Sept2014_GET TO KNOW YOUR HEALTH

Migraine

While I might have grown up thinking my name was actually “You’re such a pain in my neck,” because my mum used to tell me it so often.  This month’s health article is about another pain in that general area. 

 

Migraine is a type of primary headache and is the most common type of severe, recurring headache.  Its effects can be debilitating and can have an extreme effect on a person’s quality of life.  The disease affects up to 12% of the world’s population, however it is believed to be extremely under diagnosed – which would push this statistic up to two times higher.  The world health organisation ranks it the 19th disability causing disease worldwide.

The question of why we get migraines has yet to be answered for certain, however there are quite a few areas that have been investigated.  Genetics play a large role with studies showing that about two-thirds of cases run in families.  So while still possible to be the first person in a family to develop migraine headaches, you are three times more likely to develop them if the disease has presented in your parents.  Environmental factors affecting the disease doesn’t have anything to do with humidity or rain, it just means that there are trigger factors for many people that can precipitate an acute attack.  Some common triggers include stress, hunger and fatigue, as well as dietary items.  Hormonal changes also affect migraine as menstruation, the contraceptive pill, pregnancy and menopause can also play a role.  

Migraines will usually present as self-limiting, recurrent severe headache often associated with autonomic symptoms (eg. nausea, pupil dilation).  Between 15% and 30% of sufferers will also experience migraines with aura, however this may not happen every time.  Migraines have four phases which include:

Prodrome phase – Lasts for 7-10 hours and can include tiredness, mood changes and stomach problems

Aura – Lasts for at least 1 hour and is the brain causing a specific effect to be experienced such as vision, sensory, motor or cognitive changes

Headache phase – Lasts for 4 to 72 hours and can include pain (moderate to severe, begins one sided and throbbing), light sensitivity and nausea.

Postdrome Phase – Lasts approx. 24 hours and can include cognitive, stomach and mood changes and head pain.

Migraines cannot be cured, however approximately 80% of non aura cases are transient and will resolve spontaneously with 15 years.  This may not be the best news, 15 years is after all a long time, however recent advances in medication have made treatment more effective.  Migraine treatment revolves around multiple approaches:

Education – Treatment options, medical counselling

Lifestyle factors and trigger avoidance – food, caffeine, hormones, stress, hydration

Acute treatments – rest, hydration, paracetamol, ibuprofen, prescription and compounded medications

Preventative treatments – meditation, prescription and compounded medications

Proper medical intervention is critically important as the majority of individuals suffering migraines go undiagnosed and about 57% use only over the counter pain killers which may result in suboptimal or inadequate treatment outcomes.  A doctor will work with you to help develop an individual treatment plan which will help to educate about the condition, identify and put in place strategies to avoid triggers and plan a medication regime to support and change with the condition.

This month is a little different as we have condensed this article down from articles we have written on the Prime Compounding website.  Anything in this article that is bolded or italicised has much more information available to read on the website that just would not fit into the grapevine.  Please feel free to visit WWW.PRIMECOMPOUNDING.COM.AU  and visit the blog to read further about this topic.  Also as always, if you would prefer to talk in person, don’t hesitate to drop into the pharmacy for a chat or see another local health care professional.

Written by Andrew Harvey

(Your local pharmacist) 

Dayboro Pharmacy 

Phone 3425 1435

Mon – Fri 8.30am – 5.30pm

Sat 8.30am – 12.30pm