Pandemic-related stress triggers more migraine attacks

AROUND 12 million Filipinos might have increased migraine attacks because of anxiety and stress caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, medical experts said on Wednesday.

Rosalina Espiritu- Picar, president of the Philippine Neurological Association (PNA), said migraine sufferers might be more stressed because of several factors caused by the pandemic, including the month-long lockdown.

Stress is a major trigger of a migraine attack.

Around 12 million Filipinos suffer from migraine, according to the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016.

“Although we cannot really have the [exact] numbers [because] most hospitals are closed except for emergency cases, it makes sense that more migraine sufferers will have more attacks due to this abnormal situation, and the number one culprit [is] lack of sleep,” Espiritu-Picar said.

Other migraine triggers are food, medications, bright lights and also a change of routine.

“I cannot overemphasize this enough, but the unstructured working hours, making sleep and schedule very irregular, is a major migraine trigger,” she said.

“Migraine patients who did not sleep

well tend to have more attacks, and people tend to have more pain and are more prone to stress and anxiety,” she added.

“A lot of people may be stressed due to unemployment [ caused by lockdown], they can’t go anywhere, causing anxiety and worry, which actually trigger migraine,” she said.

According to a study, stress and anxiety caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic have triggered migraine attacks all over the world.

Novartis did a social media content analysis of 3,645 English posts from March 15 to April 15 — mostly from Twitter — which revealed that the respiratory disease have triggered migraine attacks in patients all over the world.

The main concern of migraine patients, the study found, was the overlap of migraine and Covid-19 symptoms like headache, nausea and vomiting, leading patients to fear they may have been infected.

This fear is mostly unfounded, according to Corina Maria Socorro

Azores-Macalintal, a neurologist.

“Headache may be a manifestation of Covid-19, but it is not as common as other symptoms like fever and dry cough,” Macalintal said.

The World Health Organization said only 13.6 percent of coronavirus patients experience headache; and nausea and vomiting (5 percent), making the overlapping symptoms less common.

That is in comparison to fever ( 87.9 percent), dry cough ( 67.7 percent) and fatigue ( 38.1 percent).

“It is important for migraine patients to consult a neurologist as migraine management is individualized, depending on the patient’s other health concerns and different reactions to medications,” Macalintal said.

Migraine sufferers could consult the telemedicine website set up by PNA at www.philippineneurologicalassociation.com to find a neurologist anywhere in the country.