Migraine is a common problem in most of the people throughout the world. It is a powerful headache that can result in vomiting, nausea, and critical sickness. The affected person can feel iller when it comes in contact with light. Rarely, you can get visual difficulties or aura which can take extreme shape. If you are querying about how long migraines last, then you must know that this type of headache can last for really long. Sometimes it lasts for 4 hours and at times, it can stretch into days.
According to the American Migraine Foundation, beyond 36 million residents suffer from it. Research shows that women are more affected by this headache than men. Majorly, people between 10 to 40 years get migraines. But, in the case of the women, the headache may disappear or even develop after they cross their 50s. The migraine attack that the 50 or above aged women get continues up to 4 hours or longer that. When you get a headache, both your physical and mental health get disturbed as the pain is intense. Thus, migraine cure is the most important aspect of the affected people know about. Here in this article, you will get to know about the detailed information about its causes, symptoms, and possible remedies.
Reasons for migraine
A great many possible factors can cause an acute migraine headache. The experts fail to estimate the exact reason behind the migraine pain. However, some basic reasons that trigger the headache of migraine are acknowledged. All the symptoms that you face during the headache attack are known as migraine. Most of the time, you inherit this headache from your family members.
Apart from being genetic, another reason for it can be the changes that occur in the brain. Some scientists prove the fact the slightest chance of the blood flow in the brain cells can give you a migraine headache. Migraine generally hits you when your nerve cells become overly active and start sending signals to the trigeminal nerve. It is the very nerve that generates sensations to your facial muscle and brain cells. When the nerve becomes active, it releases a kind of chemical widely known as CGRP or the calcitonin generated peptide and serotonin. These two chemicals are responsible for the swelling of the blood cells in the brain that causes inflammation and acute pain.
Factors that trigger the migraine headache
Though the proper reason behind this painful disease is still unaware to all, some essential factors can intensify the pain and suffering caused by the migraine. A few possible factors that most commonly call the disease include:
- Stress: It is one of the basic reasons for a migraine attack. When you take enough stress regarding work, education and other reason, you can knock down with a severe headache. But, things can be made under control as a migraine cure is not a troubling task today.
- Hormonal misleads in women: Another factor that increases the possibilities of a migraine attack is the change in the hormone. This factor mostly occurs in women when the flow in estrogen fluctuates around the time of the menstrual cycle. The following reason may also trigger the headache during pregnancy and menopause.
- Change in sleeping habits: If you suddenly change your sleeping habit during traveling or because of shifting, the chances of getting less sleep befalls. Getting improper sleep or a change in sleeping patterns can provoke this type of headache. Hence, if you are a travel-oriented person, knowing the migraine cure is necessary for you.
- Sensory provocations: This happens to those who are sensitive in different senses. Most often, strong fragrances of perfumes, bright sun rays, and lights increase the tendency of headache and vomiting.
- Foods and drinks: Excessive caffeinated drinks such as coffee or alcoholic beverages can give you a sudden migraine attack. On the other hand, expired cheese and concocted foods can increase your migraine headaches. This can also happen if you skip your meal.
- Medications: Another key reason that can risk you with migraines is the frequent consumption of some medicines such as contraceptive pills etc.
Apart from all these, weather change can also result in migraine headaches. For example, few of you can get severe headache known as migraines in chilled weather. In other cases, extremely hot and humid weather can increase the chances of migraine headaches.
Symptoms of the disease
The biggest problem that occurs is often you mistake other headaches with a migraine. Thus, before taking the migraine cure, it is better to diagnose the headache properly. The most common symptom of the disease is the throbbing pain in the head and its surrounding areas like shoulders, neck etc. Apart from that, the pain shifts from one side of the head to the other side. You feel an acute pain in all the parts of your head including the front and back. Other symptoms include:
- Increase of the headache with a loud noise, deep fragrance, and lights
- intense pain around the temples and behind the eyes
- The feeling of vomiting, nausea and stomach ailment
- You may feel a loss in appetite
- You can get dizziness and blurred vision or aura
- Rarely, you may get a fever from the pain
- When you are down with a migraine, your skin may turn pale
The two types of migraine
The headache caused by the migraine can be divided into two terms. Migraine with an aura which is widely called the classic migraine and the other one is migraine without aura known as common migraine.
In the condition of classic migraine, the aura starts before the headache and lasts even after the cure of the headache. The thing that commonly seen in the aura is- blurry vision, blind spots, bright flashing, wavy lines, and sometimes even temporary loss in vision.
Complications of the disease
If you do not take migraine cure at proper time, it can become severe affecting your health in a lot of different ways. Mostly, pregnant women must take possible precautions. Otherwise, it can turn dangerous for both of them and their baby.
Nevertheless, the disease is not fatal. Complicacy refers to mental health issues. Here are the risk factors that you can attain if you reject taking the migraine remedies:
1. Migrainous infarction
If you develop the aura with migraine, it can turn into the migrainous infarction. It can refer to the bleeding in the brain. Thus, if you sense the aura even after the headache is gone, you must consult with an expert immediately. Usually, in this case, the migraine headache can last up to 72 hours straight.
2. Status Migrainous
When a migraine headache lasts more than 72 hours, it is the status migraine. Few people need hospitalization owing to acute pain and illness.
3. Migralepsy
This is the rarest and most serious condition that is visible due to the migraine attack. A person undergoing it can get the epileptic seizure which may result in abnormal behavior and loss of consciousness.
4. Persistent aura
The symptoms generally match with migrainous infarction except for the bleeding part in the brain. This happens when you still get the aura after a week of migraine cure. Better to contact a doctor as leaving this condition untreated can be foolishness.
5. Stroke
This is another worst case in the migraine headache when you get a severe headache. England’s National Health Service states that people having migraines are two times more risky to get strokes. Especially women suffering from the migraine consume contraceptive pills; the chances of getting strokes are higher.
Another complicacy occurs in mental health like depression, bipolar disorder, abuse disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia, general anxiety, PTSD or post-traumatic disorder, etc.
Migraine remedies
There is no proper way of migraine cure, but, the doctors prescribe some medicines to stop the headache and the other symptoms. The commonly used medicines to treat the migraine are:
1. Medicines to cure the pain
When you are diagnosed with common migraine, the physician commonly suggests the OTC or over the counter drugs. The drugs work for most of the people, but sometimes they fail to show their performance. Some of the widely known medicines that fall under this category include aspirin, ibuprofen, and acetaminophen. One important thing to note is: patients under 19 years of age must not take aspirin for pain relief. Frequent consumption of these medicines can worsen your case and make you sicker. If you need these medicines more than twice a week, definitely consult a doctor for other medications.
2. Biofeedback
This is another beneficial medicine that supports you in migraine cure. If you can sense the pre symptoms of the migraine attack, take medicine immediately. It will help you to stop the severe condition that you might develop later to a certain point
3. Preventive medicines
Doctors suggest this medicine to those who get migraines more often a month. Consumption of this medicine may help you to prevent the disease and its sickness. The medicine that includes in this category is the medicines to control blood pressure, such as calcium channel blockers, beta-blockers, etc. The doctors also recommend antidepressants and seizure medicines as preventive medicines.
4. TMS or Transcranial magnetic stimulation
People with classic migraines find difficulty to deal with the pain even after the consumption of several medicines. For them, Transcranial magnetic stimulation is the best migraine cure. It is a device that helps in dealing with intense pain. You need to place the device on the backside of your head when you sense the aura of the migraine. The parts of your brain then receive an impulsion of magnetic energy from the device, which considerably reduces the headache.
Natural migraine remedies
Fewer people are allergic to medicines and can get a few side effects from them. Those can follow some simple migraine cure remedies. These remedies have been tasted on some migraine patients and have shown a positive result. Here is a list of those natural remedies to treat the attack:
1. Start yoga
If you are suffering from long term migraine disease, start yoga today. Practicing yoga daily improves body posture and overall body health. Research shows that it also fights with the problems of migraine and anxiety.
2. Take acupressure
Acupressure is a process of pressing a certain point of the body with the help of the fingers. It assists in curing several chronic diseases. A recent study proves the fact the acupressure can give you relief in migraine as well.
3. Apply some essential oil
Essential oils are best when it comes to soothing your senses and serving you relief. Essential oils such as peppermint and lavender can fight migraine nausea and vomiting tendency when you apply it on your forehead, temples, and shoulders.
4. Take some ginger
Gingers are one of the best kitchen ingredients that work wonderfully as migraine remedies. Science proves that gingers have some special ability to treat nausea as well as your headache. According to the study, consumption of raw ginger or ginger powder can shorten the duration of the migraine pain and intensity
FAQS
What gives instant relief to migraine?
To get instant relief of migraine attacks, press some ice bags or cold compresses on your forehead and temples. This might not stop the pain immediately, but you can get an instant to relax.
Is there any food top help migraines?
An empty stomach is one of the main reasons for migraine headaches. However, eating fresh vegetables, bananas, whole grains, and maintaining a healthy diet can help the migraines.
Can a person develop migraine pain every day?
The migraine prone people tend to get the attack two times a month on average. This pain lasts for 3 to 4 hours to 3 days. Those who severely suffer from the headache can get migraines averagely 15 days per month.
Can cheese cause migraines?
Generally, there is no proof that cheese can cause migraines. However, aged or expired cheese can increase the migraine headache.
