<\/p>\n
A migraine headache is a severe unilateral and pulsating discomfort that is associated with extreme sensitivity to light, sound, smell, taste, and touch that generally lasts between 4 and 72 hours.\u00a0 According to Daniela Pietrobon and Jord Striessnig in \u201cNeurobiology of Migraine,\u201d migraines affect 6-8% of men and 15-25% of women in western countries.\u00a0 At least 1% of the population has a minimum of one day of migraine per week \u2013 which means around 2.5 million people in North America are sufferers.\u00a0 In fact, migraines are currently ranked as one of the most disabling chronic disorders.\u00a0 With such a high prevalence, it may seem peculiar how little is known about this condition.\u00a0 However, with the help of recent experimental studies, we are beginning to advance our understanding of the physiological and biological factors that contribute to triggering a migraine. Unfortunately, due to the lack of knowledge about this disease, there are many myths associated with it. I shall address some of these myths in the hope of broadening the general understanding of both the disease and its sufferers.<\/p>\n
Myth 1<\/strong>: Migraines are simply bad headaches exaggerated by the sufferer.<\/p>\n Truth<\/strong>: Unfortunately, this is a common creed adopted by a vast majority of both the general public and many physicians. For the past century, there has been negative stigma placed on migraine sufferers.\u00a0 Society has long placed the blame of migraines on migraineurs, believing that their migraines are nothing more than headaches that are exaggerated by their sufferers and caused by stress. \u00a0This is false. \u00a0According to M.A.G.N.U.M., the National Migraine Association, \u201cmigraine is a disease, a headache is only a symptom.\u201d \u00a0A migraine sufferer can experience \u201cnausea, vomiting, auras (light spots), sensitivity to light[, scent,] and sound, numbness, difficulty in speech, and severe semihemispherical head pain.\u201d\u00a0 In addition, it is important to note that the cause of migraine pain has been found to be the opposite of the cause of most non-migranous headaches.\u00a0 Migraine pain is generally caused by the dilation of blood vessels in the brain, while other typical headaches appear to result from vasoconstriction. \u00a0Further, migraines have been found to be genetically linked, where an individual has a 50% chance of suffering from migraines if one of his or her parents is a migraineur.<\/p>\n Myth 2<\/strong>: Migraines are caused solely by psychological factors.<\/p>\n Truth<\/strong>: While stress, depression, and anxiety can all worsen the symptoms of a migraine, they are rarely the sole cause.\u00a0 According to M.A.G.N.U.M., \u201cmigraine is a neurological disease, not a psychological disorder.\u201d\u00a0 A migraine is a result of vasodilation in the cranial blood vessels, resulting in an overstimulation of the nerve synapses. Furthermore, migraines can be triggered by both controllable and uncontrollable factors.\u00a0 Controllable stimulants can include bright lights, loud noises, strong scents, and various foods (notably those that are aged or nitrate-latent).\u00a0 Uncontrollable triggers can include hormone changes and weather variations, including fluctuations in barometric pressure, temperature, and humidity.\u00a0 One can often lessen the risk of incidence of a migraine attack by reducing the controllable triggers. However, this is not always enough to fully prevent a migraine spell.<\/p>\n Myth 3<\/strong>: Any doctor should be able to effectively recognize and properly treat migraines.<\/p>\n Truth<\/strong>: Although members of the medical community are generally highly knowledgeable in their fields, migraines still remain one of the most misdiagnosed and mistreated diseases today. This is primarily due to the inherent lack of knowledge about and overall awareness of migraines and their symptoms.\u00a0 M.A.G.N.U.M. goes on to say that, \u201cIn fact, 60% of women and 70% of men with migraines have never been diagnosed with this disease.\u201d \u00a0These migraine sufferers are often misdiagnosed with clinical depression and\/or other psychological disorders, leading doctors to mistreat them with various prescription drugs.\u00a0 Hopefully, as our understanding of this disease grows, we can educate both the medical community and the general public about migraines, in an attempt to vastly increase correct diagnoses and treatments.<\/p>\n According to Dr. Silberstein, M.D., F.A.C.P., Co-Director, The Comprehensive Headache Center at Germantown Hospital and Medical Center, in a letter to M.A.G.N.U.M., \u201cMigraine sufferers must not only cope with their pain, but also with society\u2019s misunderstanding of the disorder.\u201d\u00a0 Therefore, both knowledge and education are paramount in the fight of ridding the stigmas surrounding this disease.<\/p>\n – Alexa Aaronson<\/p>\n Sources:<\/p>\n Migraines: Myth Vs. Reality<\/p>\n <http:\/\/www.migraines.org\/myth\/mythreal.htm><\/p>\n Migraines and Headaches: Overview & Facts<\/p>\n <http:\/\/www.webmd.com\/migraines-headaches\/guide\/migraines-headaches-overview><\/p>\n Neurobiology of Migraine<\/p>\n <http:\/\/physiology.elte.hu\/gyakorlat\/cikkek\/Neurobiology%20of%20migraine.pdf><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A migraine headache is a severe unilateral and pulsating discomfort that is associated with extreme sensitivity to light, sound, smell, taste, and touch that generally lasts between 4 and 72 hours.\u00a0 According to Daniela Pietrobon and Jord Striessnig in \u201cNeurobiology of Migraine,\u201d migraines affect 6-8% of men and 15-25% of women in western countries.\u00a0 At […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9491,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7385"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9491"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7385"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7385\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7395,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7385\/revisions\/7395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}