With approximately 190,000 migraine attacks happening in the UK every day, even if you don’t have migraine yourself, it’s likely you will come in contact with a sufferer at some point. Here’s five key migraine facts everyone should know:
- Migraine is a complex neurological disorder
A genuine migraine is not just a bad headache. When someone ‘has a migraine’ they are experiencing an episode directly related to an underlying neurological disorder.
If you do not have the disorder then you do not have a migraine attack.
- During a migraine attack, the onset of a headache is only part of a sequence of events
Along with the headache can come impaired vision, nausea and heightened sensitivity to light, sound, smells and touch. Migraine starts in the brainso the symptoms can be felt in any part of the body. Symptoms vary from person to person and from one attack to the next and can be extremely frightening and disabling.
- For the majority of migraineurs, attacks are disabling.
Headache disorders are the most prevalent of the neurological conditions and migraine is the most prevalent disabling neurological condition.
- Don’t assume someone is not having a migraine just because there is no headache.
Migraine has a varied collection of symptoms and one of them is headache. But someone can still be having a migraine even if a headache is not present.
- During a migraine, a person’s cognitive abilities may be significantly impaired.
They may have trouble thinking, speaking and making simple decisions. Some people may experience temporary paralysis and distortion of their visual field.
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