Migraine can cause severe throbbing pain or a pulse sensation, mainly on one side of the head. Migraine headache sometimes manifests itself as nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound. Migraine attacks can last for hours or days, and the pain can become so severe that it prevents daily activities.
For some people, a warning symptom known as an aura occurs before the headache. An aura may involve visual disturbances, such as flashes of light or blind spots, or other disturbances, such as tingling on one side of the face or an arm or leg and difficulty speaking.
There are medications that can help prevent some migraines and make them less painful. The right medications, combined with self-help remedies and lifestyle changes, can help.
The American Migraine Foundation (AMF) estimates that more than 36 million Americans suffer from migraines, with women suffering from them three times more than men. Most people start getting migraines from age 10 to 40 or older. However, some women find that their migraines improve or simply disappear after age 50. How long do migraines last?. They usually last between 4 and 72 hours.
Types of Migraines and Headaches
When you hear the term "migraine", you often think of a severe headache. What they don't always know is that migraine is a neurological disease and that there are different subtypes of migraine in this respect. Here are the different types of migraine that exist.
Migraine with Aura
About a quarter of migraine sufferers also have aura, which is a series of sensory and visual changes that can range from seeing pimples and zigzags to tingling numbness on one side of the body and an inability to speak clearly. The aura sets in shortly before or during a migraine and can last from 10 to 30 minutes. The aura is the second of the four stages of migraine, and anyone who experiences it will see it as an unmistakable warning sign of a bad headache coming.
Migraine without Aura
Diagnosing migraine without aura can be difficult because the symptoms are similar to other types of migraine. Shooting or stabbing pain on one side of the head, photophobia, phonophobia, pain that gets worse with physical activity, and nausea and vomiting are classic symptoms of migraine without aura. The key element is that common migraine lacks the warning phases (prodrome and aura) that other types of migraine have.
Painless Migraine
This type of migraine, also called silent or acephalic migraine, can be very worrisome because you experience a dizzying aura and other visual disturbances, nausea and other phases of the migraine, but no headache. It can be caused by any of a person's usual factors, and sufferers may experience other types of migraine as well. The International Headache Society considers this type to be a typical headache-free aura.
Hemiplegic Migraine
If you've ever had a migraine that felt more like a stroke, it was probably a hemiplegic migraine. People with this type of migraine develop weakness on one side of the body, often with symptoms of a visual aura and a "pins and needles" feeling, or loss of sensation, on one side of the body. This can last from a few hours to several days. Like the typical aura without a headache, the migraine of hemiplegics does not always lead to a severe headache.
Retinal Migraine
When a headache causes a temporary loss of vision in one eye, then it is a retinal migraine. Most common in women of childbearing age, blindness can last from one minute to months, but is usually completely reversible. This is a specific type of aura that accompanies migraine, and it is a condition we know very little about. What we do know is that retinal migraine can be a sign of a more serious problem, and those who suffer from it should consult a specialist.
Migraña Crónica
If you have a headache more than 15 days a month, you may be suffering from chronic migraine. Many days often feel like a classic migraine, although there can be considerable variability in the severity of symptoms and headache on any given day. In some cases, patients may mistake the pain for a "tension headache" or a "sinus headache" when the pain is less severe. Many patients with chronic migraine also take medication for acute headache for more than 10 to 15 days a month, which can result in an even more severe headache.
Cluster Headaches
It is one of the most severe types of pain a human being can experience. With cluster migraines, you will feel almost explosive pain in the eye area at the back of your head. Throughout your life, you will also have red or swollen eyes or a runny nose, among other symptoms. Because they occur over such a large area and cause other symptoms, cluster headaches can be the most irresistible headache, and are often referred to as "suicidal headaches.
Ice Pick Headaches
Ice headaches are self-explanatory. It's like being stabbed in the head with an ice pick. They often come on suddenly, causing severe, sharp pain. They are usually brief, usually lasting between 5 and 30 seconds, but they are really painful. This type of headache occurs in the orbital sphere, the temple and the parietal area of the head. This is where the trigeminal nerve is located, which is responsible for biting and chewing, as well as facial sensation. This nerve is on the side of the head, just above the eye and above the ear. If you feel acute pain in this area, you may have headaches from biting into the ice.
How to Prevent Migraine Headaches
Prophylactic treatments for migraines include medications, nutritional supplements, lifestyle changes, and surgery. Prevention is advised for those who suffer from headaches more than two days a week, those who do not tolerate medications used to treat severe attacks, or people with severe attacks that cannot be easily controlled. Recommended changes include stopping smoking and avoiding behaviors that affect sleep.
The purpose is to decrease the number, pain, and duration of migraines and to improve the effectiveness of abortion therapy. This is a common problem that can lead to daily and chronic headaches.
Medication
Preventive migraine medications are effective as long as they reduce the frequency or severity of migraine attacks by at least 50%. The guidelines are completely consistent in that they classify topiramate , divalproex/sodium valproate , propranolol , and metoprolol as the best evidence for the use of first-line medications. Propranolol and topiramate have the best evidence in children; but the evidence only supports short-term benefit after 2020.
However, recommendations regarding efficacy have varied for gabapentin and pregabalin . Timolol is also effective for preventing migraine and reducing the frequency and severity of migraine attacks, while frovatriptan is valid for preventing menstrual migraine . Interim research also supports the use of magnesium supplements . Increasing dietary intake may be better.
Amitriptyline and venlafaxine are also often effective. Inhalation of angiotensin by an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor or an angiotensin II receptor antagonist may reduce attacks.
Peptide agents in the anti-calcitonin gene, including eptinezumab , erenumab , fremanezumab and galcanezumab , decrease the frequency of migraines once or twice a month.
Alternatives for Combating Migraine Headache
Acupuncture has a small effect in reducing the number of migraines practiced where needles are placed randomly or not through the skin. Physiotherapy, massage and relaxation, and chiropractic manipulation are as effective as propranolol or topiramate in preventing migraines, although the research had some methodological problems.
Preliminary data support the use of stress reduction methods, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, biofeedback, and relaxation practices.
In alternative medicines, butterbur has the best evidence for use; however, unprocessed butterbur possesses chemicals called pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) which can cause liver damage, although non-PA versions exist.
There is tentative evidence that melatonin is an adjunct therapy for the preservation and treatment of migraine. Information on melatonin is mixed, and some studies have had negative results. The evidence for mixed results is not clear, but may be derived from differences in the size and dose of the experiment. The mechanism of action of melatonin in migraine is not entirely clear, but it may have better sleep, direct action on melatonin sensors in the brain, and anti-inflammatory properties.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario