Unlike a headache caused by severe tension, these stem from other factors that cannot be readily treated with pain medication. While they are widespread, there is little research to suggest a cure. Migraines affect one-third of the world’s population, yet they are one of the most misunderstood phenomena that impact the quality of life for so many. Here are seven facts that those who do not suffer from migraines may not know.
1. Women Suffer Migraines More Frequently
While more than one billion people around the world suffer from this disorder, newer research suggests that there’s a reason that more than three-quarters of them are women. NHE1, a protein responsible for the transference of protons and sodium ions across cell membranes, is not only more prevalent in female subjects in general, but is lowest at times when the estrogen levels are at their peak. The cyclical nature of hormones may also suggest why women are most prone to experience more frequent attacks and why they often respond so poorly to the few treatments available.
2. Temporary Blindness
Retinal migraines can cause temporary blindness in the eye affected. While this usually lasts between ten and thirty minutes, it may also include seeing sparkling lights or motes in the eye before or after an episode’s peak. Usually, the same eye is affected every time. Not only is this terrifying and painful, but it can affect the eye over time and presage more permanent debilitation or blindness.
3. Loss of Limb Function
Hemiplegic migraines are a rare type, but for those who suffer from them, they can be debilitating. They include loss of control of one or more body parts on one side of their body, and an episode can last between one hour and several days. While these episodes are normally accompanied by other migraine symptoms, such as head pain, they can also occur on their own.
4. Children Suffer Migraines
There’s a mounting case for the hereditary nature of migraines as researchers learn more about the symptoms. While they may have a 50 percent risk factor if one parent has the disorder, it rises to 75 percent if both parents have it. Also, the misunderstood nature of the disorder—a thing that happens in the whole body, instead of just the head—led to misdiagnosis of the disorder in children. Colic is often thought to be a potential flag in infants suffering from the disorder, and young children often indicate a terrible stomach ache instead of head pain.
5. The Role of the Gut-Brain Axis
The enteric nervous system, the part of you that regulates your digestion may have a role to play in the disorder. It is known that serotonin reduces or abates symptoms of migraines, although not precisely why. What is also apparent is that individuals who suffer from the disorder are twice as likely to have IBS or some other degenerative condition of the intestinal tract as individuals who do not get migraines. The question is which factor precedes the other.
6. Headaches and Migraines are Different
While headaches can stem from a variety of sources and have a number of factors, from excessive eye strain or traumatic injury to poor diet choices and undiagnosed diabetes, they are in no way like migraines. For those seeking Morrow, GA Migraine Treatment, it can be exhausting to continuously have the difference dismissed or misunderstood. Instead, while a doctor should be thorough, they should understand the differences and be aware of factors that help build a case for migraines once all other stressors can be eliminated as causes.
7. It Costs Money and Productivity
There may be a link between the fact that three-quarters of sufferers are women and the underfunded research for a cure. But looking at the cold, hard numbers of what is ceded by ignoring or misunderstanding the nature of migraines renders it quite weighty. Individuals are incapable of functioning during a migraine, however much they may want to. This leads to more than 113 million workdays being missed due to the disorder and results in a $13,000,000,000 loss annually. That isn’t pocket change, and the result is usually individuals losing their jobs if they take too much sick time, which is ultimately debilitating.
Individuals who suffer migraines are more frequent than one might have guessed. However, their symptoms may vary within a range, leading most uninformed individuals to misunderstand what ails them. However, it is hoped that a new approach to the research, a broader and more informed view, and more funding will help to create treatments. Ultimately, a cure may be found, leading to fewer and fewer cases of the disorder each year.
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