Migraine: causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment

A large percentage of women suffer from migraine in a timely or habitual way. This neurological disorder affects their quality of life, since it prevents them from doing their daily routine. Thus, this can lead to great discouragement and even depression and isolation. We present the causes of migraine, as well as its diagnosis and treatment.

What is migraine?

Migraine is a neurological disorder characterized by severe headaches. Many people who suffer from these pains usually attribute them to stress, stress or anxiety when, in fact, they may be suffering from a migraine.

Migraine or migraine occurs with pains located on one or both sides of the head. It is a pain that incapacitates the person completely and affects a large part of the population (18% of adult women, compared to 6% of men).

Classic migraine starts with vision dysfunctions. Flashes of light appear on one side of the visual spectrum. Also visible are zigzag lines and even colored lights. These optical effects usually last between 10 to 30 minutes.

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Causes of migraine

Among migraine sufferers different patterns and forms of pain may occur. Even in the same patient, the location of the painful focus may vary throughout his life.

Thus, it is vital to discover the causes that enhance the appearance of migraines. This will reduce the frequency and even the intensity of the headache. The causes or triggers of migraine are:

• Smoking and alcohol intake.
• Stress.
• Alterations of the dream.
• Exposure to strong odors
• Abrupt changes in the weather.
• Consumption of some foods (monosodium glutamate, artificial sweeteners, soy, dairy, caffeine, chocolate, citrus, bananas, avocado, etc.)
• Overexposure to intense lights.
• The use of some medications.

symptom

The symptomatology of this pathology It is very characteristic and recognizable:

• The main symptom is a headache with intense pain that extends through the head, neck and facial muscles. This pain can last from 4 to 72 hours.
• Gastric alteration: followed by nausea and vomiting.
• Photophobia and phonophobia: episodes of hypersensitivity to light and sound often occur.
• Paleness of the skin.
• Fatigue.
• Palpitations
• Visual symptoms: may appear flashes, rays, zigzagging lines, blurred images, partial loss of vision or eye pain.
• Psychological changes: stress crisis, anxiety, insomnia, depression and even nervousness and aggression.

Thus, migraine prevents the person from doing any activity, almost in its entirety. Others less common symptoms which may also appear are:

• Vertigos
• Spirits, tingling and tingling.
• Involuntary movements of the body.
• Difficulty in speech.

Diagnosis

The diagnosis of migraine it depends on the symptoms that the patient presents. To do this, a well detailed clinical history is made, where the information that the patient describes about their pain will be of great importance to the doctor.

Thus, it is not usual to consult a neurologist to diagnose a migraine. Only in cases in which secondary headache or other possible pathology is suspected will imaging tests be requested. The tests that are carried out are the magnetic resonance and the scanner (TAC).

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Migraine treatment

There are two lines of treatment to combat migraine. Drugs and alternative therapies:

Pharmacotherapy

The choice of the drug It depends on the cause of the migraine:

• Analgesics and anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen, aspirin, paracetamol, etc. They only have effects with migraines of mild or moderate type.
• Antiemetics: they are used to inhibit vomiting and nausea.
• Antihypertensive: are used in migraines due to hypertension in the arteries.
• Antidepressants: for migraines and headaches caused by depression or tension decompensation.

Natural therapies

Natural therapies to treat migraine they are always based, first of all, on food. It is essential to increase the consumption of natural foods and eliminate processed products from our diet (pastries, snacks, precooked foods, etc.). It is also important to rule out possible food intolerances, such as gluten or lactose.

These types of therapies take into account general health to treat any disorder. The hormonal system, the functioning of the liver, the kidneys and the intestine, emotions, etc. You can achieve very positive results with techniques such as acupuncture, homeopathy, magnetotherapy, chromotherapy, etc.