What is a chronic migraine?
Migraines are tremendously painful headaches. Patients dealing with migraines usually seek professional medical assistance to alleviate the pain as over-the-counter drugs might be inadequate. According to medical statistics, women are more susceptible to migraines than men.
Migraines are categorized into two forms, i.e., episodic and chronic. Episodic migraines intermittently occur, i.e., there are long gaps between every migraine attack. These could be quantified into a period of numerous weeks and months. Conversely, chronic migraine is characterized by the health condition of experiencing headaches for more than half the time of the month. Apart from frequent occurrences, such types of migraines can last for hours. Episodic migraines, in due course, might advance to the chronic stage.
Symptoms of chronic migraines
If you already suffer from episodic migraines, then you must be aware of the symptoms of chronic migraines. This is because you have a fair chance of acquiring them in the future. Recognizing the signs of a chronic migraine at an early stage will help you take timely and effective measures.
The most apparent symptom is experiencing headaches for more than 15 days every month.
Chronic migraines might get aggravated after carrying out simple physical activities. The pain can also worsen after persistent coughing, sharp movements, etc.
Along with severe headaches, you could also experience neck stiffness, body weakness, slurring of speech, confusion, sensitivity to bright lights and loud sounds, and variations in vision.
If this scenario occurs for more than two or three months, then you must immediately consult your doctor.
Understanding the causes of chronic migraines
A chronic migraine is a complex health condition that varies from person to person. Therefore, there is no concrete reason for its occurrence. There are multiple factors that need to be considered for an individual to be correctly diagnosed. However, you need to be mindful of the most common causes of chronic migraines to effectively manage your condition on a personal level.
Genetic factors
If your biological parent has suffered from chronic migraines in the past, your vulnerability to getting it increases too. These can start from right from childhood or develop after a certain age during adulthood.
Imbalance in brain chemicals
For a brain to operate smoothly, it requires a proportionate amount of brain chemicals. If there is any form disparity occurring in the brain chemicals, then it can possibly prompt an event of a chronic migraine.
Neurological disorders
Any form of an existing neurological disorder can aggravate a chronic migraine. Therefore, it is important to get your migraine diagnosed as it might not just be a health condition in itself but a symptom of a more complex medical issue.
Psychological problems
Stress, depression, and anxiety can give rise to chronic migraines. Such mental issues can also result in excessive sleeping or sleep deprivation, worsening the situation. If you have been dealing with similar mental ordeals, then instantly seek professional assistance.
Medications
Certain types of medications such as vasodilators are used for patients dealing with cardiovascular diseases or high blood pressure. Such drugs enlarge blood vessels to facilitate easy blood flow. These drugs end up affecting the blood flow in the brain as well, which can activate persistent events of migraine attacks. To tackle this problem, ask your doctor to make some necessary adjustments in your medicines.
Hormonal fluctuations
One reason for a migraine being more common in women is because they experience monthly hormonal fluctuations in the form of menstrual periods. During or around this time, women can experience multiple instances of migraines. Apart from menstruation, migraines can occur in women who are going through menopause or are on a prescribed course of hormonal therapy.
Foods and drinks
Your dietary habits widely affect how your body responds and manages health conditions like migraines. For example, foods containing refined sugars, high sodium, spicy food, dairy, and caffeine, can intensify the frequency of migraine attacks. Therefore, diligently observe your food regime to avoid ingredients that affect your chronic migraine. Likewise, eating patterns also matter, so avoid skipping meals and binge eating and drinking.
Environmental changes
Moving to a new place or sudden alterations in the weather can trigger a chronic migraine.
Physical exertion
Working for long hours or excessive workout sessions can create physical stress, which eventually leads to the occurrence of chronic migraines.
Apart from the abovementioned causes, chronic migraines could be an aftermath of traumatic brain injuries or bacterial infections.
To manage chronic migraines, you must start by identifying your causes. This will help you and the specialist to profile your condition in an improved manner. Along with prescription medications and therapies, you can also make certain lifestyle changes. These could include a personalized diet, exercising, and decreasing stress. Lastly, remember to not use over-the-counter medicines without medical consultation for migraines.
Botox is widely used for cosmetic purposes. In order to hide fine lines and wrinkles, people often undergo Botox treatment. However, there are lesser known uses of Botox that do not involve any cosmetic treatments. Botox has been used for treating several medical conditions including chronic migraines.
Medical conditions for which Botox is used for treatment include the following.
There are approximately 20 medical conditions for which Botox is used.
Botox was never meant for treating migraines; the discovery of Botox and its effects on migraine was rather accidental. Professionals who were giving Botox shots learned about its effects on migraine when people with a chronic migraine reported a decline in their migraine attacks after the treatment.
There are two ways doctors believe that Botox helps people with a chronic migraine. Muscles that are sensitive to pain are relaxed by using Botox and it blocks the brain’s pain signal to the nerves.
Things to expect from your Botox treatment for migraine
Before you consider going for a Botox treatment for your chronic migraine condition, you must learn about every single side-effect. It is also important to undergo the treatment from an experienced doctor for the same.
Botox is a trade name used for the procedure of injecting Botulinum toxin (BTX) into the skin to inhibit the movement of the muscles that prevents wrinkles. Getting a Botox job is commonly done for cosmetic reasons, however, there is one more reason to used Botox, and that is to treat migraine. Those who have been diagnosed with migraine and get frequent migraine attacks can consider getting a Botox treatment done.
In 2010, Botox was approved for treating chronic migraines by FDA. A person has a chronic migraine when there is a history of the condition in the family and the headaches last almost 15 days. Botox works only on chronic migraine and you should not get a Botox treatment if you get headaches for fewer days and if you suffer from other types of headaches.
Botox treatment shots result in cutting down the number of days people get headaches because of migraine. Most people who get Botox for migraine report ‘no-headache’ days every month post their treatment. As the rounds of Botox treatments for migraine increases, the headache decreases as well. Upon getting five rounds of Botox treatment, there is a 70% reduction in a headache.
How Botox works
Doctors believe that a chronic migraine can be treated by Botox as the treatment blocks the neurotransmitters that send pain signals from the brain. Botox acts as a barrier or a blockage in the pathway of neurotransmitters before they reach the nerve endings around the neck and head.
Botox treatment
People who suffer from a chronic migraine can undergo Botox for the treatment. There are several shots of Botox given around the head and the neck area once after every 12 weeks. This helps in a tremendous decrease or total prevention of migraine headaches.
There is a total of 30 to 40 shots for this treatment. Shots are given on both sides of the head equally. If there is a strong migraine pain in one specific part of the head, more shots of Botox can be given there.
Side effects of Botox
People who undergo Botox treatments for their chronic migraine condition may feel neck pain and headache. Other side effects include an allergic reaction; however, the occurrence of an allergic reaction is rare. The signs of the allergic reaction include shortness of breath, hives, or swelling in parts of lower legs. Though Botox does not spread to other parts of the body, there is a slight possibility of that happening, and in case that happens, it can prove deadly.
Before undergoing a Botox treatment for chronic migraine, it is important to know everything on the same to prevent health issues and side effects.
Are you bothered by severe headaches from time to time and have no idea how to deal with them? For all you know, you may be a victim of migraines that are extremely common among people across the globe.
What is a migraine and what triggers it?
A migraine is a headache that occurs due to specific alterations inside your brain. It triggers headaches that are extremely severe and is normally accompanied with extreme sensitivity to smells, sound, and light. Migraines are normally diagnosed through various signs and indications which are typical to most migraines. They are triggered due to umpteen factors including hormonal alterations, specific food items, stress, or any kind of strong stimuli.
Most common symptoms of migraine
The most common indication of migraine is a severe and intense throbbing on one part of the head. This pain normally intensifies to such an extent that it prevents you from performing your daily functions. In some people, the pain spreads over to the entire portion of the head and even to the neck.
Indications of a migraine normally appear about a couple of days before the onset of the migraine. They are commonly referred to as prodromal stage of a migraine. These symptoms comprise:
– Feeling depressed
– Tiredness
– Yawning frequently
– Cravings for some kind of specific foods
– Stiff neck
– Irritability
There are some percentages of migraine victims who experience something like an aura past the prodromal stage. An aura normally causes disturbances in speech, motor skills, and vision which include:
– Difficulty in speaking clearly
– Light flashes
– Seeing bright spots or shapes
– Experiencing tingling or prickly feeling in legs and arms
– Loss of vision which is transient
The phase after this is the actual phase of migraine attack. The most common indications comprise:
– Vomiting
– Nausea
– Throbbing or pulsing pain in the head
– Dizziness or fainting feeling
– Heightened sensitivity to sound and light
Once this phase passes, the victim experiences the next phase which is known as postdrome phase. In this final stage, the victim experiences an alteration feelings and moods depending on person to person.
The above-mentioned symptoms can be treated with the right medication and the victim is sure to find some relief with the right medications and natural migraine remedies such as staying sufficiently hydrated and observing a gluten-free diet. If you happen to be a victim of migraine attacks, go ahead and book an appointment with your doctor who will be able to help you deal with these migraine attacks effectively.
Migraine headaches are extremely common among men and women all over the world. They are one of the most popular issues that are common in most ER and doctor’s clinics. However, not all headaches are migraine headaches and given below are some of the most common indications that will help you realize whether you are suffering from a migraine or an ordinary headache.
How long does a migraine attack last?
A migraine headache normally lasts anywhere between four hours to three days and the frequency is varied according to each victim. There are various kinds of migraines and around eight percent of the people experience common migraines.
What causes a migraine?
Migraines are triggered due to various factors including birth control pills, stress, smoking, erratic meal timings, and even certain food items like chocolates, alcohol, or nuts.
How to distinguish between a migraine and other headaches?
When compared to tension or other kind of headaches, migraine headaches have severe pain that some victims have to seek immediate help at the ER. This will make even daily functions extremely difficult. The most common indications that distinguish a normal headache from a migraine headache are:
– Vomiting and nausea
– Temporary vision loss
– Pain in the forehead
– Severe pain behind one ear or eye
– Sensitiveness to light or sound
– Seeing flashing lights or spots
Migraine headaches are of two kinds. One that is accompanied by an aura which actually are just sensations that the victim goes through just around half an hour before the attack begins. The other does not have auras.
Many people experience some other symptoms around a couple of days prior to the migraine attack. These indications normally include
– A stiff neck
– Feeling lethargic
– Feeling depressed
– Constipation
– Extremely unusual food cravings
– Yawning very often.
Treatment
One can find some quick migraine relief with natural migraine remedies such as drinking water, eating a gluten-free diet, and using lavender oil. Your doctor is the best person who can tell you what kind of migraine you are suffering from and what medication will be effective for your specific symptoms. If your migraine frequency is comparatively less, you will get immediate relief from the normal pain medications that are effective for migraine attacks. However, if you are a victim of frequent migraine attacks, you will need stronger and more effective medications to combat the pain and also preventive medications and measures that will avert these attacks from occurring frequently.
Migraine is an extreme headache disorder. It is characterized by recurrent headaches which can be moderate or severe. The headache causes by migraine affect one half of the head. The headache is pulsating in nature. Migraine attacks can last from two to seventy-two hours.
Since migraine triggering is unique in every person, scientists are yet to find the base cause of migraine attacks. It is not uncommon for a person to have a several migraine triggers. The most common migraine triggers are based on several factors.
Food products that are aged, for example, cheese or salami cause migraine headaches to many. Foods that are highly processed can also trigger migraine.
People who have a history of skipping meals or the ones who observe fast are more prone to get migraine attacks.
Alcohol and beverages that are high on caffeine cause migraine attacks.
Since we have become used to consuming processed foods on daily basis, there are some artificial sweeteners such as aspartame that can trigger migraine. Preservatives such as monosodium glutamate (MSG) can be a source of migraine headaches for some people. Hence, it is important that you read the label before buying such food products.
There are many people that get migraine headaches due to sensory stimulation. Unusual bright lights, loud noises, and strong smells can set off migraine headaches. Other sensory stimulations include flashlights, bright sun, perfume, paint, and cigarette smoke which can be considered as common triggers.
For women, hormone shifts are a common migraine triggers. Women tend to experience migraine headaches right before or even when they are menstruating. They also experience hormone-induced migraines during pregnancy or menopause. This maybe because of the estrogen levels change during these times and trigger a migraine episode.
Medications such as birth control and hormone replacement therapies can trigger or worsen a migraine. Although there are some cases in where the medications can actually reduce migraine headaches.
Personal and professional life are the two most common sources of stress and can affect the mind and body if not controlled effectively. If you have an irregular sleep cycle and not getting regular, routine sleep, you may experience more migraines.
It might be hard to believe but weather changes and shift in barometric pressure can also trigger a migraine headache.
Going by the above mentioned causes you need to narrow down on whichever factors out of these cause migraines so that you can avoid them.
Migraines are typically self-limited. Its recurrent severe headache is associated with autonomic symptoms. Mostly, every other individual who suffers from migraine headaches experience them with frequent aura.
The severity of the pain, duration of the headache, and frequency of the attacks are different for every person. A migraine that lasts more than 72 hours is termed as status migrainosus.
There are four possible phases of migraine. It is not necessary that all the phases will be necessarily experienced.
The four phases are as follows:
Prodrome phase
It is one of the most common phases among the people who suffer from migraine. With its onset, it can the prodrome phase last from two hours to two days. It can be caused due to prolonged consumption of processed food or high caffeine beverages. Its symptoms include altered mood, irritability which can range from depression to fatigue. The person in this phase may experience constipation or diarrhea.
Aura phase
Strictly in medical terms, an aura is a transient focal neurological phenomenon. In simple words, the person going through this phase might experience frequent visual impairments or other sensory or motor symptoms. The aura phase occurs in most of the cases.
Visual disturbances often consist scintillating scotoma. It is a partial alteration in the field of vision. It may interfere. This happens to people who get migraine headaches due to sensory stimulation. These typically start near center of the vision and then spread out to the sides with zigzag lines.
Sensory auras are the second most common type and occur in almost 40 percent of people with auras. In this type of phase, the person often feels pin pricks on one side of hand, and it spreads through-out the nose and mouth area of the same side. With this, numbness usually occurs with the loss of position sense. Other symptoms usually range from speech or language disturbance.
Pain phase
This phase occurs when the headache is moderate to severe in intensity. It aggravated by physical activity. Bilateral neck pain is associated with it. This phase is experienced when migraine is caused due to physical stress.
Postdrome
The migraine postdrome leaves the person with head pain, cognitive difficulties, gastrointestinal symptoms, mood changes, and weakness. This phase occurs to the people who experience migraine due to irregular sleep cycle.
Once you experience a severe migraine attack, you are willing to go to any lengths to avert experiencing another attack of that throbbing ache as far as possible. Migraines become a regular visitor if one does not take any require precautions for the same. Two of the most important measures to prevent migraine attacks are alterations and changes for the better in one’s lifestyle and taking preventive medicines from the beginning.
Alterations in your Lifestyle
Changes is your life style can help tremendously in averting these dreaded attacks. This includes changes in:
• Sleeping pattern: Ensure that you follow a strict time table as far as going to be and waking up are concerned. Erratic sleep patterns are one of the most common triggers of migraine attacks. So make sure you go to be at the same time every day and wake up more or less at a specified time regularly. This simple change can bring about a huge difference in the frequency of your migraine attacks.
• Regular Exercise: Often you may feel being overly active can trigger an attack. However, it is imperative that you do exercise every day on a moderate basis if you want to keep these migraines at bay. Yoga or aerobics or just waking every day is a wonderful option. Exercising also helps to alleviate stress that is another major culprit behind migraine attacks.
• Having meals regularly: It is imperative you do not skip any meals and have them regularly on time. A dip in your levels of blood sugar can trigger an attack of migraine, so ensure you have food at the same time daily. It is also important that you drink enough water every day to avert dehydration that can also cause migraine attacks.
• Reducing stress: Today’s lifestyle invites a lot of stress and so make sure you do get stressed with your hectic lifestyle. For this, practice, yoga, walking and listening to music that will all help you calm your nerves and avert those attacks from occurring frequently.
Preventive medicines
Your doctor can prescribe some preventive medicine that will stop these attacks from occurring often. These medicines help in ensuring that:
• Headaches are not very severe
• The time span of an attack is reduced
• The frequencies of these attacks are also lessened.
So, go ahead and find out how you can avert these migraine attacks that will surely make your life so much easier and less stressful.
Headaches especially migraines are one of the most common ailments that plague people all over the world. Although you have umpteen options to treat migraines, natural remedies have been found to work miracles and are regarded as perfectly safe for the same too. There are quite a lot of reasons why people prefer natural cures compared to medications.
Benefits of curing migraine naturally
• Prescribed medications have a number of adverse effects.
• A lot of OTC medicines can interfere with other pills that the person is already taking for other ailments.
• Not everybody finds OTC medicines effective for treating migraines.
• These drugs that are prescribed can be quite expensive.
• Natural remedies have various compounds that are found to work wonders in alleviating migraine symptoms.
This makes natural products much more suitable for treating headaches and migraines. Go ahead and find out more about these simple home cures that can treat your migraine headaches.
Ice Packs: This is one of the most popular home cures for migraines. You can get these ice wraps at all medical shops and they are quite cheap too. They are found to work wonders for relaxing your body and augmenting the flow of blood. This in turn lowers the intensity of pain at once. All one needs to hold a pack of ice cubes to your forehead, temples, rear of the neck for quarter of an hour and repeat this as often as required.
Apple Cider Vinegar: Apple cider vinegar is known to be a miraculous remedy for migraine headaches Just add a teaspoon of this vinegar to a glass full of water to which a teaspoon of honey is also added. Drinking this concoction is found to work wonders in relieving migraines and even preventing them from recurring often.
Peppermint: Peppermint has commendable anti-inflammatory characteristics that are excellent to relax the nerves. It is also found to have a soothing and antispasmodic effect. The soothing fragrance of peppermint has been proven effective to provide relief from migraine headaches.
Chamomile: Yet another wonderful herb which has commendable soothing, anti-spasmodic and anti-inflammatory properties as well is chamomile. You just need to have chamomile tea regularly that will help to provide you with relief from these headaches. German chamomile yields best results for migraine headaches.
Cayenne Pepper: One more effective natural remedy that has been found to be good for headaches is Cayenne pepper. This herb helps in stimulating circulation and augmenting flow of blood. It contains traces of capsaicin that is effective for reducing pain. Adding half a teaspoon of this pepper to lukewarm water and drinking this aids in curing migraine headaches.
Headaches are not confined to adults. Headaches are becoming extremely common in kids and teenagers too. The headaches, which little children experience, are quite similar to the ones experienced by adults. You do not have to panic when your child says he is suffering from headache thinking about the worst scenarios. Just remain calm and find out what exactly is triggering these headaches.
What triggers migraines in kids?
The precise cause of migraines in kids is not clear. A lot of these attacks are normally caused by a non-permanent deficiency of a chemical in the brain called serotonin. Apart from this, migraines are also triggered when children eat some specific food like chocolates, any and all kinds of nuts, shellfish, Chinese food, cheese, caffeine, and any kind of sugary food.
Symptoms of migraine attacks in children
Majority of children experience the numerous symptoms and signs which are an indication of migraine. These are stomach cramping, nausea, vomiting, sensitiveness to light and sound, extreme fatigue and sleepiness, extremely swollen nasal passages, thirst, and dark circles beneath eyes along with paleness. Most kids sleep off within one hour of the commencement of the attack.
Treatment for migraine in children
There are a lot of treatment options for children and your doctor will be the best person who will be able to advise you in this regard. It includes:
• Tracking symptoms: Firstly, one requires to notice and keep track of the diet your child is having and finding out whether foods trigger these attacks, and if they do so, then which foods.
• Managing stress: Even tension can trigger migraines in kids. Unhealthy sleep patterns, not eating proper meals on time or any school issues also may be triggering stress.
• Biofeedback: This utilizes sensors that can be connected to your kid’s body to assess how the child’s system reacts to headaches, like alterations in pulse rate, muscle tension, temperature, activity of the brain and stressful conditions. This is very helpful in coming up with a diagnosis.
• Medicines: Most medications that are prescribed to treat adults are ok for children if given in smaller doses. However, make sure that you steer clear of aspirin if your child is below nineteen years of age. There are a number of safe drugs that can be administered for migraine that have been found to be effective to reduce pain and the uneasiness that these children experience. Your doctor will be the best person to know what suits your child the best.