MIGRAINE
Migraine is essentially a nasty headache, even a sick headache,
which comes on suddenly in a healthy person, lasts a few
hours or even a day or two and afterwards the sufferer is
restored to full health once more. During an attack the patient
feels and looks very ill and may vomit. It is this repeated
and unexpected onset of attacks, which characterises migraine.
A diagnosis of migraine is made if there are headaches, which
come and go and if two of the following features are present.
A dislike of light and noise - pain limited to one side of
the head only - vomiting or a feeling of nausea - disturbances
of vision - queer sensations before an attack - a history
of migraine in the family.
It is not known what happens in
the head to cause the symptoms of a migraine attack. One
theory is that in the early stages of an attack when the
patient looks pale and strange things are happening to the
eyes, skin or limbs, the blood vessels of the brain suddenly
become narrowed. Later the throbbing headache develops when
the blood vessels widen and become larger than usual. The
headache continues until the blood vessels resume their normal
size again, usually whilst sleeping. Headaches can affect
the lives of every one. One in ten people suffer directly
with moderate to severe headaches on a regular basis. The
lives of those around them can also affected in many ways.
The sufferer will probably often need to go and lie down,
have difficulty driving, put off household tasks, find their
work is disrupted and wish to be alone.
Migraines are twice
as prevalent in the population as asthma; in fact it is one
of the commonest of chronic disorders. Women suffer more
severe and more frequent attacks. The condition is age related
and strikes in teens and early twenties, meaning that ¾ of
sufferer are under 45, having a serious impact on work and
family. The cost to industry of headaches is between £600
and £750 million every year in lost productivity due
to time off work. Over 4 million working days are lost per
year from men alone and there are 4 times as many women as
men who suffer from headaches. In between attacks headaches
can interfere with relationships, cause anxiety and depression
and lead to an inability to cope with every day life.
Migraines
are usually headaches which feel like a moderate or severe
pulsing or throbbing pain, usually one sided, which may
increase on movement and can last from 4 hours to 3 days.
Migraines
can be at intervals of between a few days to a year or
more and the sufferer is usually symptom free between attacks.
There is sometimes a pattern, they may be menstrual related
or so-called 'weekend migraine' or food, alcohol, stress
or even hunger may trigger them.
TREATMENT
In order to start to take charge of the headaches
the patient needs to find out what triggers their attack.
The aim is to find best possible treatment and manage the
headache or migraine with as little disruption to daily life
as possible. Treatment can be for the acute stage or preventative
but the idea is to resume normal activities as soon as possible.
There are many ways in which migraines can be helped. These
include medication, lying down and resting, fighting the
headache, keeping busy, sleeping to try to ease the pain.
Most sufferers do take medication for headache but very few
want to bother their GP and say that it is 'only a migraine'.
They believe that there is no effective treatment available.
Treatment with drugs may relieve the symptoms of pain and
nausea.
Certain foodstuffs and activities can trigger headaches and
a change in life-style avoiding these triggers may reduce
the number of attacks. Treatment with
Manual Lymph Drainage improves the blood flow and reduces
some of the effects of increased pressure due to circulatory
problems. Connective Tissue Manipulation
releases the tension around the blood vessels and helps to
reduce not only the severity of the attack but also the frequency
at which they occur. The effects of Connective
Tissue Manipulation are cumulative. Once the tension has
been reduced by treatment that reduction is maintained. The
degree to which it is maintained is conditional upon the stress
put into the system by the patient's lifestyle. By using a
combination of reducing the tension, increasing the blood
flow and improving the lymph drainage the altered circulation
to the brain, which occurs during a migraine headache, can
be returned too normal. See Circulation
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