Migraine, which is not an ordinary headache but a treatable neurological disease, is among the most common reasons for visiting a doctor. The incidence of migraine hormones in young women is three times that of men. It is known that approximately 20% of women and 8% of men suffer from migraine. Migraine headache is throbbing or sharp, especially in the temple area. Memorial Health Group Neurology Department Experts gave information about migraine and its treatment. What is a migraine? What are the symptoms of migraine?
What are the causes of migraine? How is migraine diagnosed? Frequently asked questions about migraine ...
What is Migraine Disease?
If your headache occurs in attacks, this pain is called migraine pain. Migraine attacks can be seen 1-2 times a year in some and several times a month in others. It can be said that most of the migraine pains are very severe. The most important feature that distinguishes migraine pain from other pains other than severe headache is nausea, sensitivity to sound and light, which occur with pain. Those with migraine pain have difficulties in completing their daily work due to these ailments accompanying headache. However, a long process and specialist doctor control are very important for a complete diagnosis of migraine.
What are the Symptoms of Migraine?
The biggest symptom of migraine is severe headache. Migraine headache is so severe that; It can affect the performance of a function or make bed rest mandatory by making the person incompetent. One of the symptoms of migraine is unilateral headache. Zaman zamIn these unilateral headaches, which can change sides momentarily, there is a general tendency for one half than the other. Headaches in migraine are often located at the temples and sometimes behind the eyes or eyes. The forehead, the back of the head and the back of the ear are the most common places for migraine headaches.
In addition to headache, symptoms of migraine include hypersensitivity-reactivity, depressive mood, excessive and unnecessary cheeriness, stagnation / dullness, decreased concentration and attention, slowing in thought, difficulty finding words, hanging out, increased sensitivity to light-sound-smell, yawning, Desire to sleep, hunger, desire to eat sweet, increased appetite or anorexia, excessive drinking of water, feeling of swelling in the abdomen, constipation or diarrhea are also frequently observed. During migraine pain, increased sensitivity to light and sound can be so severe; Exposure to these can increase the intensity of the pain. Another well-known migraine symptom is increased sensitivity to smell. For this reason, increased nausea and vomiting can be seen even due to pleasant smells such as perfume.
Another of the symptoms of migraine is "aura". Some neurological symptoms that appear just before a severe headache are called "Aura". It can be visual or sensory. Migraine aura occurs before the onset of pain or during the first development period of the pain. It is very short duration; It usually takes 10 minutes between 30 and 20 minutes.
Visual aura: Patients describe flickering twinkling lights.
Sensory aura: The sensory aura of migraine is in the form of numbness and tingling in the hand and tongue or mouth and jaw.
What are the Causes of Migraine?
Genetic factors are the leading cause of migraine. If there is a family history of migraine, the probability of having migraine is 40%. A person whose mother and father suffer from migraine can experience migraine complaints at a rate of 75%. One of the causes of migraine pain is hormonal changes. Therefore, migraine is most common in women. Migraine attacks, which are 3 times more common in women than men, can increase in severity due to hormonal changes, especially during menstrual periods. Increasing severe headache during menstruation can also be attributed to migraine. There may be nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light and sound. It is generally one-sided, intense and throbbing.
How Is Migraine Diagnosed?
The first process in the treatment of migraine is the clinical diagnosis after the complaints of the migraine patient are evaluated by the doctor. The past history of people with migraine complaints should be examined, and a personalized treatment plan is drawn up for the cause after head and neck region examination. During the examination, it is necessary to examine the muscle structures. A trigger point in the neck and back region, for example muscle contraction, or the insertion of the handle, can also cause unilateral eye and face pain starting from the neck.
The patient's water consumption, how he is fed, sleep patterns, stress degree, environmental conditions, and gastrointestinal system health should be determined. Because physiological disorders can also trigger pain as well as over-perceiving pain. Today, many people experience neck and back pain, and headaches that develop in addition to these are frequently confused with the diagnosis of migraine. A multidisciplinary approach with neurosurgery, neurology, psychiatry, physical therapy departments is required in migraine disease. Studies show that; In fact, 53 percent of patients suffer from pain due to psychogenic factors or post-illness psychological disorder. For this reason, it is not the right approach to use the same method for every patient.
Migraine types are very important for correct treatment. A specialist doctor must be consulted for the correct evaluation of migraine. The most common type of migraine is "migraine without aura". Most of those who have migraine pain experience migraine without aura. Some of those who have migraine with aura, another type of migraine zamAttacks without aura can be seen at the moment.
Suspected of some diseases of the brain zamInvestigations are made to exclude them at the moment. Brain imaging (brain tomography) should be performed on patients with recurrent headache and diseases that can mimic migraine should be investigated.
How to Treat Migraine?
Patients can get rid of migraine attacks with correct diagnosis and appropriate treatment planning. If pains are rare after the diagnosis of migraine in migraine treatment; Crisis treatment is planned to relieve pain attacks. When there are attacks 1-2 times a week or more, preventive treatment should be done. In the treatment of migraine, sometimes only the factors that trigger migraine (such as hunger, insomnia, hormone use) may disappear or the frequency and severity of pain attacks can be reduced. Likewise, medications used under expert control are also very important in the treatment of migraine. A painless life can be achieved for years with medications taken only once a day under the supervision of a doctor.
Medications and changing the routine of daily life are very important for an effective headache treatment. If you do not plan your daily life according to migraine, it will not be beneficial to use only migraine medications.
Pay attention to these issues in your daily life;
- Keeping a headache calendar or headache diary
- Not sleeping too much or too little
- Exercising regularly
- Learning ways to deal with stress
- Maintaining a suitable weight
- Avoiding alcohol
Migraine medications: Although using medication in the treatment of migraine is one of the first preventive methods that come to mind, it should be taken with the advice of a specialist doctor. The right migraine medications can end migraine attacks. If you also have a nausea accompanying your migraine pain, it may be useful to use drugs that prevent nausea and migraine pain together. However, migraine medication should not be used with the advice of a spouse or friend. A migraine medicine that is good for your friend may not be good for you.
If you are using migraine medication, one of the things you should pay attention to is zamthe moment is that you should have it with you. As soon as you understand the symptoms of the attack, it is useful to use the migraine medicine. The sooner it is taken, the more effective it will be. Likewise, using migraine medication 2-3 days a week will become the cause of your migraine pain, as tolerance will develop in the body after a while. This can make migraine treatment even more difficult.
If migraine medications do not work and the attacks progress frequently and severely, you should try "preventive treatment". The medications taken during preventive treatment are different from pain medications, and are mostly aimed at raising the migraine threshold.
"Botox" treatment against migraine: Another approach in migraine treatment is botox used to eliminate facial wrinkles. The realization that the headaches of migraine patients who had botox had decreased, paved the way for the use of botox in the treatment of migraine. Studies have shown that botox application is effective in the treatment of chronic migraine, which is defined as a headache in migraine character, for 3 or more days a month for more than 15 months. This effect is thought to be due to the fact that botox prevents inflammatory pain by inhibiting the release of certain neurotransmitters at nerve termination sites.
Botox in migraine treatment; It is applied to the forehead, temples, neck and neck area. Botox, which is applied only in the face area for cosmetic purposes, is applied by injection of botulinum toxin under the skin to certain points in the forehead, temples, neck and neck regions. In most cases, since the effect of the applications will take approximately 3-4 months, the treatment must be repeated for the continuation of Botox treatment for migraine should be administered by a neurologist to be safe.
Neural therapy: During the treatment of a patient with migraine discovered in 1926 in the world and neural therapy is a treatment method applied in Turkey since 2008. Neural therapy; It is a needle treatment with short-acting local anesthetics. It is based on the rearrangement of the autonomic nervous system. It has almost no complications and can be applied to all age groups, including pregnant women. Neural therapy and a holistic approach have increased the chances of migraine treatment success. Neural therapy can be supported by combined treatments such as trigger point injections, manual therapy, ganglion blockages, medication and chelation depending on the degree of migraine.
Frequently Asked Questions About Migraine
What Triggers Migraine?
Migraine triggers may differ depending on the person. While a different cause can trigger an attack in the same person, a different cause can trigger another migraine attack. Therefore, it is beneficial to pay attention to all triggers. For example, certain foods such as cheese and chocolate can trigger migraines. In addition, skipping meals or delaying meals and not drinking enough water can also cause migraine attacks. Sleep patterns are also important for migraines. Sleeping too little or too much, exercising intensely, and long-term trips can also cause migraine pain. Environmental factors can also trigger your migraine pain. Very bright and flashing lights, pungent smells and climate changes affect your migraine headaches. In addition to these, emotional and psychological factors and hormonal changes in women are among the most common triggers of migraine. Although there are no proven foods that are good for migraine, it is necessary to pay attention to foods that are not good for migraine. For example, chocolate, cocoa, broad beans, beans, lentils and soy products, various seafood, offal, alcoholic beverages, instant meat and chicken broth tablets, canned food, age coffee and sour drinks, figs, raisins, papaya, avocado, banana and Be careful about foods and drinks that can trigger migraines, such as red plums and peanut butter.
What Exercises Should Those With Migraine Do?
Studies show that it is important to do light exercises among those who are good for migraines. Light exercise can reduce the frequency and severity of migraine attacks and may be useful in the preventive treatment of migraine. If you have migraine pain, you can apply a regular aerobic exercise program that will not tire you too much. In addition, if you have a migraine in your life, jogging, swimming, dancing, cycling and brisk walking are among the exercise options you can choose.
Does Migraine Cause Depression?
Depression and anxiety symptoms are more common in people with chronic migraine pain. The definition of chronic migraine is that you have headaches every two days or more for 3 months. Although your migraine pains are not chronic, if you have depression and anxiety, this causes your migraine pain to increase. In the treatment of migraine, it is very important to treat depression and anxiety.
Which Foods Cause Migraine Attacks?
Foods that cause migraine can be summarized as cheeses and foods containing tyramine. Tyramine occurs as a result of the breakdown of proteins as the food is held. The amount of tyramine also increases in aged foods with high protein content. We can say that especially cheeses and wines, alcoholic beverages and processed meats cause migraine because they contain plenty of tirem. As the answer to the question of which cheeses affect migraine more, due to their high tyramine content; Roquefort and similar moldy cheeses (stilton, gorgonzola), cheddar, feta cheese, mozzarella, permesan, Swiss cheese can be listed.
Alcohol: Red wine, beer, whiskey and champagne are migraine friendly. It can quickly trigger migraine pain.
Food preservatives: Food preservatives trigger migraine because the nitrates in them dilate the vessels.
Cold foods: Particularly, exercise, in which body temperature rises, cold weather consumed during walking or in hot weather can cause migraine pain in some people. Pain, especially in the forehead and temples, usually lasts a few minutes. Also, staying in too cold can trigger migraines.
Apart from these, foods that are not good for migraine can be listed as follows:
- Nuts and nuts
- Smoked or dried fish
- Baked yeast foods (cake, homemade bread, bread rolls)
- Banana, citrus products (orange, tangerine, citrus, etc.), kiwi, pineapple, raspberry, red plum
- Some dried fruits (dates, figs, grapes)
- Soups made with meat bouillon (Does not apply to real broth)
- Aspartame and other sweeteners
Is Caffeine Good For Migraine?
Caffeine is good for migraine. Adding caffeine to your migraine medication ensures that the medication has an almost 40% more effect against headaches. When using drugs containing caffeine while using migraine medication, it can be seen that both lower doses of drugs are used and the drug is more effective.However, too much use of caffeine-containing drugs, like all other headache drugs, causes rebound headache (rebound headache). In addition, although caffeine-containing drugs are beneficial, foods containing caffeine are not recommended. Coffee, tea, soft drinks or chocolate can make a person more susceptible to rebound headaches. All migraine medications should be used under the supervision of a doctor.
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