2023-06-28 17:30:00
Headaches, visual and sensory disturbances, nausea? Between 7 and 10 million people in France regularly experience these symptoms, which have a well-known name: migraine. A lot of discomfort, an impact on the quality of life, but in the vast majority of cases, no seriousness. So, should you consult?
First, you have to identify migraine among other causes of headaches called headaches. This pain can indeed be linked to vascular problems or infections. But once these subjects have been ruled out, a headache must be qualified as a migraine if it meets scientifically established criteria.
Criteria that define migraine
These criteria relate to the duration, intensity and nature of symptoms during attacks. A migraine lasts between 4 and 72 hours, can be moderate or severe, unilateral or bilateral, be accompanied by an annoyance to noise and light, cause nausea or even vomiting, and the attacks are recurrent. “These criteria for defining migraine are international criteria, so on this point we all speak the same language!“, specifies Dr Caroline Roos, neurologist at the Lariboisière hospital in Paris.
It should be added that some patients suffer from a form of migraine called “with aura” which is characterized by neurological manifestations such as visual disturbances, tingling and even language disorders.
The still unexplained generator of migraine
If the migraine is thus clearly identified, the generating element of the crises remains partly unexplained. “The subject is not decided but it is believed that the hypothalamus, a region located in the heart of the brain, is very involved in triggering a migraine attack.“, explains Dr. Caroline Roos.
On the other hand, the factors which cause a migraine attack are known: there are emotional variations, whether positive or negative, hormonal factors which explain in particular a higher prevalence of migraine in women – migraine affects approximately two-thirds of women versus one-third of men – and those related to food. If among these the excessive consumption of alcohol is the most obvious, you should know that fasting, by the dehydration it causes, is also a factor in the occurrence of a migraine attack. And then there is also heredity since 44 genes have been identified as predisposing factors for migraine.
Migraine may be associated with comorbidities
If these attacks ultimately have little secret and, even if they are disabling, they cannot be considered dangerous, consulting a doctor is still useful. First to be sure that the patient does not suffer from other headaches such as cluster headaches which cause much more intense pain on one side of the head, or tension headaches which are bilateral, less intense and often related to fatigue. “There are also so-called secondary headaches which can be of vascular origin, stroke or hemorrhage, or infectious such as meningitis“, specifies Dr. Caroline Roos.
Then because migraine is sometimes associated with comorbidities. “Among them are depression and anxiety, which you also need to know how to take care of at the same time. This is why patients who recognize themselves as migraine sufferers should talk to their doctor about it. It is absolutely necessary that they are diagnosed and taken care of correctly to avoid the chronicity of the pain, the appearance of comorbidities and also self-medication.“, insists Dr. Roos.
1687974545
#consult