Even though everyone talks about male celebrities, the typical migraine patient is a woman between 35 and 45 years old. These patients represent up to 70% of all patients.
Photo: Shutterstock
“IN THE COMPANY OF DOSTOEVSKY”
The commanders Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar, the composers Tchaikovsky and Beethoven, the philosopher Sigmund Freud and the writer Fyodor Dostoevsky suffered from migraines. Does your head hurt too? You can tell if you’re in the same company as celebrities by looking at the distinctive symptoms of migraines. They are included in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD).
1) Headache attacks last from 4 to 72 hours;
2) has at least two of the following four signs: the pain is very intense (at least 7 points on a scale from 0 to 10), throbbing, unilateral (pain on the right or left side), aggravated by any physical activity ( even walking calmly);
3) you feel nauseated, sensitivity to light, sounds, strong smells increases (one of these symptoms is enough).
Most of the time, migraines occur with high-intensity pain, nausea, discomfort from lights/sounds, and deterioration of the condition with the slightest physical activity, doctors note.
“In Russia, the prevalence of migraine, according to various studies, ranges from 15 to 21%,” said the head of the department at the press conference “More than a headache: new methods for diagnosing and treating migraine “. Olga Boyko, Department of Neurology No. 2 of the Federal Center for Brain and Neurotechnology of the FMBA of Russia. – One of the lowest incidence rates of this type of headache is in France (7%), the highest is in India (25%).
PROVOKING HORMONES
Even though everyone talks about male celebrities, the typical migraine patient is a woman between 35 and 45 years old. These patients represent up to 70% of all patients. But after 50 years, the frequency and pain of attacks decrease noticeably, Dr. Boyko was pleased.
“Hormonal levels play an important role in the development of migraines, in particular, changes in the level of estrogen hormones (in women, it changes during the menstrual cycle, and after menopause, hormonal storms decrease. – Ed.), – the doctor explained.
Furthermore, according to the latest scientific data, migraine triggers are usually:
– stress;
– strong emotional shock, even overflowing positive emotions;
– lack of sleep;
– hunger;
– consumption of products containing caffeine, cheese, citrus fruits, alcohol (especially red wines).
What about climate changes? Until the end of September and even October we are promised an Indian summer. At the same time, the temperature difference between day and night will be at least 15 degrees, the Hydrometeorological Center stated. These “climate slides” certainly aggravate the situation for people suffering from migraines and other types of headaches, confirmed experts from the Federal Center for Brain and Neurotechnology.
HOW TO BE TREATED?
– Migraine develops in people with hyperexcitability of the cerebral cortex. This is an innate characteristic,” explained the director. Department of Functional Diagnosis of Diseases of the Nervous System of the Elena Baranova Center for Neurotechnology and Brain.
By minimizing risk factors (see above), you can significantly reduce both the frequency and severity of pain attacks, doctors say. However, in life, most of us have a lot of migraine triggers and it is not possible to get rid of them.
To relieve an attack, medications from two groups are prescribed, said Olga Boyko. First: universal pain relievers. They are better tolerated and have fewer side effects. But in case of high intensity attacks, these medications help little. Patients are then prescribed specific migraine medications. As a rule, they allow you to relieve pain within two hours.
– Now there is also a preventive treatment for migraine. Your task is to minimize the number and intensity of attacks and, ideally, get rid of them, says Dr. Boyko. – Doctors use special groups of drugs (monoclonal antibodies).
Another prevention method is botulinum therapy. Injections are applied to the head and neck area and block the release of substances responsible for the development of a painful attack.
Preventive treatment should be carried out continuously (in courses with breaks). And the cost of monoclonal antibodies and botulinum therapy is very high (tens of thousands of rubles), these are the main disadvantages.
QUESTION ABOUT THE TOPIC
When is an MRI of the brain needed?
A new standard of medical care for patients suffering from migraine came into force in Russia this summer. It is based on the latest scientific data, the main innovation is the procedure for diagnosing the disease, experts said.
Nowadays, the diagnosis of migraine is made based on the clinical picture. That is, the doctor during the examination and interview of the patient identifies the characteristic symptoms of the disease. The new standard does not include either x-rays of the cervical spine, ultrasound of the vessels of the neck, or other instrumental examinations (this corresponds to the global approaches of evidence-based medicine). Because in migraine there are simply no specific changes that can be “seen” by such procedures.
“The only exception in which an MRI of the brain may be necessary and prescribed is the presence of so-called “red flags,” explained Olga Boyko. – These alarming signs include the constant nature of the one-sided pain (with migraines, attacks occur alternately, now on the right side, now on the left side of the head) and a very high intensity of pain: it is literally deafening, like thunder , for several minutes. In such cases, using MRI it is necessary to exclude acute vascular pathologies and other dangerous causes of pain.
BY THE WAY
Who can benefit from coffee and cola?
On social networks, even with reference to neurologists, you can find advice: if you drink tea, coffee or strong cola at the beginning of a migraine attack, there is a chance to block the pain syndrome.
“If a person has a migraine, drinking caffeinated beverages (also including cola) aggravates the condition,” explained Doctor of Medical Sciences Olga Boyko. – But with other types of headaches it can really improve.
In other words, if coffee or cola helped you relieve an attack, then in this case you do not have a migraine. At the same time, a person can suffer from several types of headaches at the same time, doctors note. For example, at one moment migraine attacks occur and at another moment a tension headache appears. It is the second most common type of headache in the world.
NUMBERS
According to surveys, 20% of men and 25% of women with migraine say they lose more than 10% of their work time over the course of a year due to unbearable headache attacks.
