Diseases & Conditions: Migraines

By Sofia Garcia Embed from Getty Images

What are Migraines? 

Migraines are a type of acute head pain. Migraine episodes can last anywhere between four hours to three days. They usually occur on one side of the head, and are pulsatile. They typically worsen with light, sound, smell and movement. Migraines can also include nausea and vomiting.

For one out of three patients the migraine includes aura, a kind of visual blurring. Other patients refer to feeling numbness in their face or arm, as well as difficulty speaking.

Is it known that 10%-15% of the population suffers from migraines. It is three to four times more frequent in women and usually develops during childhood. It rarely develops after thirty years. Some patients suffer the thirty and fifty years aggravation crisis. When migraines occur more frequently, at least the half of the days in the month; this is known as chronic migraine. Chronic migraines deteriorate the quality of life.

Signs and Symptoms

There are four stages in migraines: prodrome, aura, attack and postdrome. These stages may not occur with every migraine.

Prodrome: This stage happens a few days before the migraine and can include constipation, mood swings, and increased urination.

Aura: This stage occurs for some people and includes blurry vision, vision loss, weakness in parts of the body (usually face shoulders and arms), and trouble speaking. These symptoms usually last about an hour.

Attack: This stage is the epicentre of the migraine, in which the pain is usually more acute. It usually lasts four to seventy two hours and includes pulsatile pain, nausea, vomiting, senility to light, sound and smell.

Postdrome: This stage occurs when the pain has disappeared. The patient might feel exhausted and disoriented.

Causes

Migraines are a genetically determined disease; because of that, it is very common for migraines to run in in the family. Those genes provoke that the patient's brain activates, in-excess, a circuit that which is part of the trigeminal. When this happens, the circuit releases several substances such as a peptide known as CGRP in the meninges and periosteum. CGRP causes pain due to the inflammation and dilation of the blood vessels.

Treatments

It is important to understand that, due to it's genetic factors, it does not have cure. Though, there are ways to avoid having migraines through healthy habits. Examples include: sleeping too little or too much, exercising regularly, and eating a varied diet. Patients should avoid periods of fasting and binge eating.

It is important to emphasize that no food should be eliminated from the patient's diet without apparent reason; only if a relationship between the onset of the crisis and the food is demonstrated.

Due to migraine being an acute pain, medication such as paracetamol will not have effect on the patient. Ibuprofen, maybe, but it is necessary that the patient finds a treatment that suits themselves

One of the most common pills for migraines are triptans. There are seven types, and are diagnosed depending on the individual and their metabolism.

If the patient suffers from more than four migraines in a month they should follow a preventive treatment for about 6 months.

Photo via MHV Clinic

About the Author

Sofía is a high school student from Spain. She's always been good at biology and chemistry, but it wasn't until she watched an episode of House M.D. in quarantine that she decided to become a doctor. Since then, every time she watches a medical series, she memorizes the diseases and procedures in the hopes of understanding a little more about the fascinating world of medicine. Sofia has been suffering from chronic migraines for over a year and can confidently say she is an expert on this condition. She wanted to write this to share her knowledge with anyone who wants to read more about it. This is Sofia's second post for the blog!