Often people say, one day catch cold cold headache, didn’t take medicine, took what folk prescription, the next day is good. In fact, this is not necessarily a headache caused by a cold. Cold usually has other symptoms besides headache, and causes headache for many reasons, cold is only one of them, and migraine is common.
What kind of headache is migraine?
Headache is divided into [primary headache] and [secondary headache]. [Primary headache] is caused by excessive activity of head pain sensitive structures and is not a symptom of any potential disease. [Secondary headache] indicates diseases that activate pain-sensitive nerves in the head.
Migraine is one of the most common primary headaches, affecting people between the ages of 35 and 45. One in seven adults in the world is affected by migraine. In Britain, about 25 million days of work or school days are taken off each year due to migraine.
Migraine is a headache in how?
If not treated, migraine usually lasts 4 to 72 hours, but the frequency of attacks varies from person to person. Some people only have attacks once a year, while others are more tragic, possibly once a week.
Migraine has four stages: precursor stage, aura stage, headache stage and recovery stage, but the author does not necessarily go through all stages.
Precursor period: Constipation, depression, dysphoria and other precursor symptoms may occur one or two days before migraine occurs.
Alarm: Some people will have visual phenomena (such as seeing various shapes, lights or flashes), vision loss, numbness of arms or legs, speech disorders and other aura symptoms before or during headache attacks.
Headache period: head pain on one or both sides, pulsating pain, sensitivity to light and sound (sometimes also sensitive to smell), nausea and vomiting, blurred vision, dizziness (sometimes followed by fainting);
Recovery period: After a headache attack, some people will feel exhausted, but others say they will feel slightly happy.
What factors trigger migraine?
Hormonal changes in women’s bodies (such as menstruation, pregnancy, menopause, oral contraceptives), certain foods or food additives, sensory stimuli such as alcohol, caffeine, fasting, pressure, light, sound, smell, changes in sleep habits (including jet lag), physiological factors such as strong physical activity and sexual activity, environmental changes such as weather or air pressure, drugs and other factors may cause migraine.
If you often have headaches, it is better to record the date, time, symptoms, weather, eating what or drinking something special from what on that day, especially the above trigger conditions, which is helpful for doctors to diagnose.
How for migraine?
Migraine cannot be cured and will occur repeatedly. It usually lasts for a lifetime. Some drugs can relieve the headache symptoms during the attack.
Drugs can relieve mild, moderate and severe migraine. Please follow the doctor’s advice for specific drug types. If you feel nauseous and cannot take the medicine orally, the doctor may prescribe suppository painkillers, some of which are nasal sprays and injections. In addition, anti-nausea drugs can play a role in adjuvant therapy.
Can migraine be prevented?
Use pain-relieving drugs or preventive drugs for treatment, Depending on the frequency and severity of your headache, etc. These drugs are not suitable for everyone. If taken too frequently or for a long time, it may also lead to overuse headache, so you should discuss with your doctor that what drugs are suitable for you. If you are taking other drugs at the same time, remember to tell your doctor.
You may need preventive treatment under the following circumstances:
1. Migraine attacks 4 times or more a month;
2. Headache lasts for more than 12 hours;
3. Pain killers are not helpful;
4. Symptoms include long-term aura or numbness and weakness.
Preventive drugs can reduce the frequency, severity and duration of migraine attacks, and may also increase the effect of painkillers. Doctors may advise you to take preventive drugs every day or before foreseeable trigger conditions such as menstruation.
In most cases, preventive drugs cannot completely stop headache. Some preventive drugs can also have serious side effects. If the effect of the drugs is good and your migraine is well controlled, the doctor may advise you to reduce the use of drugs and see if it is OK not to use preventive drugs.
In addition to drugs, there are what methods to relieve migraine?
Adequate sleep may help relieve migraine, but one cannot sleep too much, because sleeping too much may also trigger headache. Therefore, it is best to form regular work and rest habits.
When you have a headache, it may also be helpful to rest in a dark and quiet room, wrap an ice bag in cloth, put it behind your neck, and gently apply pressure to the scalp pain area.
Quitting smoking, reducing caffeine and alcohol intake, eating regularly, reducing stress, exercising regularly (such as walking, swimming and cycling, but sudden and strenuous exercise may cause headaches), and avoiding other factors that trigger headaches can also help prevent migraines.
Which headaches are not migraines and need to be seen by a doctor as soon as possible?
If you have the following symptoms, you should go to the emergency department immediately, because it may indicate a serious disease:
1. Sudden onset of severe headache;
2. Headache accompanied by fever, neck stiffness, mental disorders, epileptic seizures, diplopia, weakness, numbness or difficulty in speaking;
3. Headache after head injury, especially if headache deteriorates;
4. Chronic headache deteriorates when coughing, exerting or suddenly moving;
5. New headache after 50 years old.
If you have a history of headache, but the headache suddenly changes, you should also see a doctor.