Migraine myths busted!
Myth: Migraine is just a bad headache
Migraine is a complex condition with symptoms varying for each person. The main feature is a one-sided throbbing headache that can last up to 72 hours, with what doctors call features.
This can mean nausea, vomiting and an abnormal level of sensitivity to typical levels of sight, sound and smell.
There are two sub-types – migraine without aura, which is the most common, and migraine with aura, which can include visual disturbances, such as blind spots, and affects about 20 per cent of sufferers.
Myth: Men and women of all ages are equally likely to suffer them
During their reproductive years, women are about three times more likely to have migraine attacks than men. Research suggests it’s because of fluctuations in oestrogen.
As it is an episodic condition, some people go through a period of improvement and then it returns later in life. But, in general, migraine becomes less severe with age.
Myth: Lifestyle choices won’t affect an attack
THERE’S no known cause for migraine, apart from being genetically predisposed, but it’s thought it can be triggered by some aspect of change.
The migrainous brain doesn’t like change as it has a problem processing sensory information.
Triggers include hunger (not eating enough or regularly), travel, stress and too much or too little sleep.
The brain likes a stable routine, so get up at the same time, have breakfast and go to bed at the same time too.
Myth: Cheese and chocolate are triggers
THERE’S no evidence for this. It’s very likely that in the early stages of an attack, before the person is aware it has started, symptoms often include a craving to eat chocolate, cheese or starchy food.
It can seem that eating the food has caused the migraine, but it’s actually the other way around.
Myth: Migraines damage your brain
RESEARCH suggests they don’t. The problem with migraine is the impact on the sufferer’s quality of life.
If a person is having a lot of migraine attacks, maybe three a month, and taking over-thecounter painkillers every few days, it might cause a medication overuse headache, which is a dull headache that persists most of the time.
In this case, visit your doctor to see if the painkillers might be causing the headaches.
Myth: A test will determine whether it is migraine or not
SCANS are used to see what’s happening in the brain during a migraine attack for research purposes, but migraine doesn’t show up in a test. If a doctor is unsure whether it’s migraine or something else which would show up in a test, they might refer that person for a scan.
Myth: Bright and flickering light can cause them
PEOPLE often mention that bright and flickering light can cause migraine but this is complicated by the fact that if a person is about to have an attack, or the migraine has started, they might feel the light seems very bright anyway.
Myth: There’s only one treatment
THERE are numerous treatments and two types of medicine – acute, for attacks as they happen, or preventative, if a person has frequent attacks.
Although drugs don’t prevent migraine, the aim is to reduce frequency and severity.
Recently it was announced that a breakthrough migraine jab, the first preventative medicine specifically designed for migraines, has been granted a licence and may be made available on the NHS.
Myth: A cure is just around the corner
IT DOESN’T seem to be in sight yet. Migraine is a brain disorder and the brain is very complex. There have been improvements in treatment but sometimes people need to try things in a systematic way to see what works best.