Most often, a migraine is an excruciating headache and poor general well-being. The disease is characterized by various neurological disorders:

• intolerance to loud noise;
• vomit;
• or nausea.

It is almost impossible to completely get rid of migraine symptoms, but they can be made less pronounced. Treatment also improves well-being and reduces pain in the skull.

Migraine is a chronic disease with exacerbations. With an illness, pain is observed in the orbital-temporal region. Intense headache has periodic repetitions and is accompanied by general weakness and drowsiness. Patients suffer from phono and photophobia - they cannot tolerate loud sounds and light. The disease is complicated by psychological problems - patients are in constant fear that they are about to be overtaken by a migraine attack. It is noticed that the development of migraine can be triggered by the genetic characteristics of the body and heredity.

Causes of migraine

The disease is quite common, as medical practice shows. According to current medical statistics, about 14% of the world's population suffers from migraines. A migraine attack at least once bothered about 80% of people. The representatives of the weaker sex most often complain of a headache. Doctors claim that pregnancy and hormonal changes in the body affect the occurrence of seizures. With the onset of menopause, many women migraine disappears.

Some people have seizures more often than others. The development of migraine is purely individual. The mechanism of development of the disease is a strong vasospasm. With it, a large number of neuropeptides enter the bloodstream. Substances together with serotonin cause stretching of the vascular walls. There is severe pain in the frontal part and temples.

The main causes of migraine are:

• pathology of the trigeminal nerve;
• hereditary predisposition;
• instability of the emotional background;
• severe stress;
• change in weather conditions;
• improper diet;
• the presence of chronic diseases.

Migraines can be triggered by eating citrus fruits, foods high in sodium glutamate, chocolate, and caffeinated drinks. The feeling of hunger, as practice shows, also provokes the appearance of a headache. You should not take a long break between snacks, so as not to overtake an attack.

In women, the use of certain hormonal pills, as well as the presence of menstruation, can cause headaches. PMS is often the main cause of female migraines.

Especially often headache occurs in people who are prone to melancholy and have low stress resistance. To overcome a migraine, you should stabilize your emotional background and be a mentally stable person. Headache often occurs against the background of various neurological disorders, neurosis, depression.

Seizure symptoms

Usually a migraine is preceded by a certain condition. Poor health is expressed in the flickering of flies before the eyes, the appearance of flashes of lightning. Sometimes there are visual hallucinations or vision is lost. There are general weakness of the body, a feeling of chills, goosebumps, problems with speech. Vegetative symptoms include:

• strong heartbeat;
• dizziness;
• flies in the eyes;
• noise in ears;
• sweating;
• respiratory failure;
• tingling or burning in the limbs.

This condition is medically referred to as an "aura". Similar health problems are further accompanied by a severe headache. The attack itself takes place in several stages. Initially, the prodromal stage develops, after which an aura occurs, which is accompanied by a headache.

The prodromal stage of migraine can begin to develop a day before an acute headache. It also includes drowsiness, loss of working capacity, fatigue, change in the thought process, the occurrence of dizziness. All these neurological features indicate problems in the work of blood vessels. The symptoms are non-specific, so it is difficult to associate them with an oncoming migraine. However, if the aura is repeated repeatedly and is accompanied by pain in the temporal part of the skull, then one should think about the approach of an attack.

Pain during a migraine can change its location. The disease is characterized by throbbing excruciating pain. It can start in one temple and spread to the forehead. Over time, the pain increases.

The main manifestation of the disease is the patient's inability to endure high-pitched loud sounds and bright lights. They further increase the pain in the cranium and provoke a deterioration in well-being. Painful sensations are often accompanied by dryness in the oral cavity, chills, fever, impaired urination. In some cases, the patient may faint or experience pre-syncope. Health problems bring a lot of discomfort and discomfort to a person. The headache becomes very painful and can last for about 3 days.

Headache can also be accompanied by digestive disorders and stool disorders. Even after an attack, the body needs a lot of time to restore its functions and strength. Migraine is not only painful, but also has an extremely adverse effect on all human systems.

When a headache begins to develop and weakness appears, you should sit comfortably in a soft comfortable chair, relax and perform a light head massage. Massage the forehead, temples, back of the head, neck. An ice bubble is required to be placed on the skull. The cold will help constrict dilated blood vessels. A crumpled cabbage leaf is placed on the problem area. Its juice will help relieve pain. It is also necessary to drink sweet strong tea or coffee.

The above method is quite safe and can be used to eliminate migraines even during pregnancy. It is useful to learn some effective technique of complete relaxation and use relaxation during an attack. In a critical situation and pain that does not go away, you should take a pill for a headache. During pregnancy, you can use Paracetamol, which is non-toxic.

Treatment with physiotherapy

There are various approaches to headache therapy. Non-drug treatment includes:

• physiotherapy (ultraviolet exposure, diadynamic current, circular shower);
• laser therapy;
• psychological trainings and psychotherapy;
• massage;
• correction of nutrition and mode;
• acupuncture;
• hirudotherapy;
• pine baths.

Physiotherapy is of particular importance in the elimination of migraine attacks. This approach has a beneficial effect on the entire body of the patient. Various methods are based on biocommunication. Physiotherapy helps to stabilize the tone of blood vessels.

Hydrotherapy procedures in the form of various baths help to eliminate migraines. Their therapeutic effect is to eliminate vasospasm, completely relax the body, and calm the central nervous system. Baths for migraine should be used for a long course and do not skip procedures. It is necessary to draw warm water into the bath - 38 degrees. It has a powerful antispasmodic effect. With a severe headache, you can take a bath, wash your hair and direct the shower jet to your head, massaging it. You can add to the bath:

• decoction of calamus rhizomes;
• decoction of cones and branches of pine or cedar;
• sage;
• motherwort;
• nettle;
• primrose;
• seaweed;
• lavender oil;
• sea ​​salt.

To prepare a bath, you need to prepare a decoction in advance. The raw materials must be crushed and brewed with boiling water, let it brew, and then pour into a bath of warm water. It takes about fifteen minutes to take a water procedure with complete relaxation of the muscles.

Massage and self-massage is another way to get rid of pain in the temporal and frontal parts of the head. If you intensively massage your fingers, the pain will begin to pass. You should start the movement with the thumb, and end the massage with the little finger. You can also massage the “collar” zone, the back of the head, forehead, temples with circular smooth movements. Massage improves blood microcirculation and relieves vascular spasm.

Mimic gymnastics helps well with migraines. It helps to relax the necessary muscles and relieve pain. Perform facial exercises for migraine should be as follows:

• raise your eyebrows and relax them;
• raise alternately the left / right eyebrow and lower;
• wrinkle the nose and then relax the nostrils;
• yawn widely, slowly opening your mouth;
• close your eyes and turn the apples of your eyes under your eyelids;
• open your mouth and move your jaw;
• twist the faces.

After gymnastics, you should completely relax. You can take a pill for a headache - the main thing is to be completely calm. Various relaxation techniques and yoga are good for migraines.

With a headache, an ice compress or a heating pad can be applied to the problematic part. This will help relieve the spasm. Ice eliminates the rush of blood to the head vessels and stabilizes the blood flow.

Acupuncture is a technique that many people use to treat migraines. The procedure must be performed by a reflexologist. Acupuncture contributes to the complete relaxation of the necessary areas on the human body, which eliminates headaches. Stimulation of the body with needles is an effective method of treating psycho-neurological disorders and migraines. The needle stimulates nerve impulses, the work of the central nervous system, the production of endorphins and hormones. Acupuncture is not dangerous and brings great help to the human body, relieving nervous tension.

Hirudotherapy is a method that is often used for hypertension and headaches. Leeches stimulate blood production, change its composition and improve it by releasing useful substances into the bloodstream. After a course of hirudotherapy, patients notice a noticeable improvement in well-being, normalization of sleep and blood pressure, stabilization of the pulse, disappearance of headaches. However, hirudotherapy should be used 2 times a year.

Laser treatment of migraine is carried out using a special device. Laser radiation neutralizes a paroxysmal attack, which is caused by a local disturbance of blood microcirculation in the head vessels. The laser acts on certain areas and relieves pain. Irradiation of the cervical vessels helps to eliminate congestion in the blood and stabilize the patient's condition.

Medical therapy

Taking some medications will help to eliminate the headache during an attack. To do this, take:

• means - serotonin agonists;
• ergot alkaloids;
• non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs;
• analgesics.

Take the pill should be at the first sign of the onset of an attack. Directly with the development of a headache, Ibuprrofen, Naproxen, Analgin are taken. To eliminate nausea, take Cerucal, Metoclopramide, Domperidone. The combined remedy Askofen includes caffeine, which is a good pain reliever. If the patient has vomiting, then a rectal suppository with an analgesic is inserted into the anus. For this purpose, you can use Voltaren suppositories.

In a situation where analgesics do not have the desired therapeutic effect, triptans are taken. These medicines include:

• Zomig;
• Sumamigren;
• Naratriptan;
• Imigran;
• Ergotamine;
• Nomigren.

Various preventive measures are used to prevent an attack and stabilize blood pressure. It is necessary to take adrenoblockers, which stabilize blood pressure and prevent vasodilation. For this purpose, the doctor may also prescribe antidepressants, anticonvulsants, calcium channel blockers. As an adjunctive therapy, medicines are used:

• Amitriptyline;
• Topiramate;
• Prozac;
• Anaprilin;
• Cordaflex;
• Corinfar.

The use of prophylactic drugs should be kept to a minimum. The choice of the necessary medication in the treatment of migraine should be carried out by the attending physician. With an unbearable headache, medication and alternative treatment should be used in combination.

Folk remedies for migraine

There are several ways to reduce headaches:

1. Attach lemon or onion slices to the temples of the head. Hold until the pain disappears.
2. Put a cabbage leaf compress on the problem area, bandage your head.
3. Inhale the mixture of apple cider vinegar and water (bring the product to a boil and inhale the steam for a few minutes).
4. Inhale the aroma oils of lavender, pine, lemongrass.
5. At the beginning of the attack, drink the juice of raw potatoes.
6. Take a bath with valerian root infusion.
7. Make a hot mustard bath for your feet.
8. Put a swab soaked in the juice of raw onions or beets into the ear.

To prevent an attack and deterioration of well-being, it is recommended to regularly take decoctions and tinctures from medicinal herbs. Medicinal plants have long been used in the treatment of migraine. These infusions were not neglected by aristocrats and royalty. Some effective recipes for migraine treatment with herbs have survived to this day.

Helps get rid of headaches spinach and dandelion. Raw materials should be mixed in equal parts, brewed and drunk in a third of a cup three times a day. The juice of blueberries, black currants and carrots helps to stabilize the work of blood vessels.

With a migraine attack, you can take this remedy: break a chicken egg into a glass of hot milk removed from the fire and drink the resulting cocktail.

Daily use of coltsfoot decoction has a positive effect on the functioning of the vessels of the brain. The plant has the desired therapeutic effect and triggers the necessary mechanisms in the body to relieve headaches. For relaxation with migraines, decoctions of valerian, lemon balm, viburnum, clover are used. You can take a decoction of dogwood, wild rose and mountain ash.

Video: treatment of a migraine attack

Migraine is an attack (paroxysm) of intense headache in half of the head (hemicrania), more often in the orbital-frontal-temporal region, which is accompanied by nausea, and even vomiting, increased sensitivity to light and sound stimuli.

The prevalence of migraine is 5 - 25%. Women of young age are more often ill - the onset of the disease is before 20 years, the peak is at 25-35 years.

Migraine is a hereditary disease. If both parents suffer from migraine, the child's chance of getting sick increases to 60 - 90%, if only the mother - 70%, only the father - 20%. Thus, it is clear that migraine is transmitted through the maternal line.

The mechanism of migraine development is complex and not fully understood. Provoking factors can be emotional and physical overload, eating disorders, alcohol (beer, red wine, champagne), smoking, sleep disturbances, weather changes, overheating in the sun, noise, strong odors, hormonal changes in a woman's body, menstruation, taking hormonal contraceptives . Eating foods rich in tyramine - chocolate, coffee, cocoa, cheese, nuts, smoked meats, citrus fruits disrupt the processes of serotonin metabolism in the central nervous system, which is considered one of the factors in the development of a migraine attack. The activation of the nucleus of the trigeminal nerve plays a leading role in the development of migraine paroxysm. More often suffer people with high social activity, with increased anxiety, with high ambitions.

Migraine doubles the risk of Bell's palsy (the most common form of facial paralysis). Probably, these diseases have a common cause. Possible causes of migraine and Bell's palsy are believed to be infections, inflammation, and problems with the cardiovascular system.

The main symptoms of migraine are paroxysmal, throbbing, moderate or severe pain in half of the head that lasts from 4 to 72 hours. This pain is aggravated by physical exertion, tilting the head, accompanied by nausea, vomiting. Bright light, sharp sound, strong smell increase the pain. I want to put my head in my hands and hide in a quiet, dark place. Patients often bandage their heads with a towel, cover the sore side and the eye. If you have experienced this condition at least 5 times, you have a migraine. Sometimes there is a bilateral migraine.

A migraine attack may be preceded by an aura (in about 20% of cases). Aura is neurological symptoms - visual, auditory, sensory, motor, aphatic, vestibular, preceding an attack. The aura develops within 5-20 minutes and lasts no more than an hour. More often there is a visual aura - a person sees a flash of bright flashes (photopsy) in the right or left field of vision, lightning, snakes, loss of the field of vision or its fragments with distortion of objects.

Possible numbness of the extremities (right, left, only hands). There is a hemiplegic aura in which the right or left limbs do not move. The basilar form of migraine with aura is characterized by tinnitus, dizziness, paresthesias in the extremities, photopsias in the binasal or bitemporal fields of vision, and sometimes fainting occurs. In the vegetative form, there is panic, fear, palpitations, trembling, rapid breathing, weakness, polyuria.

All aura symptoms are completely reversible.

Migraine status is a severe complication of migraine. This is a series of severe, with repeated vomiting, following one after another migraine attacks. Intervals between attacks no more than 4 hours. This condition requires hospital treatment.

Migraine Testing

A recurring headache should definitely lead you to a neurologist. The diagnosis is made clinically - questioning, examination. But: migraine paroxysms can be the first symptoms of a brain tumor, vascular malformation. Therefore, a thorough neurological examination is necessary to exclude an organic process. You will have to visit an ophthalmologist, check the visual fields, visual acuity, the fundus, do electroencephalography, computed or magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic resonance imaging in angiography mode. Preparations for relief of an attack and preventive treatment will be prescribed to you by a neurologist.

Migraine treatment

Medical treatment of migraine

To stop a migraine attack, use:

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - paracetamol, ibuprofen, dicloberl, or in combination with caffeine sedalgin, pentalgin, solpadein;

Dihydroergotamine preparations (available as nasal sprays);

Selective serotonin agonists - sumatriptan (antimigraine), zolmitriptan (zolmigren, rapimig), naratriptan, rizatriptan, almotriptan. The drug should be taken at the beginning of the attack, and not wait several hours in the hope that the attack may pass by itself. In case of ineffectiveness of the drug, a second dose is possible after 2 hours.

During an attack, rest is needed in a quiet, warm, darkened room with a sufficient supply of fresh air. A light massage of the head and collar zone, massage of the points of the auricle, acupuncture, warm or cold headbands are allowed.

Patients with migraine themselves already know the circumstances provoking their migraine attack. We must try to eliminate them as much as possible.

For preventive treatment and prevention of migraine attacks, medications and non-drug treatments are used in combination. As non-drug methods, acupuncture, massage of the collar zone, darsonvalization of the head and collar zone, water procedures - pearl, coniferous baths, physiotherapy exercises with an emphasis on the cervical spine, diet are used.

Good results in the treatment of migraine gives cognitive behavioral therapy.

Migraine Prevention

Drug prevention of migraine is prescribed taking into account provoking factors, emotional and personal characteristics, concomitant diseases. β-blockers (metoprolol, propranolol), calcium channel blockers (flunarizine), antidepressants, serotonin antagonists, anticonvulsants (topiramate) are used.

Profimig - at a dosage of 1.5 mg in the evening or topiramate - 25 mg in the evening for a long time. These drugs are prescribed by a neurologist and are taken only when a migraine is diagnosed.

Preventive treatment is prescribed if the migraine paroxysm occurs more than 2 times a month, if the attacks last more than 48 hours, if the attacks are very severe, with complications.

Migraine treatment is not only a drug therapy, but also a lifestyle modification. Normalization of sleep, nutrition, physical and emotional stress. Eliminate or at least reduce the consumption of cocoa, chocolate, alcohol, nicotine, spices. The intervals between meals should not be more than 5 hours, breakfast is required. It is necessary to use products that are as useful as possible, rich in vitamins, microelements and energy - fresh vegetables and fruits, meat, fish, dairy products, eggs. Water procedures are very useful - a contrast shower, swimming, baths with sea salt.

It's easy to say don't worry, it's hard not to worry. But if possible, try to avoid stressful conflict situations, react less emotionally to the circumstances, reconsider your social circle. Taking sedatives - valerian, persen, dormiplant will help relieve emotional stress. Make good use of your free time and vacation period - tourist trips, active recreation with little physical activity (eg, walking, swimming).

Consultation of a neurologist on the topic of migraine:

Question: why was I prescribed an anti-epilepsy drug for migraine?
Answer: Anticonvulsants, in particular valproate and topiramate, are used to prevent migraine paroxysms. Topiramate significantly reduces the frequency of migraine attacks and is a first-line drug for the prevention of migraine.

Question: what points are massaged to relieve a migraine attack?
Answer: points located on the eyebrow, between the eyebrows, in the upper corner of the forehead at the hairline, from the center of the eyebrow upwards, the auricle, fingertips, a point in the angle formed by the first and second metacarpal bones (point G4), above the head of the radius (P7), in the center of the shoulder girdle, another magic point can be found by placing the brush on a bent knee, putting the middle finger on the tibia - then E36 will be located under the ring finger. You need to massage until severe pain. A light massage of the collar zone is possible.

Question: is it necessary to take courses of "droppers" every six months?
Answer: no. Migraine is prophylactically treated with long-term (up to 4-6 months) intake of anticonvulsant tablets.

Neurologist Kobzeva S.V.

*Magnetic pulses can end migraine attacks

Using a magnetic device the size and shape of a hair dryer, patients experiencing migraine with aura will be able to forget about the pain, the researchers said.

In a double-blind study, Dr. Mohammad and his colleagues showed the high efficiency of the device. The device, which creates magnetic pulses, is used at the stage of aura in patients, said Dr. Mohammed at the meeting of the American Headache Society (American Headache Society meeting).

Dr. Mohammed said that the device is absolutely safe, the principle of its operation is simple: the device sends magnetic pulses of one Tesla to the back of the head. In this case, the patient experiences a feeling of light pressure on the back of the head. Magnetic impulses interrupt the spread of the so-called depression of the cerebral cortex (cortical depression). Currently, it is this process that is considered to be the cause of migraine with aura.

Similar devices are also used to help patients who experience depression.

Migraine is a fairly common neurological disease, accompanied by severe paroxysmal headache. Migraine, the symptoms of which are actually pain, concentrated from one half of the head mainly in the area of ​​​​the eyes, temples and forehead, in nausea, and in some cases in vomiting, occurs without reference to brain tumors, stroke and serious head injuries, although and may indicate the relevance of the development of certain pathologies.

general description

Migraine headache is rarely localized in both halves of the head, and, as we have already identified, its occurrence is not associated with any concomitant conditions that could explain it. The nature of such pain is associated not with the traditional headache that occurs against the background of tension, but with the vessels. At the same time, with migraine, headache has nothing to do with blood pressure (with its increase or decrease), just as it is not associated with increased intracranial pressure or with an attack of glaucoma, which, in combination with the above descriptions, defines it as a special type of manifestation of headache.

The main factor that provokes the risk of migraine is a predisposition against the background of heredity, although in general the reason that acts as a justifying factor has not been determined to date due to the complexity of the mechanism for the development of this condition.

Among the provoking factors, there are also physical and emotional overloads, alcohol consumption (in particular, champagne, red wine, beer), eating disorders and sleep patterns, excessive exposure to noise and sunlight (overheating), smoking, climate change and, in general, weather conditions, changes in the hormonal background in the female body (including against the background of the use of hormonal contraceptives), as well as changes associated with the menstrual cycle. It is noteworthy that tyramine-rich foods (such as cocoa and chocolate, cheese, coffee and nuts, citrus fruits and smoked meats) lead to disturbances in the functioning of the central nervous system regarding serotonin processes, which, in turn, allows them to be considered as factors directly related to the development of migraine.

When considered at a deeper level, the situation with the development of migraine against the background of these factors is as follows. In particular, they lead to the development of angiospasm in the carotid or vertebrobasilar system, which, in turn, provokes characteristic symptoms in the form of photopsia, loss of visual fields, and numbness of one of the limbs. All this can be reduced to the definition of the specific stage to which this symptomatology indicates, the stage is prodromal. Gradually, the next stage begins, accompanied by pronounced dilatation, which covers arterioles and arteries, veins and venules, in particular, this process is expressed in the area of ​​​​the branches of the carotid external artery (shell middle, occipital and temporal).

Further, there is a sharp increase in the amplitude of the walls of the vessels that have undergone expansion, as a result of which the receptors in the walls of the vessels are irritated, which, accordingly, leads to a localized and severe headache. Subsequently, due to increased permeability, the walls of the vessels begin to swell. As a rule, at this stage of the process, muscle contracture of the neck and scalp is formed, as a result of which blood flow to the brain is greatly increased. Following this, quite complex changes occur at the level of biochemical processes, in which histamine and serotonin are actively released from platelets, due to which the capillaries become more permeable, which, in turn, narrow along with a narrowing of the arterial tone. All this leads to the third stage of the course of migraine.

In the future, patients against the background of these processes may encounter such symptoms, which indicate that the hypothalamus is also involved in them. This symptomatology manifests itself in the form of chills and low blood pressure, subfebrile fever and frequent urination.

When the attack ends with the onset of sleep, the headache disappears when the patient wakes up, but instead of it, general weakness may be noted in combination with malaise.

The fourth stage of migraine manifests itself in the form of a post-migraine symptom, as well as in the form of allergic-type disorders and angiodystonia.

Returning, again, to the causes of migraine, it is important to note that the leading role in terms of its development is given to the process of activation in the nucleus of the trigeminal nerve. In this version, migraine is an actual condition for people with increased social activity, as well as for people who are overly ambitious and anxious.

The disease is predominantly observed at a young age, with its onset occurring before the age of 20, and the peak at the age of 25 to 35 years. Modern statistics indicate that migraine is diagnosed in 20% of cases among women and about 6% among men. Migraine in children is also not excluded - the symptoms of this condition are noted in about 4% of cases.

When considering heredity in favor of the subsequent occurrence of migraine in a child, its presence in both parents increases this risk to 90%; in the presence of migraine only in the mother - the risk of development reaches 70%; the presence of only the father determines the possibility of a risk of developing migraine within up to 20%.

Migraine: symptoms

The main manifestation of the disease, as we have already found out, is a paroxysmal headache, most often concentrated on one side of the head in the frontotemporal region. Often the pain is throbbing and intense, in some cases accompanied by nausea (and sometimes vomiting), photophobia and sound phobia are not excluded. In particular, pain sensations increase with excessive loads of a different nature (mental stress, emotional or physical stress).

An attack of the disease can manifest itself at any time, and it often happens that a migraine appears during sleep (at night), closer to the morning or upon awakening. Predominantly the pain is unilateral, but later its dispersal to both sides of the head is noted. As for nausea (with vomiting attached in some cases), it appears mainly at the end of the pain phase, although the option of its appearance along with the attack itself is not excluded.

The period of the attack leads, as a rule, to the desire of patients for solitude, with the dimming of the room from excessive sunlight and the adoption of a lying position. According to the frequency of seizures, their appearance is possible both in the variant of several episodes throughout life, and in the variant with the appearance of several times a week. Most patients experience up to two attacks per month. In general, an attack can last from an hour to three days, although its duration is mainly noted within 8-12 hours.

Migraine during pregnancy generally weakens in manifestations, although the opposite effect is not excluded, in which attacks in manifestations, on the contrary, intensify or even appear for the first time at this time. The nature of migraine, as we have already noted, is largely hereditary, and, basically, heredity comes from the maternal line. The interictal period does not determine the focal type of neurological disorders during neurological examination.

Let us consider some of the main types of migraine in more detail in terms of their manifestations and features of the clinical picture.

Migraine without aura: symptoms

This type of migraine is also referred to as simple migraine. This type of it is the most common, it is noted in about 2/3 of the total number of the disease under consideration. It is noteworthy that women experience migraine attacks much more often before the onset of their menstruation or directly during it. It also happens that attacks of this type of migraine occur only on specific days of the cycle.

The diagnosis of migraine without aura is guided by a number of criteria, which in particular include the following:

• the occurrence of seizures at least five times;
• the total duration of each of these attacks is about 4 to 72 hours in the absence of adequate therapy in their address;
• compliance of the actual headache with at least two of the following characteristics:
• pulsating nature of the manifestation;
• localization on the one hand;
• the average degree of intensity of manifestations or their severe degree, on the basis of the occurrence of which patients lose the opportunity to conduct their usual activities;
• a noticeable increase in manifestations in the presence of physical activity or when walking;
• the appearance of nausea in combination with a headache (possibly with vomiting);
• sound phobia;
• photophobia.

Ophthalmoplegic migraine: symptoms

This type of migraine is quite rare with the prevailing symptoms of damage to the eyeballs by unilateral paralysis. It is characterized by the development of a number of oculomotor disorders, which can be transient in their manifestations. They can occur at the peak of pain during a headache or at its very beginning, consisting in the following conditions: strabismus, pupil dilation on the side of localization of pain manifestations, doubling, drooping of the upper eyelid on the side of pain manifestations, etc.

Most patients face the development of the disease when it alternates with seizures, in which the appearance of a typical aura is noted. Visual pathologies in this state with the appearance of an aura are reversible, that is, they disappear after a while.

Hemiplegic migraine: symptoms

Hemiplegic migraine is a relatively rare type of the disease we are considering, its feature is the appearance of temporary and recurring weakness on one side of the body. The very concept of "hemiplegia" defines the actual muscular paralysis, which affects one side of the body.

Hemiplegic migraine is predominantly observed in those patients whose parents also had a tendency to the appearance of such attacks. Prior to establishing a diagnosis in this variant of the disease, manifestations of muscle weakness are not based solely on the attacks that are relevant to it, however, it is quite sufficient to use computed tomogram data for this.

Eye migraine: symptoms

Ocular migraine, which is also defined as scotoma atrial or migraine with aura, is a disease in which the symptomatology is reduced to periodic disappearance within a certain field of view of the image. Ocular migraine is noted in patients quite often, and although the name of the main term that defines it indicates pain, in reality the disease in this form is not accompanied by it. Meanwhile, the variant of a combined course is not excluded, that is, a combination of ocular migraine with ordinary migraine, which occurs due to a violation of blood circulation in the brain.

Determining the features of ocular migraine, it should be noted that it implies a neurological process that appears in the form of a response to certain changes occurring in the body. In particular, such changes include changes in the hormonal background, changes associated with the characteristics of the chemical composition of the consumed products, changes provoked by the drugs used by patients, etc.

As a result of this, a headache may appear, and it can last for several hours or several days. Due to impaired blood circulation in the areas of the brain responsible for vision (they are concentrated in the region of the occipital lobe), ocular migraine may also subsequently develop.

Ocular migraine, the symptoms of which, according to its name, are visual pathologies, can manifest itself in different ways. Ocular migraine is predominantly manifested with scotoma (or the so-called "visual spot") of small size, concentrated in the center of the patient's field of view, in addition, it can manifest itself in the form of zigzag light lightning or flickering within the blind spot. This spot, in turn, can increase in size, moving along the field of view. The duration of this phenomenon can be on the order of several minutes, but it mostly disappears after about half an hour.

This type of migraine accounts for about a third of cases of this disease in general. It is noteworthy that in some cases, the symptoms characteristic of visual migraine are also accompanied by the appearance of unilateral paresthesias (that is, sensations in which numbness occurs in a certain area of ​​the body), speech disorders are also diagnosed somewhat less frequently. Numbness in particular can affect both half of the body and half of the face, tongue, weakness in the limbs in combination with speech disorders is much less common.

An important feature is that the appearance of neurological disorders, for example, on the right side (that is, disorders in the form of the listed symptoms), indicates that the localization of the actual headache is concentrated on the opposite side, that is, on the left. If the localization is concentrated on the left side, then the pain, respectively, is felt on the right.

Only in about 15% of cases, the localization of neurological disorders and headache coincides. After the completion of the aura, which in itself is the definition of the listed complex of neurological symptoms that occur before migraine with accompanying pain or symptoms noted immediately at the onset of migraine, pain of a pulsating nature appears, focusing within the fronto-temporal-orbital region. The increase in such pain occurs within half an hour to an hour and a half, which may be accompanied by nausea, and in some situations, vomiting. The vegetative form of this condition is accompanied by the appearance of fear and panic, trembling appears, breathing quickens. It is noteworthy that any symptoms characteristic of a migraine state with the appearance of an aura are reversible, which has also been previously noted by us.

It also happens that migraine leads to complications, one of them is status migraine. He means by himself a series of rather severe attacks of migraine manifestations, which follow each other in combination with repeated vomiting. The onset of seizures occurs at intervals of about 4 hours. This condition requires inpatient treatment.

Migraine: symptoms in children

Headache in children is not uncommon, moreover, vigilant parents do not rule out the need to go to the doctor for this reason, which, however, does not always make it possible to find out the cause of this condition. Meanwhile, pain attacks, accompanied by general malaise, in many cases mean nothing more than a migraine.

This disease is not accompanied by any specific objective data, because the temperature and pressure during it correspond to generally normal indicators, the analyzes also do not indicate the relevance of the presence of certain deviations for a small patient. Actually, the examination of children in this case does not determine any specific changes regarding the work of individual systems and organs. Be that as it may, statistics on children indicate that before the age of 14, about 40% of them experienced migraine, moreover, about 2/3 of them even inherited it from their parents.

The cause of headaches in children with migraine is that this condition is accompanied by increased production of adrenaline (which, in fact, is also true for adults). This hormone, in turn, constricts the brain vessels for a certain time (which, as we noted earlier, can range from several hours to several days), and the vessels in this case cease to respond to therapy acting in the form of certain drugs, which significantly complicates things. In particular, due to the narrowed lumen of the vessels, the process of blood flow to the brain is significantly disrupted along with the delivery of the required nutrients to it.

Against the background of such starvation, pronounced headaches appear. We also note that nervous overstrain is determined as a factor provoking such an adrenaline attack, which, you see, is a fairly common condition for children. It is noteworthy that this tension can be relevant both for recreation (computer games, TV, etc.), and for enhanced learning with stress against the background of responsibility associated with this learning. It should also be noted that certain foods can lead to migraine, as well as the predisposition already noted initially, inherited from the parents.

And if everything is more or less clear with hereditary predisposition, then food products in this context require some attention if a migraine appears against the background of their use. This may be in the elemental intolerance of certain foods, which, in turn, determines the need for a change in diet, as well as in the appointment of an appropriate diet focused on preventing migraine based on the nutritional impact factor. We highlight the main symptoms associated with migraine in children:

• headache (mainly unilateral type);
• nausea, in some cases - vomiting;
• increased sensitivity to light;
• speech disorders;
• dizziness;
• reduction in the visible field of view.

Cervical migraine: symptoms

When considering migraine, this type of it should not be overlooked. It has a number of names: it is, in fact, “cervical migraine”, and “sympathetic cervical syndrome (posterior)”, and “vertebral artery syndrome”. Any of the listed options can be used to diagnose a specific condition, however, in any of its options, in fact, we are talking about the same condition.

Cervical migraine implies a condition in which blood flow to the brain through the pool of one or two vertebral arteries at the same time is disturbed. Let us dwell in more detail on the essence of this process.

The blood supply to the brain, as you may know, is provided by two pools. The first of these, the carotid basin, contains the carotid arteries. At their expense (and to be more precise, at the expense of the main branches in the form of internal carotid arteries), about 85% of the total blood flow to the brain is provided, as well as being responsible for various types of disorders associated with blood circulation (first of all, these include strokes ). It is the carotid arteries that are especially given attention during examinations, and in particular, it is given to their atherosclerotic lesion in combination with actual complications.

As for the second basin, this is the vertebrobasilar basin, which includes the vertebral arteries (on the left and right sides). They provide blood supply to the posterior parts of the brain, along with about 15-30% of the total blood flow to it. A lesion of this type, of course, cannot be compared with a lesion in a stroke, but disability is not excluded with it.

When the arteries are affected, the following conditions are noted:

• dizziness;
• severe headaches;
• visual and auditory disorders;
• violations of coordination;
• loss of consciousness.

As for the reasons that can provoke such a lesion, they can be divided into two corresponding groups:

• nonvertebrogenic lesions(that is, lesions that are not associated with the spine) - lesions caused, as a rule, by atherosclerosis or congenital anomalies associated with the characteristics of the course of the arteries and their size;
• vertebrogenic lesions(respectively, lesions that have arisen against the background of a pathology relevant to the spine) - here, in particular, we are talking about a particular disease of the spine, which acts as a factor predisposing to damage. The traumatic nature of this lesion is not excluded, which may be associated with a general history of the patient’s adolescence and injuries accompanying this period, however, changes in the most pronounced scale are noted to a greater extent in adults, which is compared with the development of osteochondrosis in them.

The listed reasons initially irritate the sympathetic plexuses in the vertebral arteries, subsequently leading to spasm, after which the arteries are completely squeezed along the bone canal or at the exit of the artery from it, which, in turn, leads to the development of circulatory disorders. The latter have a short-term manifestation and occur at the time of tilting the head or turning it, as well as when a person changes the position of the body.

Focusing on the symptoms that are relevant to the condition we are considering, we highlight that the main one, as we noted earlier, is a headache. It is constant in its manifestation and in some cases - intensifying in the form of severe attacks. In some cases, this pain is burning or throbbing, it is concentrated in the back of the head. The possibility of pain spreading to other areas of the head is also not ruled out (radiation, that is, spread, to the bridge of the nose and to the orbit, etc., is often noted). Pain is aggravated by movement of the neck. Quite often, this symptomatology is also accompanied by soreness noted in the scalp, which occurs even with a slight touch to it or during combing.

Tilts of the head and its turns are accompanied by a characteristic crunch, possibly burning. Also, some patients experience conditions generally characteristic of any type of migraine in the form of nausea with possible vomiting, ringing in the ears, noise in them (often in combination with a synchronous heartbeat). Lifting the head up is accompanied by dizziness, which occurs as a result of the artery leaving to the narrow part of the hole. In the variant of atherosclerosis relevant to the patient, in this case, dizziness appears as a result of tilting the head forward.

Already specific, one might say, symptomatology is the appearance of visual disturbances (in the form of the appearance of "flies" before the eyes, a decrease in overall visual acuity, double vision and a veil before the eyes, etc.). Possible hearing loss. In some cases, the possibility of swallowing disorders in combination with the appearance of a sensation of the presence of a foreign object in the throat is also not excluded.

It is noteworthy that compression of the vertebral artery often leads to paroxysmal conditions that occur as a result of turning the head. So, turning the head can be accompanied by a fall of the patient (he falls "like a knocked down"), and in this case there is no loss of consciousness, he can stand up on his own. It is also possible that a sudden movement of the head leads to a sudden fall, but already accompanied by loss of consciousness. A person can come to his senses in a period of 5 to 20 minutes, he can stand up on his own, but for a long time after that he experiences weakness. In addition to the above, vegetative disorders are also possible, which may consist in the form of hunger, chills, and fever.

Diagnosis

In a situation with a recurring headache, it is imperative to visit a doctor. Diagnosis is made on the basis of clinical indicators based on a patient interview and general examination. It is important to consider that paroxysms of a state relevant to migraine (that is, its systematically returning attacks) can act as the first symptom indicating a brain tumor or vascular malformation (in particular, this implies the possible relevance for the patient of developmental anomalies, as a result of which pronounced changes in the functions of blood vessels and in their structure).

Considering the possible seriousness of the patient's condition, a detailed examination is required, in which an organic process will be excluded. In particular, you will need to visit an ophthalmologist to check the fundus, visual acuity and its field. You will also need electroencephalography, CT and MRI procedures.

Migraine treatment

Treatment of this disease can be drug and non-drug. In the first case, the use of the following drugs is implied:

• anti-inflammatory (non-steroidal) drugs - in particular, these may include ibuprofen, paracetamol, etc.;
• dihydroergotamine nasal sprays;
• selective agonists that stimulate the production of serotonin.

As for the second, non-drug treatment option, it primarily consists in the need to provide the patient with peace and quiet, as well as a certain darkness in the room in which the patient is located, which is provided on the basis of taking into account on his part an increased reaction to exposure to bright lighting. Massage can be applied to the collar zone and head, as well as massage of the auricles. Certain results can be achieved through the use of acupuncture, as well as cold or warm bandages applied to the head.

As a rule, patients are guided in circumstances, knowing what exactly can lead to the onset of migraine, respectively, this requires them to independently exclude such circumstances and provoking factors in them. Among other things, water procedures (therapeutic baths) and physiotherapy exercises are allowed, focused on maintaining the general tone and on the appropriate effect on the cervical spine. An additional measure in the treatment of migraine is a diet with the exclusion of products that provoke its attacks (as part of the general description of the disease, we considered this point above). If possible, stress should be avoided - they also play an important role in the context of considering the causes that provoke migraines.

By the way, an important way to influence migraine in the framework of its treatment (elimination) is sleep. So, if the patient can fall asleep in a migraine state, then upon awakening, as a rule, he has, if not the complete disappearance of the headache, then a significant improvement in the general condition and intensity of the pain effect. This method is relevant for mild and infrequent occurrences of migraine.

If symptoms characteristic of migraine appear, you need to contact a neurologist, you will also need to consult an ophthalmologist.

Migraine is a disease accompanied by attacks of intense headaches. This state proceeds quite brightly, specifically.

This is far from a new disease - there are mentions of severe headache attacks in ancient treatises, manuscripts, and historical records. The very same word "migraine" is of French origin, where it came from the ancient Greek language.

It is translated as "half of the head", reflecting the very essence of this ailment.

Prevalence

Migraine is a chronic disease that occurs mainly in the female part of the world's population. However, cases of its occurrence in men can not be called a rarity either.

The disease can remind of itself quite rarely (several episodes per year), and proceed relatively easily. But it also happens that migraine attacks happen daily, and the intensity of their manifestation is so high that a person cannot think of anything but an unbearable headache. Most often, such an ailment reminds of itself 2-8 times a month.

Specific therapy is not a cheap pleasure, so most patients come to be content with only symptomatic treatment. But the worst thing is that constant migraine attacks can lead to partial or prolonged loss of working capacity, which sometimes even causes the patient to become disabled.

Causes of migraine

Scientists have not yet been able to establish the exact causes of migraine. However, on the basis of centuries-old observations, some patterns of this pathology were recorded.

Thus, it has been established that, first of all, people who are intellectually developed and mentally active suffer from migraine attacks. That is, people who work more with their heads than with their hands. Persons whose work is associated with high physical activity suffer from migraines extremely rarely. And although many people try to explain the attacks of this disease by various factors, it was not possible to confirm the correctness of their guesses.

Common causes of migraine include:

• the use of certain foods: hard aged cheeses, chocolate, red wine, mackerel fish, coffee, smoked products, etc .;
• stress, psycho-emotional shocks, mental stress;
• taking certain groups of medications (for example, hormonal contraceptives);
• weather dependence;
• intense, even excessive physical activity;
• PMS in women.

Usually, “experienced” patients know exactly what exactly provokes a migraine attack in them and, if possible, try to exclude the influence of this factor on their body. However, this approach can only reduce the frequency of recurrence of the disease, but it is completely impossible to get rid of it in this way.

migraine symptoms

Migraine is accompanied by pressing, throbbing headaches in one side of the head. In this case, pain can capture the forehead, temple, eye. Sometimes pain can begin from the back of the head, gradually spreading to other areas of the right or left side of the head.

The localization of pain is also unstable. So, if at the current time it arose in the left side of the head, then, most likely, next time it will be localized in the right. If each time the pain syndrome affects only one part of the head, then it is necessary to undergo an examination by a doctor in order to exclude the possibility of an organic brain lesion.

Prodromal symptoms such as decreased concentration and general weakness may indicate a migraine attack. The postdromal state (malaise that occurs after the end of a migraine attack) is accompanied by general weakness, a feeling of weakness, drowsiness, yawning, and pallor of the skin.

Migraine often entails nausea, photophobia, fear of sharp and loud sounds. There is a deterioration or complete loss of appetite. In this case, the headache becomes more intense when standing up or walking.

In children, a migraine attack is accompanied by drowsiness. After the child sleeps a little, the pain goes away.

Migraine is directly related to the female genital organs. That is why seizures often occur in the fairer sex during PMS and menstruation. As a rule, menstrual migraine begins 48 hours after the start of menstruation. In addition, hormonal contraceptives or hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can cause or aggravate an attack of intense headache.

According to its clinical course, migraine is:

1. Vegetative or panic. In this case, migraine is accompanied by chills, increased heart rate, watery eyes, a feeling of suffocation and swelling of the face.
2. Associative. Such a migraine is characterized by the transition of a headache paroxysm to a neurological deficit. This form of the pathological process is characterized by the occurrence of cerebellar, aphatic, ophthalmoplegic and hemiplegic migraine.
3. Cathemenal (menstrual). The name speaks for itself - such migraines occur during the menstrual period in women. This ailment is associated with a decrease in the level of estrogen in the blood in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle.
4. Chronic. In this case, headache attacks occur for 15 days for 1 month or more, for 3 months, or even longer. Gradually, the number of attacks increases, and eventually, they begin to appear daily. Along with this, the intensity of the headache also increases.

There are 2 more types of migraine.

Migraine with aura is characterized by the occurrence of transient, visual, speech, sensory and motor disorders. A variation of this pathological condition is basilar migraine.

Sleep migraine is characterized by the occurrence of an attack of headache at night, or in the morning, after waking up.

Diagnosis

If migraines began to recur frequently, it is imperative to contact a specialist - a neuropathologist. Diagnosis is based on the collection of anamnesis and a general examination of the patient.

It is important to understand that recurring headache attacks may indicate the presence of a brain tumor or vascular malformation. For the latter, developmental anomalies are characteristic, under the influence of which the functions of blood vessels are disrupted, and negative changes occur in their structure.

Since migraine is a very serious pathological condition, it is important to take into account the data of instrumental diagnostic methods. In order to determine the causes of this ailment, MRI, CT of the brain, and EEG are performed.

Treatment

Migraine treatment should be carried out in two directions:

1. Relief of the developed attack.
2. Prevention of recurrence of headache.

Relief of an attack

The patient should take only those drugs that he was prescribed by the attending neurologist. If the attack proceeds with moderate intensity and lasts no longer than 2 days, then the doctor may resort to prescribing analgesic drugs, including combined ones.

So, the following groups of medications well eliminate an attack of headaches:

1. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) -, (can not be used for diseases of the liver and kidneys), aspirin (strictly contraindicated in pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract and a tendency to bleeding).
2. Combined drugs based on codeine, paracetamol, phenobarbital and metamizole sodium.
3. Triptans are prescribed for headaches of high intensity and duration of more than 2 days. They are available in the form of suppositories, sprays, injections, etc.
4. Non-selective agonists (for example, Ergotamine).
5. Psychotropic drugs (as an auxiliary method of therapy) - Domperidone, Chlorpromazine, etc.

Triptans are medications belonging to the group of serotonin derivatives. Their mechanism of action has several directions:

• reduce the sensitivity of the trigeminal facial nerve, thereby providing an analgesic effect;
• affect the vessels selectively, therefore, only the pulsation in the brain area is eliminated;
• have an effect exclusively on pain receptors, reducing their number, due to which pain is stopped.

With migraine with aura, the drug helps well. But it must be taken as soon as the first pain sensations arise.

Experimental treatments for migraine

Modern experimental methods of treating migraine involve hypnosis sessions, the use of special patches and the use of electronic devices. But the effectiveness of such therapeutic approaches has not yet been confirmed, so they need to be investigated more thoroughly.

Since in the pathogenesis of migraine a special place is given to a violation of cellular metabolism and activation of lipid peroxidation, along with conventional drug therapy, the patient should be prescribed drugs with antioxidant and metabolic properties. They improve the energy processes in the cells of the body, while protecting them from the damaging effects of free radicals.

A few years ago, a scientific study was published in which about 1550 children and teenagers took part, who had frequent bouts of intense headaches. When conducting a biochemical study of blood plasma, scientists revealed a deficiency in patients of coenzyme Q10. They came to the conclusion that the use of dietary supplements based on this substance will help alleviate some of the symptoms of the pathology.

In another experiment, which involved 42 people, scientists compared the effectiveness of the introduction of coenzyme Q10 at a dose of 300 mg per day with the effectiveness of a placebo. The study found that coenzyme Q10 was more effective than the placebo method and that it reduced the intensity of migraine headaches and nausea after 3 months of treatment.

A group of US plastic surgeons have been working on the theory for 10 years that migraine attacks are often caused by spasm of the muscles around the trigeminal nerve. As a result, they managed to prove that Botox injections help reduce pain, and the operation to remove the affected muscles completely eliminates unpleasant symptoms.

Compliance with a ketogenic diet also helps to reduce the intensity of clinical manifestations of cluster migraine.

What to do at home?

It will not be possible to completely cure a migraine, but it is possible to reduce its intensity and reduce the frequency of attacks. To do this, you must follow these recommendations:

1. To refuse from bad habits. Alcohol and nicotine have a detrimental effect on blood vessels and the entire body as a whole.
2. Develop a work and rest schedule. Constant overstrain of the brain leads to spasm of blood vessels, which causes intense cephalalgia. In addition, prolonged sitting with the head tilted leads to cervical osteochondrosis and pinching of the facial nerves. This, in turn, can also cause migraines.
3. Minimize your intake of caffeinated beverages. They make the heart work “idle”, and also negatively affect the functioning of the nervous system.
4. Reduce consumption, and it is better - and completely eliminate - from the diet of all harmful products. A diet dominated by easily digested foods significantly reduces the frequency of migraine attacks.
5. Provide normal lighting, give the brain relaxation and rest, walk more often in the fresh air and lead a physically active lifestyle. If you limit yourself in all of the above points, then bouts of intense headaches will become your constant companions.

How to relieve migraine pain?

In the treatment of migraine, it is taken into account how and how much the pain syndrome affects the quality of life of a person. For this, a special scale MIDAS (Migraine Disability Assessment Scale) was developed. It is based on 3 aspects that are most affected by headaches:

• study and work;
• housework and family life;
• sports and social activities.

At the same time, it is necessary to take into account the period of time for which a person loses working capacity in the above areas due to headache attacks. This scale divides migraines into 4 degrees of severity:

1. In the first degree, headaches are not too pronounced, so they do not interfere with full-fledged life. Patients rarely go to the doctor, using folk methods of dealing with pain. Of the medications, non-narcotic analgesics (Analgin, Baralgin), NSAIDs (drugs based on ibuprofen), antispasmodics (, Combispasm, etc.) successfully stop an attack of cephalalgia.
2. The second degree is characterized by moderate severity of headaches. In this case, normal life activity is slightly disturbed. Under such circumstances, drugs from the NSAID group are prescribed, or combined painkillers: Spazmalgon, Pentalgin, Tempalgin, etc. In case of severe headache and difficulties in adapting to environmental conditions, triptans are prescribed: Amigrenin, Imigran, Zomig, etc.
3. 3-4 degrees of migraine are accompanied by pronounced bouts of cephalalgia. In this case, they immediately resort to the appointment of triptans, but sometimes the drug Zaldiar can be prescribed. It contains the potent analgesic element tramadol and the anti-inflammatory component paracetamol. For severe and persistent pain, patients are prescribed hormonal drugs (Dexamethasone). Nausea and vomiting are controlled with antiemetic drugs - Cerucal, Metoclopramide, Domperidone, etc. They are taken approximately 20 minutes before the use of NSAIDs or triptans.

Triptan drugs are the most popular in the fight against migraine. They are designed specifically for the treatment of headaches with this ailment. The effectiveness of the drug will be stronger if taken at the very beginning of the development of an attack.

1. At the first manifestations of pain, take 1 tablet. If the symptom receded, then after about 2 hours, the person will return to working capacity.
2. If after 2 hours the pain has become less noticeable, but has not completely disappeared, you should take another pill. At the next attack, it is recommended to drink 2 tablets at once.

If the drug was used in a timely manner, but did not have the desired effect, you should consult a doctor. He will select a stronger and more suitable medication.

Triptans are divided into 2 generations:

1. The first generation drugs are based on sumatriptan. The release forms are different: tablets (Amigrenin, Migran, etc.), candles (Trimigren), spray (Imigran).
2. The second-generation triptans are naratriptan (Naramig) and zolmitriptan (Zolmig). This group is characterized by higher efficiency and low risk of adverse reactions.

It is important to select drugs individually for each patient. If this can be done, in the future the patient should take only "his" remedy for migraine.

Folk remedies

Alternative medicine also gives good results in the treatment of migraine. The means used for this purpose can also be divided into 2 groups:

• drugs for stopping cephalalgia immediately at the time of the development of an attack;
• means of preventive therapy aimed at preventing the recurrence of migraine.

To normalize well-being during an attack, you must:

• attach a cabbage or burdock leaf to the forehead, then tightly rewind it with a bandage;
• soak a piece of cotton wool in beet or onion juice, then place it in the ear (be careful - it can cause a burn!);
• attach an onion or lemon cut in half to the temples or forehead;
• inhale vapors of ammonia and camphor spirits, taken in equal proportions;
• make hot foot baths with the addition of a small amount of dry mustard powder;
• conduct an aromatherapy session using lemon, pine, mint or lavender essential oil;
• inhale a mixture of water and apple cider vinegar heated to the optimum temperature (not boiling!);
• take a warm bath with the addition of a decoction of the roots of valerian officinalis;
• drink a quarter cup of raw potato juice. This recipe helps prevent further deterioration of well-being at the very beginning of a migraine attack.

Below are a few recipes that have been used for a long time. They are not aimed at stopping, but at preventing migraine attacks in the future.

1. Mix equal proportions of motherwort herb and peppermint. Pour 1 tablespoon of dry raw materials with 500 ml of boiling water and let it brew for 2 hours. Strain the finished medicine and drink in small sips for 1 day.
2. Take 1 part of primrose roots, peppermint leaves, mountain lavender flowers, valerian root and rosemary leaves. Brew 1 tablespoon of the mixture with 250-300 ml of boiling water and let it brew until it cools completely. It is good to filter, and take 400 ml of infusion per day.
3. With weak manifestations of seizures, you should drink the next cocktail for several days in a row. To prepare it, take a chicken egg and beat it into a glass of hot, just boiled milk. Mix well and drink at a time.
4. Every morning, before breakfast, drink 1 glass of whey or buttermilk.
5. Three times a day, take a quarter cup of blackcurrant juice. You can make a juice smoothie by mixing 3 parts carrot juice and 1 part each spinach and dandelion juice.

Do not choose a folk remedy based on the words of friends who claim that it helped them. What works well for one person will make it worse for another, so even traditional medicine recipes must be selected individually.

Migraine Prevention

It is quite possible to prevent frequent outbreaks of migraine attacks. For this it is important:

• eliminate the impact on the body of irritating factors;
• avoid prolonged sitting in front of a TV screen or computer monitor;
• reduce the duration of telephone conversations to a minimum;
• alternate physical activity with proper rest;
• eat properly and nutritiously;
• keep a diary in which the following will be noted: the intensity of pain, the duration and frequency of migraine attacks, the effectiveness of the medications taken;
• take medicines containing magnesium and B vitamins;
• take drugs from the category of adrenergic blockers (for example, propranolol, beta-blocker), anticonvulsants (topiramate), antidepressants (venlafaxine).

Treatment of a migraine is a complex process, but an attack can be overcome or prevented. The main thing is not to let the situation take its course. Pain cannot be tolerated, because it not only affects everyday life, but can also significantly harm your health!

Migraine is a chronic neurological disease characterized by recurrent severe headache. A distinctive feature is that most often the pain extends to only one half of the head. This is a very common problem. It is found in 10% of people. Attacks can occur rarely - several times a year, but in most patients they occur 1-2 times a week.

The beautiful half of humanity often suffers from bouts of severe headaches. But many men also face this problem. Another name for migraine is the disease of aristocrats. It is believed that headaches are more likely to occur in people who are engaged in mental work.

What it is?

Migraine is a neurological disease, the most common and characteristic symptom of which is episodic or regular severe and painful attacks of headache in one (rarely in both) half of the head.

At the same time, there are no serious head injuries, stroke, brain tumors, and the intensity and pulsating nature of pain is associated with vascular headache, and not with tension headache. Migraine headache is not associated with an increase or a sharp decrease in blood pressure, an attack of glaucoma, or an increase in intracranial pressure (ICP).

The very first symptoms that resemble migraines were described by ancient healers from the time of the Sumerian civilization even before the birth of Christ in 3000 BC. A little later (about 400 AD) Hippocrates singled out migraine as a disease and described its signs. However, migraine owes its name to the ancient Roman doctor - Claudius Galen. In addition, he was the first to single out a feature of migraine - the localization of pain in one half of the head.

It is noteworthy that migraine often becomes a companion of geniuses. This disease, like no other, "loves" active and emotional people who prefer mental work. For example, such outstanding personalities as Pontius Pilate, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Edgar Poe, Karl Marx, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, Julius Caesar, Sigmund Freud, Darwin, Newton suffered from it. Not bypassed migraine side and modern celebrities. Suffering from headaches, such famous personalities as Whoopi Goldberg, Janet Jackson, Ben Affleck and others live and create.

Another interesting fact (although it has not been scientifically proven): people who strive for excellence are more likely to suffer from migraines. Such individuals are ambitious and ambitious, their brains are constantly working. It is not enough for them to do everything perfectly, they must be the best. Therefore, they are very responsible and conscientious about everything, they work "for themselves and for that guy." Basically, they are workaholics.

Mechanism of headache development in migraine

As you know, migraine is a special type of headache, the mechanism of development of which is unique and unlike any other. Therefore, most headache medications are ineffective for migraine.

A migraine attack occurs in several successive phases:

1. Spasm of the arterial vessels of the brain and the development of short-term hypoxia of the medulla. It is with this phase that the development of migraine aura is associated.
2. Then comes dilatation, or expansion, of all types of cerebral vessels (arteries, veins, venules, arterioles, and capillaries). At this stage, a typical throbbing headache develops.
3. Swelling of the walls of blood vessels and perivascular space develops, which causes their rigidity to signals for reverse narrowing. This phenomenon determines the duration of the migraine headache.
4. The last stage is characterized by the reverse development of migraine and is also called post-migraine syndrome. For some time after the cessation of pain, the patient may complain of general weakness, fatigue, a feeling of “staleness” in the head.

Despite the available data on the nature of migraine headache, new information appears every day, as this problem is actively studied by scientists around the world. For example, according to recent medical publications, the hypothalamus of the brain plays an important role in the pathogenesis of migraine, and this provides new opportunities for the invention of effective drugs for the treatment and prevention of migraine.

Causes of migraine

One of the mysteries is the causes of migraines. Based on long-term observations, it was possible to establish some regularities in the occurrence of seizures.

Migraine affects both men and women, but it occurs twice as often in women as in men. There is a dependence of the incidence of the disease on lifestyle, so it has been found that the most susceptible to migraines are socially active and ambitious people, professions that require high mental activity, as well as housewives. Extremely rare cases of migraine among people working professions, whose activities are associated with constant physical activity.

People suffering from migraine include many factors as the causes of migraine, but in fact, it was not possible to establish their direct influence on the development of an attack, therefore, such factors can only be considered predisposing, or a “starting moment” that works when the true cause of the disease appears. Migraine causes include:

• Some types of products: hard aged cheeses, red wine, chocolate, mackerel fish, smoked meats, coffee;
• Stress or experienced psycho-emotional arousal .;
• Certain types of medicines, such as oral contraceptives;
• A sharp change in the weather (meteorological form of migraine);
• Strong physical activity;
• Premenstrual syndrome.

Usually, experienced patients know what exactly provokes a migraine attack in them, and try to exclude the influence of this factor, so they manage to reduce the frequency of attacks, but not get rid of them completely.

Classification

Depending on the symptoms of migraine, the disease is divided into the following types:

• hemiplegic (the ability to perform an action with a hand or foot is lost);
• migraine status (lasting more than one day).
• retinal (affects half of the head and the eye area, a sharp decrease in vision is possible);
• basilar (occurs in young women, is fraught with a cerebral infarction in the absence of adequate treatment);
• ophthalmic (affects the visual organs, overhanging of the eyelid, loss of visual function);
• abdominal (often found in children, young men, accompanied by convulsions, abdominal pain);

In medical practice, there are also concepts of migraine with and without aura.

Without an aura, the patient has frequent headache attacks that can last from four hours to three days in a row. Pain is fixed in a specific part of the head (at a point). The pain is aggravated by physical activity, as well as by intense mental activity.

C aura is accompanied by a large number of complex, sometimes mixed symptoms that occur long before the attack or immediately with its onset.

migraine symptoms

The most basic symptoms of migraine in women and men are throbbing, paroxysmal pain in half of the head, lasting from 4 to 72 hours. When bending over, the pain intensifies - this is an excessive expansion of blood vessels.

A migraine attack may be preceded by an aura - various neurological symptoms: vestibular, motor, sensory, auditory, visual. The visual aura occurs more often than others, when a person sees a lot of bright flashes in the left or right field of vision, fragments of the field of vision fall out or objects are distorted.

So, the main symptoms of migraine are as follows:

1. Harbingers of a migraine are weakness, a feeling of unmotivated fatigue, inability to concentrate, and impaired attention. After attacks, a postdrome is sometimes observed - drowsiness, weakness, pallor of the skin.
2. Nausea is an important symptom that helps distinguish migraine pain from other types of pain. This symptom always accompanies attacks and is sometimes so pronounced that it comes to vomiting. At the same time, the patient's condition is subjectively relieved, for a few minutes it becomes easier for him. If vomiting does not bring relief, and the pain does not subside within a few days, then this may be a sign of migraine status and requires inpatient treatment.
3. The nature of migraine pain is different from other headaches - starting from the temple, throbbing and pressing pain gradually covers half of the head, spreading to the forehead and eyes.
4. In 10% of cases of migraine in women, it occurs during menstruation and lasts a day or two from its onset. One third of all women who have this disease suffer from menstrual migraine.
5. With migraine, there is always one or more accompanying symptoms - photophobia, nausea, vomiting, sound phobia, disturbances in smell, vision, or attention.
6. Oral contraceptives and other drugs that affect the hormonal balance, including hormone replacement therapy, can significantly increase the risk of an attack, in 80% of cases it increases its intensity.
7. The arteries in the temple area are tense and throbbing, pain and tension are aggravated by movement, so patients endure the principle in bed, in a quiet and dark room, in order to minimize the number of external stimuli.
8. Irritability, anxiety, fatigue, drowsiness, pallor or redness of the skin, anxiety and depression are symptoms associated with migraine that may or may not appear in each individual case.
9. Unilateral pain can alternate from attack to attack, covering either the left or the right side of the head or the occipital region.

According to a medical study, migraines are more common among women, with an average of 7 attacks per month versus 6 for men, with a duration of 7.5 hours for women and 6.5 hours for men. The causes of an attack in women are changes in atmospheric pressure, air temperature and other climate changes, and in men - intense physical activity. The symptoms associated with migraine also differ: women are more likely to experience nausea and olfactory disturbances, while men are more likely to experience photophobia and depression.

How to relieve pain at home?

With minor manifestations of migraine, you can relieve pain from an attack without medication, for which you need:

• self-allowed "sleeping off";
• cold and hot shower;
• mimic gymnastics;
• washing head;
• head and neck massage;
• acupuncture;
• yoga classes;
• homeopathy.

The simplest home remedy for migraine relief is over-the-counter analgesic tablets containing Ibuprofen, Nurofen, Aspirin, Paracetamol (the latter being the least effective), acting faster and stronger in "effervescent" forms.

To reduce the manifestations of nausea or vomiting, you can use antiemetics, including in the form of rectal suppositories. Antiemetics, facilitating the absorption of analgesics from the gastrointestinal tract, enhance their effect.

How to treat a migraine?

At home, the treatment of migraine involves 2 main areas - the relief of an attack that has already developed, and the prevention of the onset of attacks in the future.

Relief of an attack. Only a neurologist can prescribe any means for pain relief during a migraine attack, it depends on the intensity and duration. If the attack is of moderate or mild severity and lasts no more than 2 days, then the doctor prescribes simple analgesics, possibly combined.

1. Combined preparations containing codeine, paracetamol, phenobarbetal and metamizole sodium.
2. NSAIDs (ibuprofen), paracetamol (contraindicated in pathologies of the kidneys and liver), acetylsalicylic acid (cannot be taken with a tendency to bleeding and with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract).
3. If the intensity of the pain is high, the duration of the attacks is more than 2 days, then triptans for migraine are prescribed (a list of all modern triptans, prices, how to take them correctly). They are available in suppositories, solutions, sprays, infections.
4. Non-selective agonists - Ergotamine, etc.
5. Auxiliary psychotropic drugs - domperidone, metoclopramide, chlorpromazine.

Triptans are drugs developed 20 years ago and are derivatives of serotonin. They act in several directions at once:

1. Triptans affect the vessels selectively, reducing the painful pulsation only in the brain, without affecting the rest of the vascular system of the body.
2. They affect only special producing substances (receptors) that provoke the appearance of pain, their number is reduced - the pain also goes away.
3. They have a pronounced analgesic effect, reducing the sensitivity of the trigeminal nerve.

With the classic version of migraine with aura, Papazol, taken in the first minutes, can help. For some, a hot bath helps, for others, exposure to cold, and for others, the pressure chamber relieves the condition.

Experimental treatments for migraine

Experimental methods include treatment with the help of hypnosis, electronic devices, and a special adhesive plaster. However, there is no evidence of their effectiveness and more research is needed.

In connection with the disturbance of cellular metabolism and activation of lipid peroxidation in the pathogenesis of migraine, along with the generally accepted drug treatment, it is pathogenetically justified to prescribe antioxidants and metabolic drugs that improve energy processes in cells and protect them from damage by free radicals (a combination of vitamins A, E, C, coenzyme Q10, antioxycaps, emoxipin).

For example, a study was recently published in which 1550 children and adolescents suffering from frequent migraine attacks took part. It showed that a number of patients had low plasma levels of coenzyme Q10, and that the recommendation to use dietary supplements containing coenzyme Q10 may lead to an improvement in some clinical signs. The authors concluded that an analysis with more scientifically sound methodology is required to confirm such observations.

In another study on 42 patients, the authors compared the effectiveness of taking coenzyme Q10 (300 mg / day) and placebo: coenzyme Q10 was significantly more effective than placebo in reducing the frequency of migraine attacks, the duration of headache attacks and the duration of nausea attacks after 3 months of treatment. The authors assess coenzyme Q10 as an effective and well-tolerated means of preventing migraine manifestations.

A group of plastic surgeons at the University Hospitals of Cleveland have been working on the hypothesis for about a decade that in some cases the cause of recurrent headaches and migraines is irritation of the trigeminal nerve caused by spasm of the muscles around it. Research results have been published confirming the reduction or disappearance of headaches with Botox injection and surgical removal of the corresponding muscles.

Alternative treatments for migraine

Other ways to treat this disease:

1. Biofeedback. This is a special kind of relaxation with the help of special equipment. During the procedure, a person learns to control physiological responses to various influences, such as stress.
2. Acupuncture. Studies have shown that this procedure helps to cope with headaches of various origins, including migraine headaches. But acupuncture is effective and safe only if it is performed by a certified specialist using special sterile needles.
3. Cognitive behavioral therapy. Helps some people with migraines.
4. Massage. An effective means of prevention, helps to make migraine attacks more rare.
5. Herbs, vitamins, minerals, dietary supplements. Medications such as butterbur herb, feverfew, high doses of riboflavin (vitamin B2), coenzyme Q10, magnesium help prevent and make migraine attacks more rare. But before using them, you should always consult with your doctor.

Prevention of migraine attacks

1. Follow a diet and diet, do not rush during a meal and do not snack on the go.
2. Engage in sleep hygiene, the duration of which should be 7-8 hours, where the daily “quiet hour” should be completely canceled. You need to go to bed in a calm, unirritated state at the same time (but not too early), it would also be good to get up at the same time.
3. Minimize stressful situations, always have harmless means of dealing with them at hand (valerian tablets, etc.), and also do not forget that in other cases it is advisable to resort to the help of a psychotherapist who will help you learn to control your behavior.
4. Do not get carried away with alcohol, nicotine and coffee, but if you can afford your favorite coffee drink no more than two cups a day (in the morning), then alcohol with tobacco products should be completely abandoned.
5. In no case should you ignore the use of prophylactic anti-migraine drugs prescribed by your doctor. They should also always be at hand.
6. It is not bad to periodically carry out spa treatment or treatment in a local dispensary, where you can get non-drug preventive measures (physiotherapy, massage of the collar zone, acupuncture).

We must agree that it is difficult to deal with migraine, but it is possible. Usually disciplined patients know everything about their illness and in most cases cope, although, of course, you will not envy them, you need to be on the alert all the time. “The road will be mastered by the walking one!” - said the ancients.

Forecast

With competent and complex therapy, the prognosis for such a disease is encouraging. The presence of the disease can be evidence of the development of serious ailments, including a cancerous tumor, abscess, inflammation of the brain, encephalitis, vascular aneurysms, hydrocephalus, etc.

The risk group of people who may experience migraines includes residents of large cities who lead a dynamic lifestyle and neglect rest, girls and women over the age of 20 (especially during menstruation), as well as people with a genetic predisposition to migraines.

For proper diagnosis and optimal treatment, it is necessary to seek help from a neurologist. Only an experienced doctor will be able to distinguish the signs of migraine from other syndromes with similar symptoms, and will also recommend a phased, effective therapy.