A Short Guide to Understanding Migraine Pain
Once every 10 seconds, someone in the United States goes to an emergency medical care center with a migraine or severe headache pain. Not only do migraines rank in the top 20 most debilitating illnesses in the world, but a number of Americans suffer from them frequently. Part of being able to manage migraine pain is knowing who suffers from it, what their side effects entail, and what the treatment options are for the pain that migraines cause. Here’s what you need to know.
1. Who suffers from migraines?
Practically anyone can suffer from migraine pain, but generally, more women get migraines than men. Eighteen percent of women and only 6% of men suffer from migraines. Age is also a factor in whether or not a person is likely to suffer from a migraine — most migraines occur during the most productive years of life, between the ages of 25 and 55.
2. What do migraines feel like?
Migraines feel like a terrible and severe headache and often include a throbbing pain in one part of the head. What is characteristic of migraines, though, is a plethora of other unpleasant symptoms like vomiting, sensitivity to light and sound, and dizziness. Chronic pain patients can also experience a few different phases of the migraine: the prodrome, the aura, the attack itself, and the postdrome.
3. What are treatments for pain from migraines?
There are a few different treatments for chronic pain like migraines. Usually, chronic pain medications like narcotics can help with severe pain, but for milder migraines Advil or Tylenol can offer relief of pain. For more chronic migraines, there are other measures that can be taken like sympathetic nerve blocks (which are injections of nerve numbing medication) or other minimally invasive procedures.
Do you have any other questions about migraines or treatments for pain caused by them? Feel free to ask us in the comments section below.