How to distinguish a migraine from a common headache? Woman`s day figured it out.
Migraine symptoms in women
– According to the symptoms and the portrait of the patient, – experts answer.
Migraine symptoms
Migraines are classified into two types: with and without aura. An aura is a harbinger that appears 10-30 minutes before an attack. During this period, the patient may experience flickering in the eyes, partially lose sight, and lose sensitivity. Migraine headaches with aura are considered classic. But the aura can be attributed to one of the characteristic symptoms of an impending migraine attack.
Migraine symptoms:
– Acute throbbing pain in one or both halves of the head, lasting from four hours to three days; – intolerance to bright light; – intolerance to loud sounds; – nausea or even vomiting; – a state of fatigue, drowsiness (happens after an attack); – general weakness; – visual impairment: flashes of light, bright spirals, zigzags, etc., flash before the eyes. Symptoms intensify within a few minutes. But none of them last longer than an hour. The frequency of migraine attacks ranges from several times a year to daily. But most often attacks occur 2-8 times a month, often during menstruation.
Who is predisposed
Experienced doctors can identify a person suffering from migraine by external signs. This, as a rule, is an active, active, disciplined, responsible person, striving for success, but internally very tense, insecure, irritable, conservative. Has a high level of intelligence, is too conscientious about his duties. And if, in addition to these signs, a person also has symptoms of hypertension, then he most likely suffers from migraine pains. The peak incidence occurs at 40 years old, after 50 years, migraine is rare. In most cases, women in high and responsible positions suffer from migraines. Excessive emotional and physical stress, the need to make important decisions contribute to the onset and aggravation of the course of migraine.
In this way, at risk turn out to be: – residents of big cities, because here a person often finds himself in stressful situations; – ambitious individuals, diligently building a career; – people who are emotionally unstable and prone to depression; – diabetic, smokers, taking high doses of estrogen. – children with both parents suffering from migraines.
Migraine is classified as a neurological disease; more than 10% of the world’s population suffers from it, and more than half of them are women. Despite the fact that the signs of migraine have been studied quite well, and the disease itself has been known since ancient times, its nature and, accordingly, the method of treatment are not yet clear to medicine even today. Conventionally, three versions can be distinguished that explain the origin of migraine in women.
- Other diseases If this is not a hereditary predisposition, then various diseases can contribute to the development of migraine: vegetative-vascular dystonia, viral diseases, allergic reactions, diseases of the genital area – all of them, like any disease, exhaust the patient’s nervous system, significantly aggravating the course of the migraine.
- Hormonal fluctuations. Migraine headaches are mainly associated with changes in the vessels of the meninges. According to one of the versions, neurohormonal factors play an important role in the development of the disease. For most women, migraine attacks are most often associated with the onset of menstruation, and after menopause they usually stop. However, it is rare, but it happens that during menopause, pain can increase. Migraine attacks occur less frequently or disappear altogether during pregnancy. Migraines are more severe in women taking contraceptives. And yet, in some women, migraines may stop once they start taking birth control pills. Hence the introduction: hormone-dependent migraines may be treatable with estrogens.
- Hypothalamus. Studying the symptoms of migraine, French scientists as a result of research found an increased activity of the hypothalamus during an attack. This part of the brain regulates the entire endocrine system of the body. The hypothalamus receives all information about the activity of the cardiac and respiratory systems, it contains the centers of hunger and thirst, as well as centers that regulate human emotional behavior. It is the hypothalamus that is responsible for regulating vascular tone and controls a person’s response to external factors that provoke headaches.
- Medication. To relieve a migraine attack, you need to have the right pills with you. Most often, these are paracetamol, anti-inflammatory drugs (non-steroidal), aspirin and triptans – a modern group of drugs used to relieve migraine symptoms and relieve pain.
- Folk remedies: decoction of meadow clover, fresh cabbage and lilac leaves, fresh potato juice, green tea, viburnum, currant juices, herbal preparations, etc. They are good for preventing migraines and relieving pain. However, all these funds act not only on the sore head, but also on other organs, therefore, before using them, a doctor’s consultation is necessary.
- Образ жизни. The main principle is the most careful attitude to the nervous system. The experts’ recommendations are as follows:
– set a sleep schedule and get enough sleep. The formation of energy in our body occurs only in the state of sleep. Until a person falls asleep, the substances contained in food will not turn into energy. The mechanism of energy expenditure starts from three in the morning, so going to bed late will lead to energy depletion.
– quit smoking, alcohol, coffee… These foods deplete the body’s energy reserves, forcing us to absorb them again and again in large quantities.
– organize proper nutrition. You do not need diets, you need to eat everything, the break between meals should be no more than 5 hours. Exclude semi-finished products and preservatives, food should be natural and, if possible, freshly prepared. Do not overuse spices. Be sure to have breakfast!
– moderate exercise. Up to 30 years, a person is able to withstand overload, after 30 their intensity should be reduced. It is useful to walk, swim for pleasure, and not for speed, do exercises without dumbbells.