Modern Ways to Treat Migraine and "a Silent Migraine"

Women suffer more migraines than men.

May food induce migraines?

Neurologist Celal Salcini, MD, at NPISTANBUL Brain Hospital has shared his medical opinion concerning migraines and their possible treatment.

Migraine symptoms

People who suffer from migraines usually determine it as “a severe throbing headache”. A migraine episode can involve nausea, vomiting, bright lights and loud sounds intolerance. Migraines’ severety, triggers, symptoms differ from person to person, therefore, a migraine attack can last from several hours to two or even three days. It means that migraines tremednously affects pepople’s daily lives. The cause of migraine is complicated and not fully understood and its reversible symptoms also are very different: visual phenomena as flashlights or light spots or even vision loss, tingling skin, numbness or weakness in the face and many others. A migraine ocasionally goes through 4 stages, one of them is called “aura”. Sometimes people may experience “a silent migraine”, when aura stage is not followed by a classic migraine-like headache. It means that a person experiences a range of symptoms except for the pain.  

Migraine causes  

“The exact cause of migraines is unknown, but they are thought to be of a genetic origin,” said the neurologist. Possible factors that can induce migraines are as follows: emotional stress, windy weather, fermented drinks or food, chocolate, changes in sleep schedule or jet lag, bright light and the sunlight.

Risk factors

Taking an appropriate family medical history is important for reaching the right diagnosis. Migraines are hereditary and if one of the parents in a family has a migraine, it is likely that their children will have one too. Apart from that, women are more likely to develop migraines. Women suffer from migraines three times often than men. The exact cause of this phenomenon is not clear, but it might be connected with shifts of the hormone estrogen levels.

Treatment of migraines

There are two possible ways to treat migraines. The first one aims at ceasing the pain and the majority of symptoms, i.e. taking pain-killers and other medications when symptoms have occured. Another way to treat this kind of headache is a preventive regular daily medication intake. All in all, there is a cure against even severe types of migraines. A healthcare professional can decide on the most suitable and effective treatment agains migraines on an individual basis. Headaches are often left untreated and undiagnosed. If you experience any symptoms of migraine, make an appointment with your doctor.