache. Such a headache will not go away on its own; it will require an increasingly larger dose of pills. And they, in turn, can provoke complications from the cardiovascular system, for example, a tendency to thrombosis, or cause an exacerbation of peptic ulcer disease, in severe cases even gastrointestinal bleeding.
Here again there is a clear criterion. If you take more than 15 tablets a month specifically for headaches (this can be calculated from the purchased packages), it means that you have developed a dependence on medications. You should definitely contact a neurologist or cephalgologist: this is also a neurologist who has undergone special training in the treatment of headaches. Young working women with a family often come to our clinic with a similar problem: they cannot afford to endure a headache, but do not have time to take care of their health, start taking painkillers, and even go so far as to take several tablets a day. However, the headache continues to hurt, sleep is disturbed, and overall health worsens. In this case, a detoxification course is carried out for a week, sometimes with the installation of intravenous drips, and special medications are prescribed to relieve headaches. As a result, the dosage of painkillers is gradually reduced, and over time the headache itself stops.
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“Medicines don’t always work quickly”
Bota Suleimenova: – I have had poor eyesight since childhood, so attacks often pass with an aura. An aura is a short-term visual disturbance that signals an upcoming attack.
Medicines do not always work quickly, so the best solution is to reduce the frequency of attacks. To do this, I try to exercise regularly and maintain a healthy regimen. With overall health improvement, the frequency of migraine attacks decreases.
Although often there is no need for a reason for an attack to occur. You can eat right and maintain a generally healthy body and brain, but seizures still appear. This makes it difficult to do business. I work for an international organization, we have additional sick leave, which does not need to be confirmed with papers. If I have sudden attacks, I can just rest at home.
Relatives try to be understanding, but the other person cannot help. Don't bother is already a help.
Migraine has a script with certain stages
1. Prodrome – the first phase. Symptoms of the prodromal phase include a wide range of phenomena: mood changes, irritability, depression or euphoria, fatigue, sensitivity to smells and sounds. This phase is observed in migraines with or without aura.
2. 30% of people then experience an aura that lasts no more than an hour, this is similar to visual hallucinations. And the longer a person looks at colored or flashing objects or drawings, the worse his condition is, so he tries to focus on a white wall or piece of paper.
Aura is a transient neurological phenomenon that occurs before or during a headache. Usually the aura develops gradually over several minutes and lasts no more than an hour. Symptoms may be visual, sensory, or motor, and many patients experience multiple symptoms simultaneously.
During the first two phases, you need to take a triptan rescue pill. This will not stop the pain, but it will significantly ease it and shorten the duration of the attack.
3. During the third phase, pain covers the entire head, nausea and vomiting, and severe fear of light and sound appear. Any movement increases the pain. This phase can last from several hours to several days.
4. Postdrome – the pain subsides, the person falls asleep. The next day the person feels tired, has poor hearing, and blurry vision. Abilities are reduced.
If a person has more than 10 migraine attacks per month, he practically does not live. Fortunately, these are few in number; every third person experiences one or less than one attack per month. But it happens that people do not know about the existence of pills that can help stop a migraine attack, because up to 50% of migraine sufferers still practice self-medication.
Migraine tries to force people to live in the middle ground
People with migraines are more susceptible to momentary factors called triggers, which increase the risk of headache attacks.
Among the most common triggers:
- Hormonal – menstruation, ovulation, use of oral contraceptives.
- Food – consumption of alcohol, glutamate, chocolate, cocoa, nuts, celery, cheese.
- Weather – Weather changes can affect the balance of chemicals in the brain and trigger seizures.
- Behavioral – lack of sleep or too much sleep, feeling hungry or overeating.
If you keep a diary of the occurrence of migraine attacks and the circumstances in which these attacks occurred, you can identify your individual characteristics. People who know their triggers and avoid them experience fewer seizures and significantly improve their quality of life. For convenience, you can keep a diary of migraine triggers in a mobile application. Such an application “Migraine Control” was recently announced by SANTO. Useful materials about migraines on the Internet can be found using the hashtag #SUMAMigraineReduces.
You can download the application using these links:
- for Android;
- for iOS.
