Migraine

What is migraine?

Migraine is a seizure headache that recurs at irregular intervals. The headache is pulsating, throbbing or stinging and often occurs on one side of one side of the head. Migraine attacks last from a few hours to three days. The pain is usually accompanied by vegetative symptoms such as loss of appetite, nausea, aversion to noise and light, and hypersensitivity to noise and odors. Around 10 percent of the world's population suffer from migraines, i.e. around 758 million people. 1.7 to 4% of them have a migraine attack more than 15 days a month. In Germany, around 10 to 30% of the population are affected by recurring headaches. This includes around 15% who suffer from the specific form of migraine with aura. Women are approximately three times more likely to be affected by migraines than men.

Overall, headache is one of the most common complaints, which is why patients visit us as general practitioners. Just over half suffer from tension-type headaches, 38% from migraines and the rest from headaches that are actually caused by an illness. It is necessary to differentiate a headache that is triggered by chronic use of medications. This can be very similar to a migraine.

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What are the causes of migraine?

Certain internal and external factors, so-called triggers, can promote migraine when predisposed to them. For example, changing sleep/wake patterns, hormone changes during the cycle, stress in the form of physical or emotional stress, but also with certain foods such as chocolate or red wine.

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What should I do if I have migraines?

Make an appointment at one of our avi practices. With the help of a structured conversation, a pain diary and a clinical examination, we will try to narrow down the type of headache and initiate the right treatment in the event of a typical migraine. Everyone has individual trigger factors that can trigger a migraine attack. These must also be clarified through a detailed medical history survey.