Migraine: symptoms and treatment (tablets and non-drug methods)

Migraine... This word is associated in most people with an unbearable headache. However, it should be understood that migraine is an independent neurological disease, the headache in which is the main, but not the only symptom. In addition to the headache, migraine is accompanied by nausea, vomiting, intolerance of loud sounds and bright light, smells, and in some cases, and a number of other neurological symptoms. It is not yet possible to fully cure migraines. There are methods of treatment that make it possible to reduce the frequency of migraine attacks to zero. About what is characterized by migraine, how it proceeds, what methods of treatment exist, we will talk in this article.

Prevalence of migraine

Why do they talk so much about migraines? This is due to the high prevalence of the disease among the entire population of the planet. On average, according to statistical data, migraine covers about 10-12% of the world's population. These are people who regularly suffer from migraine attacks. It is believed that once during his life about 80% of the population suffers a similar attack. And the Europeans even calculated the annual losses in connection with this disease. They amounted to 111 billion euros. Impressive, is not it? And although no one in Russia considered losses, it is likely that the figures would be shocking. That is why migraine issues are so relevant in our time.

Women suffer from migraine, at least three times more often than men. This is due to the hormonal background and its constant fluctuations in the life of a woman: from monthly changes to periods of pregnancy, childbirth and breast-feeding. Proof of this is the fact that with the onset of menopause in most women, migraine attacks become less frequent or even disappear completely.

The frequency of seizures is also very individual. Someone is forced to suffer in a day, someone is lucky a little more, and bouts only a couple of times a year. The relationship between the frequency and severity of seizures can not be traced.

Why does migraine appear?

It is impossible to answer this question unequivocally. The most common, to date, is a vascular theory, the essence of which is as follows.

With migraine, there is a spasm of blood vessels, in response to which a huge amount of special substances - neuropeptides - is released into the bloodstream. Among them, serotonin, substance P and a number of other substances that cause vasodilation play an important role in the development of migraine. Expansion of the vessels leads to the stretching of their walls, their impregnation with plasma, irritation of pain receptors. The result of all this is unbearable pain. It is believed that a certain role belongs to:

• hereditary predisposition (if one parent suffers a migraine, then the risk of its development in the child is 50%, if both are prone to the disease, the risk increases to 75%);
• low pain threshold;
• dysfunction in the trigeminal nerve system, providing innervation of the head and face;
• emotional and personal characteristics of a person's character (which is confirmed by the greater prevalence among women).

Migraine provokers

In this case, we are talking about situations that can trigger the development of an attack:

• emotional stress (and the attack can occur not directly at the time of stress, but already at the exit from it, when the level of emotional stress falls);
• change of weather (especially in the off-season);
• inaccuracies in the diet (here include the consumption of certain foods - cheese, chocolate, citrus, nuts, beer and red wine, adherence to coffee and caffeinated beverages; the presence in the food of chemical additives such as nitrites, sodium glutamate; large breaks in food with the development of a sense of hunger);
• special body conditions (physical fatigue, lack of sleep or excess sleep, exacerbation of chronic diseases, taking hormonal drugs in women, menstruation).

How does a migraine attack occur?

There are two types of migraine: with and without aura. Migraine with aura is called a classic migraine, it is 10-20% of all migraine cases. Migraine without aura is considered a simple migraine, it is more common and accounts for 80-90% of cases.

Symptoms of migraine with aura

Aura is a special neurological condition that precedes a headache attack. Aura occurs before the attack, it is always the same for a particular patient. Aura appears, and then disappears without a trace, but instead comes a headache. The time from the onset of an aura to the onset of a headache may range from 5 to 60 minutes. What are the signs of a migraine? It can be:

• bright blinking points, zigzags, lightning and the like visual phenomena, that is, practically visual hallucinations;
• sudden loss of vision (complete or partial in the form of falling out of the fields of vision), black spots before the eyes;
• sudden weakness in the limbs, in certain parts of the body (for example, the inability to move your eyes, open them);
• sensitive phenomena: sensation of crawling, tingling, burning, numbness in various areas body (most often in the fingers of one hand with a gradual spread to the entire limb, corner of the mouth and language);
• sudden problems with speech: indistinctness, illegibility, even to the total loss of the ability to speak;
• dizziness, tinnitus, taste hallucinations;
• vegetative symptoms: sudden and unreasonable sweating, increased heart rate and breathing, a sense of fear, a "lump" in the throat, an increase in body temperature and chills.

The most common is the visual aura, the remaining species are observed much less often, which causes a lot of misconceptions in terms of diagnosis (different diagnoses are suspected). Because of this, not always even the patient himself connects the aura with a subsequent headache. However, after a series of repetitions, since the aura is typical, the fact of its connection with migraine pain becomes obvious.

Stages of migraine attack

A migraine attack is accompanied by intolerance of loud sounds and bright light.

Any attack of migraine passes through several stages. Each of them has its own peculiarities. So, the conditionally seizure is subdivided into:

• prodromal stage;
• aura phase (with a simple migraine this part is absent);
• the stage of the headache itself;
• resolution phase (post-demo).

The prodromal stage occurs in a few hours, sometimes - a day before the headache. In this phase there are clinical harbingers of the attack. This can be a change in mood, drowsiness, decreased concentration, difficulty in thinking processes, increased sensitivity to smells and sounds, dizziness. All symptoms are nonspecific, and it is difficult to establish a clear relationship between them and the subsequent attack.

The aura phase corresponds to the changes described above.

Then there is a headache. It does not immediately become unbearable. The pain grows a little, often begins in the temple and "crawls" on the eye and forehead. A typical symptom of migraine is a one-sided headache. However, in some cases, the pain can be bilateral, and sometimes - change sides from an attack to an attack.

Another characteristic sign of migraine headache is its pulsating nature. Occasionally, patients describe their feelings differently: as stupid, pressing.

Headache with migraine is accompanied by nausea and vomiting. The severity of these symptoms affects the severity of the attack. Vomiting can be repeated, provoked by insignificant smells.

Another symptom that accompanies a headache with migraines is intolerance of sounds and light. Loud sounds and bright lights cause even greater headache. For this reason, patients with migraine prefer to retire in a dark room to hide from provoking worsening moments.

It happens that the headache is accompanied by a violation of the stool (diarrhea), abdominal pain, dry mouth, fever, frequent urge to urinate. In severe cases, syncope is possible.

Having reached its maximum, the headache lasts several hours. On average, the duration of a headache attack is about 4 hours, but in some cases, the headache can last for three days without a break. Naturally, this is very painful for the patient.

The resolution phase lasts from several hours to several days. Basically, patients complain of fatigue and weakness, general weakness and reluctance to engage in anything.

Treatment of migraine

Treatment of migraine can be medicated and non-drug. The most effective is the combination of these and other methods.

Non-drug therapies

Non-medicament methods include:

• correction of lifestyle (this includes the exclusion of food provocateurs, compliance with sleep and nutrition, the rejection of wine and beer, and so on);
• methods of psychotherapy (successful are behavioral (cognitive) psychotherapy, auto-training, relaxation techniques);
• biological feedback (a method in which a patient records information about physiological parameters - for example, muscle tension - and teach to control these changes with help of will);
• physiotherapeutic effects (electrophoresis with medicinal products, diadynamic currents, ultraviolet irradiation, darsonvalization, magnetic and laser therapy of the neck-collar zone, mud applications, radon and coniferous baths, circular shower);
• acupuncture;
• massage and self-massage (the latter can help with a beginning seizure).

Of course, most of these methods are used in the interictal period to reduce the frequency of seizures. Methods of relaxation, biofeedback and self-massage help to cope with the very headache.

Some patients at the time of the attack partially reduces the pain either hot hot water bottle or ice pack applied to the head. Hot influences are effective in the phase of vasospasm, and cold ones are effective during the period of expansion. However, this does not help all patients.

Treatment of migraine with drugs

Medication effect on migraine is carried out in two directions: elimination of headache during attacks and prevention of their occurrence.

In medicines for the elimination of pain in an attack all patients need. And here the preventive reception of preparations is shown only to that part of patients at which attacks are repeated more often 2-3 times a month and proceed very hard, that is, in such treatment, there is a need, when migraine becomes a "boss" in life patient.

To eliminate the headache, the following groups of medicines are accepted:

• analgesics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs;
• preparations containing ergot alkaloids;
• triptans (serotonin agonists).

There is a stepwise approach to the treatment of migraine headaches. It consists in the following: when there are signs indicating the onset of a migraine attack, or at the time of the onset of the headache, an analgesic or a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (eg, Acetylsalicylic acid 1000 mg or Ibuprofen 400-600 mg, Naproxen 750 mg). To ensure proper absorption and not to provoke vomiting, it is recommended to combine the reception of an analgesic with such drugs as Metoclopramide (Cerucal), Domperidone (Motilium).

To increase the analgesic effect of the analgesic, it can be combined with Caffeine. Caffeine can be taken in the form of coffee, tea, cocoa, Coke, or use a ready-made combination product, such as Ascoffen-P.

If you can not take the medicine because of nausea and vomiting, you should use an analgesic in rectal suppositories (for example, Voltaren).

If, after 45 minutes from taking an analgesic, the headache does not decrease, then go to the second stage - the reception of the triptans. Such drugs include Sumatriptan (Imigran, Sumygamren), Zolmitriptan (Zomig), Naratriptan (Naramig). If in the course of three attacks of migraine in a row taking analgesic is not accompanied by analgesic effect, then, in In this case, it should be abandoned and at the appearance of the first signs of an attack, tryptane. Separately, we should say that Imigran is produced not only in the form of tablets, but also in the form of a nasal spray, which allows it to be used, regardless of the existing vomiting.

Ergot preparations are also very effective in controlling migraine pain. They include Ergothamine, Dihydroergotamine (there is also a nasal spray - Digidergot). There is a combined preparation of Ergotamina and Caffeine - Nomigren.

Among the drugs used to prevent the occurrence of seizures, the most effective are β-blockers (eg, Anaprilin, Propranolol), anticonvulsants (especially Topiramate and Valproate sodium), antidepressants (Prozac, Simbalta, Amitriptyline), calcium channel blockers (Corinfar, Cordaflex). These drugs are recommended to take a long time (about 6 months and even more) to achieve a stable loss of seizures.The use of such remedies does not mean a cure for migraine, because in itself it is incurable. But in cases where unbearable headaches develop very often, they cause a significant deterioration in quality life, the use of preventive medicines can reduce the number of seizures to a minimum, which for such patients is equivalent healing. Of course, the choice of drugs should be dealt with only by the attending physician, nor about any self-treatment can be no question.

Folk remedies for migraine

Traditional medicine offers a very wide arsenal of ways to get rid of the disease. These methods of struggle are also divided into two groups:

• means used to stop pain at the time of the attack;
• means used to prevent its occurrence.

To improve the condition at the time of attack, it is recommended:

• compress on the forehead of cabbage or burdock leaves (simultaneously it is necessary to rewind the head with a towel);
• attachment to the temples of the lobes of a lemon or a half-cut bulb;
• put in the ear cone cotton wool, moistened with beet juice or raw onions (with the latter one should be careful not to cause a burn);
• inhalation of a mixture of equal parts of ammonia and camphor alcohol;
• inhalation of a mixture of water and apple cider vinegar in the ratio: (the mixture must be heated to near boiling, but not boiled);
• inhalation of vapors of aromatic oils (lemon, pine, lavender, mint);
• hot foot bath with mustard powder;
• at the very beginning of the attack, take in 1/4 cup of raw potato juice;
• take a bath with the addition of valerian root decoction.

Here are only the most common folk remedies for fighting migraine. In general, their number is much larger. Their effectiveness can be judged only by testing them on themselves.

In order to prevent the occurrence of seizures, folk medicine recommends:

• drink a daily decoction of herbal and fruit collections (for example, from raspberry fruit, mother-and-stepmother leaves (2 parts each), limes, oregano (according to the 1st part); from dogwood, lemon balm, valerian, clover, leopard leaves; from berries of viburnum and so Further. The list of similar charges is quite long);
• for 5-7 days with the appearance of seizures take a cocktail of fresh chicken eggs, broken into a glass with boiling milk. It is believed that this remedy can also help with the attack itself;
• every morning before breakfast, drink 1 cup of whey or buttermilk;
• 3 times a day, drink ¼ cup black currant juice or a mixture of carrot juices (3 parts), spinach and dandelion (in the 1st part).

People's methods of treating migraines are very individual: one and the same remedy helps one person, and another - even intensifies the pain. This should be remembered for all patients.

Treatment of migraine in pregnancy

Pregnancy and subsequent breastfeeding are accompanied by significant hormonal changes in the body. All this can be accompanied by an increase in the frequency and frequency of seizures. Quite often the frequency of seizures is observed in the I-st ​​trimester. As the duration of pregnancy increases, the frequency of attacks decreases. How will migraine behave in each case - it is impossible to predict. But in fact such tortures of the pregnant woman absolutely to what. How to deal with migraine, being in position?

First of all, of course, they turn to non-medicament means of fighting headaches. After all, the use of any medications during pregnancy is undesirable, and many of them can harm the baby. Correction of a way of life with an exception of all provoking factors in cases of a migraine at pregnancy leaves on the foreground.

A pregnant woman, suffering from migraine, should start fighting with a headache attack in such ways:

• light massage of head and collar zone with fingertips;
• Cold compress or ice bubble on the head (forehead, whiskey);
• Compresses from cabbage leaves (pre-crumpled to allow juice);
• drink strong and sweet tea or coffee (caffeine in a moderate dose does not affect the fetus).

Quite effective and completely safe are psychotherapeutic techniques, training in relaxation techniques.

Use of decoctions and infusions of herbs is possible only after preliminary consultation with an obstetrician-gynecologist, since some herbs are contraindicated in pregnancy.

From drugs for the treatment of migraine in pregnancy only Paracetamol is allowed. It does not have toxic effects on the fetus. It can be used in any trimester of pregnancy (although in the first three months of pregnancy, whenever possible, you should refrain from taking any medications).

It is believed that the triptans do not adversely affect the fetus. Such conclusions were made after the analysis of the pregnancies of those women who took triptans, not yet knowing about their situation. However, a purposeful study on this subject has not been conducted, therefore, they can not be recommended for the treatment of migraine attacks with 100% safety.

Thus, migraine is a problem that brings a lot of suffering and limitations to the life of the patient. Disease, although not shortening the life span, but significantly affects its quality. And, although the migraine itself is incurable, it is possible to achieve control over the disease with the help of medicamentous and non-medicament methods. Do not despair, and you can defeat the migraine!

D. m. Lebedeva E. R. tells about what a migraine is and what its signs are:

Telecast "School of Health" on the topic "How to defeat a migraine