Migraine is a disorder of the sensory system of blood vessels that become abnormally sensitive, resulting in pain on one side of the head. Migraine has distinctive symptoms, mainly throbbing headache, severe pain lasting 4–72 hours. It usually affects one side of the head or shifts sides. Some patients may experience nausea and vomiting. Symptoms often worsen with triggers such as head movement, bright light, being in very hot or cold environments, or loud noises. Some working individuals carry paracetamol regularly due to frequent migraine headaches. Some suffer chronic pain, and in some cases, paracetamol does not relieve the headache because the body has become tolerant to the medication, requiring stronger effects to alleviate the migraine pain.
The causes of migraine are multifactorial, such as stress, insufficient rest, muscle tension during the day, or underlying serious brain conditions like cerebral artery stenosis, brain tumors, or brain hemorrhage.
Migraine headaches can be divided into 2 groups
- Migraine without aura, which is the most common type among migraine headache patients.
- Migraine with aura occurs in more than one-third of migraine patients, who experience warning symptoms before the migraine headache, usually lasting about 5 minutes to 1 hour.
These warning symptoms (aura) usually occur before a “migraine headache”
- Visual disturbances such as seeing flashing lights, images appearing as spots or zigzag lines, which can still be seen with eyes closed.
- Some migraine patients experience numbness, a sensation like small pins pricking, temporary loss of sensory perception, which may start from fingertips and spread to the arm or face. There may be numbness in the hand-arm or around the mouth.
- According to a study in Cephalalgia Magazine, over 36% of migraine patients frequently yawn, possibly every 2–3 minutes before the migraine occurs.
What type of headache is called a “migraine headache”?
The characteristic migraine headache is usually unilateral, but can shift sides. The pain is throbbing (like a pulsing blood vessel) in rhythm with the heartbeat, often on one side of the head. Other symptoms may include nausea and vomiting. According to the American Migraine Study survey of over 3,700 patients, 73% experienced nausea and 29% vomiting. Some also experience pain around the eye sockets or sinus symptoms. Studies show that over 90% of patients with sinus pain also have migraine symptoms.
Migraine patients… with “light sensitivity”, over 80% of migraine patients experience light sensitivity. This condition starts when the optic nerve sends signals to the brain, making patients unable to tolerate bright light, especially sunlight or flashlights. Patients can avoid bright light by these methods:
- Use blackout curtains to cover windows to prevent sunlight from entering the room.
- Avoid fluorescent or neon lights, as these types of lighting may trigger migraines in some patients.
- Adjust computer screen brightness to not be too bright and angle the screen to reduce light reflection.
- Install lights away from areas that may cause glare, such as mirrors.
Migraine headache treatment
Currently, there is no cure for migraine. Treatment focuses on controlling migraine headaches through proper lifestyle management and appropriate medication, especially for frequent sufferers, such as those experiencing migraines twice a month or more. Doctors often recommend preventive medication, which must be taken daily to prevent or reduce the frequency and severity of headaches.
Avoiding triggers… helps reduce migraine occurrence
Not only bright light should be avoided by migraine patients, but also loud places such as concerts. It is important to get enough sleep, avoid smoking, and avoid caffeine-containing drinks such as coffee, soda, or energy drinks to prevent frequent and severe migraines.
If experiencing a migraine, patients should rest in a dark, cool, and quiet room. If symptoms do not improve within 10-20 minutes, pain relief medication should be taken, but only those prescribed by a doctor, not over-the-counter drugs. Long-term self-medication for migraine may cause medication-overuse headache, worsening the condition.
Ways to help avoid migraines
- Avoid certain foods such as cow’s milk, butter, cheese, chocolate, red wine, beer, alcoholic beverages, some nuts, ripe bananas, tea, coffee or caffeinated drinks, artificial sweeteners, monosodium glutamate (MSG), sausages, sesame, and ham. These can trigger migraine pain, so avoiding them can reduce the frequency of headaches.
- Apply ice packs and soak feet in warm water Wrap ice in a towel and apply to the migraine pain area, while soaking feet in warm water for about 20 minutes to help reduce headache pain.
- Lavender essential oil The natural scent of lavender helps reduce migraine pain. Try adding 2–3 drops of lavender oil to hot water and inhale the vapor to relieve symptoms significantly.
- Get enough sleep But avoid oversleeping; aim for about 6–8 hours per day and try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.
- Exercise regularly Exercise for at least 30 minutes daily, at least 3 days a week, to strengthen overall health and reduce stress, which helps decrease migraine frequency.
- Drink hot ginger water Ginger has anti-inflammatory properties that reduce pain and inhibit the production of prostaglandins, which cause pain and inflammation. Therefore, drinking a cup of hot ginger water and resting can significantly reduce pain.
