This article will look at the symptoms of migraine in women, men and adolescents. What is this pathology?
Migraine is a neurological disease. Translated from Greek, this word means "half of the head." Basically, people feel pain in one specific half of the head. The basis of this disease is the dependence of blood vessels on nerve disorders. There are many reasons for migraine attacks. But, mostly, women suffer from it, moreover, quite often it is inherited.
How can you tell a migraine from a regular headache?
Regular attacks, characterized by severe spasms, are usually symptoms of this disease. But even if, by all indications, a person has made this diagnosis for himself, it is also necessary to exclude secondary head pathologies that servea consequence of more serious diseases, for example, oncology or stroke. Migraine is classified as a primary headache. So, how can you tell if a person is suffering from a migraine and not a typical tension headache?
- This pathology is characterized by the presence of pain pulsation. In turn, tension headaches have a constant, almost unchanging intensity.
- Migraine is always localized exclusively in one specific place. This phenomenon never covers both parts of the head at once. Pain from exertion usually surrounds the entire head.
- Against the backdrop of a migraine, any twists and turns give off new tides of pain.
- Patients may sometimes feel nauseous and may vomit.
- The harsh lights and sounds of a migraine usually make the pain worse.
Migraine symptoms are sometimes confused with sinus headaches. And in some cases, the symptoms of these diseases are very similar. The patient may make a mistake in self-diagnosis. Only a competent doctor will make the correct diagnosis and prescribe the correct treatment. Sinus pain is usually located in the nose, in addition, around the eyes. They occur due to the process of inflammation of the air cavities. The reason for this is infectious diseases along with allergies or oncological neoplasms.
Migraine symptoms in women are discussed below.
Varieties
This disease is not only difficult to distinguish from other pathologies similar in symptoms, but it also has manyvarieties. Directly according to the classification, this disease can be with or without an aura. Aura refers to an optical phenomenon. In the event that a migraine is accompanied by an aura, then a person will feel the approach of an attack in half an hour. He will have a flicker of light, lose sensitivity and lose vision for a while. This type of disease is called classic.
The classic form usually affects thirty percent of people who are prone to this disease. The remaining seventy percent do not feel any symptoms of the onset of this condition. Next, consider the main varieties:
- Appearance of episodic and chronic migraine. The episodic type may occur from time to time. But chronic is observed every second day, or even daily. Very often, episodic migraines at a young age can become chronic. Pain usually begins during adolescence. Such sensations can be muffled by analgesics. The situation is often exacerbated by the fact that people do not take measures to combat the disease. I must say that the frequent use of painkillers along with obesity and excessive love for coffee only exacerbates the condition. Migraine can also cause depression. Chronic manifestations of this disease lead to disruption of the digestive system. As a result, headaches are often accompanied by nausea or vomiting.
- Menstrual migraine that affects women. Abrupt changehormonal background is accompanied by severe pain. Usually they occur immediately before the onset of menstruation or in the first days of the cycle. Against the background of such pain, doctors recommend using the drug "Triptan". These pills will remove the main causes of pain, and in the event that they are used in advance, they will help to forget about the painful symptoms altogether.
- The classic type is a kind of pathology with an aura. Immediately half an hour before an attack of severe pain, a person already knows what threatens him. The symptoms and causes of migraine with aura are interrelated. This can lead to loss of vision, ringing in the ears and severe dizziness. In some patients, periods before a migraine are generally fraught with complete loss of consciousness.
- The abdominal form of migraine affects mainly children who have inherited this disease. They have abdominal pain along with nausea and even vomiting.
- Ophthalmoplegic type of migraine usually occurs at the age of twenty. The pain is concentrated directly around the eye. Pulsation along with increased intracranial pressure can torment a person for more than an hour. The pressure against this background is so strong that it can lead to spasms of the muscles of the eyes. These are very common migraine symptoms in adults.
- Retinal migraine is short-lived and lasts about one hour. But this type can lead to complete loss of vision. This type of illness sometimes proceeds painlessly, but basically the pain is still present, however, not as strong as with other types of pathology. What are the symptoms of vestibularmigraines?
- The vestibular variety is accompanied by dizziness. They can be on their own or paired with a headache.
- The hemiplegic type of migraine is a genetic disease that occurs rarely and is inherited. Just before the onset of the syndrome, people may experience paralysis on one side of the body. The condition may also be accompanied by dizziness and temporary loss of vision.
- Migrainosus status is the most dangerous type of migraine. It is completely impossible to treat it on its own, therefore urgent hospitalization is required. In this case, the person experiences very severe pain. And without special help there is no way to cope. To improve well-being requires a whole range of drugs.
Causes of migraines
This is a complex disease with many varieties. Experts are unanimous that it directly depends on the activity of the nervous system. Any disorder, along with exposure to a wide variety of factors, leads to the fact that a number of neurological and biochemical processes can work. Genetics play a very important role in this. So, what causes the onset of such severe pain?
- The impact of stress. Severe emotional upheaval in people who are prone to migraines often manifests as the progression of the disease.
- Engaging in intense exercise leading to physical stress. It could be various workouts, hard physical work or excessive sexual activity.
- The presence of fluctuations inatmospheric pressure with temperature fluctuations.
- Bright lighting or light flashes.
- The appearance of strong unpleasant odors.
- Various trips, especially to countries with different climatic conditions.
- Lifestyle change, lack of sleep.
- Undernutrition, nutritional deficiencies, or routine skipping of meals.
- The presence of hormonal surges in women.
In addition to the above factors, various foods can cause an attack. For example, people with a genetic predisposition to migraine should completely eliminate caffeine, red wine and beer.
Preservatives, nitrites and nitrates are not only dangerous to he alth, but threaten with headaches. It will not be superfluous to keep a food diary in order to be able to correlate the likelihood of another attack with the foods eaten the day before. In the future, you need to remove them from the diet.
Be careful with cheese, chocolate, citrus fruits, nuts, biscuits and sausage. It is likely that by eliminating just one product, for example, coffee, a person will forget about the disease, and he will no longer need any migraine medication.
Many people wonder how does a migraine headache hurt? See the symptoms below.
Migraine as a female disease
As noted earlier, women suffer most from migraines. Among the total number of such patients, ladies are assigned approximately seventy-five percent. The age of female migraines is usually between twenty and fiftyfive years. And in almost half of the patients, migraine occurs depending on menstruation, which is associated with the effects of hormones.
In addition, women suffer from headaches during pregnancy, with a sharp change in hormonal levels. Female migraine often accompanies the onset of menopause. It should be noted that women are particularly sensitive to certain foods, as well as smells, bright lights and sounds.
So, next we will describe the symptoms of migraine in detail.
Main symptoms
Headaches on the background of this disease, as already known, occur only on one side. They are able to cover, for example, immediately the upper jaw, neck and eye. The pain is usually pulsating in nature and greatly aggravated by the appearance of various stimuli, for example, bright light, strong smell or loud sound.
How does a headache with a migraine, the symptoms of the disease - all this can be checked with a doctor in order to accurately establish the diagnosis.
Often during attacks, people feel nausea with a feeling of heaviness. Stomach cramps and vomiting may also occur. Very often, painkillers do not have any effect. Sometimes there is a violation of orientation in space. There may also be irritability along with depression and depressed mood. Patients may feel agitated or, conversely, drowsiness. Migraine symptoms are very unpleasant.
Seizures can last from thirty minutes to several hours. In the event that the pain cannot be relieved within a few days,migraine status develops. In some patients, immediately before the attack, a harbinger may appear, indicating the imminent onset of the disease. This phenomenon is called an aura.
The first symptom in this case is fog before the eyes, along with dizziness, visual, tactile and auditory hallucinations, impaired coordination and speech, tearfulness and a desire to eat something sweet. If you take medicine during this period, then in some cases it is possible to prevent the onset of an attack.
Also take a closer look at the symptoms, causes and treatment of migraine with aura.
Main phases of migraine
This disease has several phases, each of which may be accompanied by its own symptoms. The prodromal phase usually begins a few days before the main attack. At this time, a person has a poor appetite, or, on the contrary, too strong, along with intolerance to bright lights and manic sensitivity to smells. Also at this time, mood may change, drowsiness comes with fatigue.
Half an hour before the onset of pain, the aura stage begins. During this period, patients become numb, objects flicker, vision is lost, flies appear before the eyes, which interfere with viewing objects. In addition, confusion is observed at this time. Sometimes the aura can be accompanied by a complete loss of consciousness.
Reviews about migraine symptoms and treatments abound. Everyone tends to consider the appearance of a panic attack a harbingermigraine. According to reviews, attacks can last from four hours to three days. In this case, a person experiences throbbing pain, which increases with movement or slight physical exertion. This phase is often accompanied by severe nausea. Vomiting may also occur. Some patients often experience hallucinations or face numbness.
During the postdromal phase, when the pain is already gone, the person is not yet fully aware that everything is over. Feelings can be even aggravated, and the psyche at this moment is inhibited. Misunderstanding of what is happening around can be quite pronounced.
Symptoms and treatment of vestibular migraine should also be considered in more detail.
This form of pathology manifests itself in attacks with severe or moderate dizziness and headache. Symptoms may last for several minutes or several hours. In severe cases - during the day. Dizziness can be reduced by changing the position of the head. In this case, there is no hearing loss, hum or tinnitus is not observed. The combination of headache and dizziness does not occur in all patients. Some people lose coordination and cannot stand or walk.
The main symptoms of vestibular migraine are:
- dizziness;
- pain in the head;
- vomiting and nausea;
- poor coordination, unsteady walking.
Therapeutic activities are carried out both at the time of the attack and during the calm period for prevention. Changes in the lifestyle of patients are required to preventnew seizures. It is also important to conduct drug therapy. This implies the relief of the symptoms of the disease.
Migraine treatment
This disease must be treated immediately, and in several directions. There is currently no universal therapy for migraine. The very first thing to do is to relieve pain, and then develop a scheme that will help reduce the number of attacks, reducing their overall severity as much as possible. There are entire lists of drugs for migraine, which are divided into the following groups:
- Taking painkillers analgesics. These are, first of all, such drugs as Ibuprofen, Nise, Naproxen, Aspirin, Acetaminophen, Excedrin, Diclofenac and Solpadein.
- Special medicines in the form of "Zolmitriptan", "Noramiga", "Sumatriptan", "Eletriptan", "Zomiga", "Trimigren", "Imigran" and "Naratriptan" are designed specifically for the treatment of this disease. They serve as fast-acting drugs. Due to their composition, they can normalize the volume of serotonin. These funds are the most progressive for migraine therapy. Most patients in the reviews note a positive result on the background of their admission. They do not contribute to the suppression of the nervous system and do not cause drowsiness, significantly reducing pain. True, all these drugs have some side effects.
- Treatment with Akliman, Gynofort, Sekabrevin, Neogynofort, Ergomar and Kakginergin promotes muscle contraction around blood vessels.
- Drugs in the form of "Morphine", "Codeine",Meperidine and Oxycodone are reserved for severe cases of migraine not responding to other therapies.
- Nausea due to migraine is removed by Metoclopramide.
- Prevention of headaches is carried out with such drugs as Propranolol, Valproate and Topiramate.
- Beta-blockers in the form of Metoprolol and Timolol are used to reduce pain flare-ups.
- It is advisable to use anticonvulsants for migraines. For example, these include Divalproex along with Topiramat.
- Using antidepressants like Amitriptyline along with Tricyclix and Venlafaxine.
- The use of combined drugs in the form of "Stopmigren", "Caffetin", "Pentalgin", "Tetralgin" and "Solpadein".
Medications for the treatment of menstrual migraine
Many women suffer from migraine directly in the premenstrual period. For such patients at this time, doctors recommend taking Ergotamine, as well as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, for example, drugs such as Ibuprofen, Aspirin, Diclofenac, Sumatriptan, Eletriptan and Digidergot.
Everyone should know the causes, symptoms and treatment of migraine pills.
Use "Botox" against migraines
"Botox" is currently quite effectively used to treat chronic migraines. Every three months, this drug is administered to patients in the head and neck. Such a measurehelps to avoid attacks of this disease or at least minimizes pain.
Next, we will figure out how to influence the disease without the use of medications. How else to relieve the symptoms of migraine headaches?
Fighting migraines without medication
Medicines for the most part cause significant harm to human he alth. People heal one and destroy the other. Migraine medications are no exception. In this regard, the most affordable non-drug means should be adopted.
But what can help a migraine without harming your he alth? First of all, you should learn to control the activity of your muscles. They need to be able to relax, give them the necessary peace, they can not be pinched. Conducting relaxation of the whole body is not such a complicated technique. The only thing is that you need to master it well and constantly perform such exercises. Relaxation should be alternated with the use of cold compresses. There are special pads available in stores that allow you to keep a cold compress for several hours.
It is equally important to learn how to deal with stress. This is a rather difficult, but at the same time necessary skill for he alth. After all, it helps not only in the presence of migraines, but also supports the nervous system. You should learn to identify stress by putting blockers in its path, thanks to this, you will later be able to cope with it. Each person basically has their own ways of dealing with such an ailment. But here are some recommendations for those who often suffer frommigraines:
- It is advisable to take a contrast shower. It is useful not only for the human body, but also for his head.
- You should put your head in a basin of warm water. Next, you need to linger for a few minutes in this position. Then you can again assume a vertical position. A couple of these visits will help to cope with outbreaks of pain.
- Sometimes wetting clothes with ice water helps.
- You should regularly rest in a room with dim lighting.
- Immediately before a migraine flare approaches, try to sleep.
- It is recommended to massage the head. It is advisable to take regular massage courses with a specialist.
- It is advisable to massage the legs. To do this, take a comfortable position and, massaging the feet, relax.
- Sometimes moderately tight bandaging of the head helps with migraines.
- Whiskey should be smeared with menthol ointment.
So, we have studied the information about the symptoms and treatment of head migraine.
Migraine Prevention
The most basic thing to do is to improve your lifestyle. At the same time, a person needs regular nutrition along with normal sleep, physical activity and the absence of bad habits. In addition, the medications taken should be monitored. Do not abuse oral contraceptives and hormonal drugs. And it's best to avoid them altogether. Experts say that it is impossible to completely recover from migraines. But you can minimize it by changing yourhabits and leading a he althy lifestyle.
Migraine in teenagers - symptoms and treatment
As a rule, children have the same symptoms - severe headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting. However, conventional painkillers are not effective.
The causes of pathology in adolescents are special provoking factors:
- girls first period;
- hormonal failure;
- mental and physical overwork;
- strong stress;
- weather conditions, climate;
- lack or too much sleep;
- too bright lights and loud sounds;
- long sitting at the computer.
We looked at the symptoms of migraine in teenagers. Treatment is described below.
What can help during an attack?
After the onset of an attack, you should take a horizontal position, eliminate provoking factors, for example, sound or light, close the curtains on the windows, ensure silence and ventilate the room. You can massage the temples or the back of the head, the collar region. Headbands, a wet towel over the forehead, and compresses help in some cases.
You can induce vomiting, drink strong sweet tea, analgesic. Sleep is needed after the symptoms have been eliminated. All medications can only be prescribed by a doctor.
Reviews on the symptoms and treatment of migraine pills
This pathology collects a large number of reviews. Migraine suffers from both adult men and women, and teenagers. ATAt the moment of an attack, people feel severe pain, dizziness, nausea, and often vomiting. Complete silence is needed, painkillers do not always help. But women consider Triptan tablets to be the most effective. It also relieves pain, according to reviews, massage.
We covered the symptoms, causes and treatment of migraines.
