Migraine is a widespread disease. Millions of people suffer from it. Some are only occasionally affected by migraine attacks, others regularly or even chronically. Where does headache come from, what triggers it and how can you prevent it?
The brain presses against the skull as if trying to get out of the ears. It throbs and hammers and pulls in the head, wavy or non-stop. No clear thought can be grasped and with a bit of bad luck, the nausea also joins in. Headaches are one of the most common pains in both women and men. According to figures from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), 57.5 percent of women and 44.4 percent of men in Germany suffer from them at least once a year.
Experts understand “real” headaches to be pains that have no other causes such as a skull injury or a misaligned jaw, but rather occur due to overstimulated nerves. More than 200 different headache variants are known, the most common types being cluster headaches, headaches caused by medication, tension headaches and migraines. Data on how common each headache disorder occurs varies. In women, migraines can account for up to almost 24 percent, in men around eleven percent.
Migraines – when the brain is overworked
In migraine sufferers, the brain cannot always process everyday body signals well, so that everyday stimuli can quickly become painful stimuli. This happens when harmless stimuli get into the impulse pathways of the pain system that should actually be intercepted by the body’s own control system. A strain on the brain. Even the pounding of the blood in the veins then triggers pain, as well as inflamed blood vessel walls, which also hurt.
According to the RKI, a migraine is characterized by a one-sided, pulsating or throbbing pain that is perceived as moderate to severe by those affected and is usually aggravated by physical activity. The headaches can be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, but also by hypersensitivity to light and noise. “If there are additional restrictions in the field of vision (flickering or flashes) or speech and speech disorders, this is referred to as a migraine with aura,” says the RKI. Numbness in one or more limbs during a migraine attack is also possible. During a headache attack, those affected can often only cope with their everyday life to a very limited extent, and their performance is also reduced. The overall quality of life decreases.
What triggers a migraine?
But what triggers a migraine? So-called trigger factors must be strictly separated from the actual “causes” of a migraine, explains the Pain Clinic Kiel: “While the cause is a specific excessive reactivity of the organism, trigger factors can be very diverse conditions that cause the migraine cascade to run its course, they are also individually.” So the majority of migraine attacks come out of the blue, in this case no specific trigger factor can be identified. But there are such factors. Some of the most potent include sudden stress, changes in circadian rhythm, overactive emotions, hormonal changes, overwork and exhaustion, and skipping meals.
Stiftung Warentest
Not all headaches are the same – which remedies really help with migraines and the like
“Nutrition can not only be a trigger for migraines, but also cause stress – another trigger for migraines,” says doctor Astrid Gendolla. “This vicious circle arises because migraine sufferers are often advised to generally avoid certain foods or even nutrients such as carbohydrates.” Today, however, we know that the reaction of our metabolism to a food is usually more decisive than the food itself. Gendolla is a practicing doctor specializing in neurology, psychosomatics, neurology, psychotherapy and special pain therapy in Essen and regional representative of the German Migraine and Headache Society (DMKG).
Diet as a migraine prophylaxis
According to Gendolla, a trigger factor could be an undersupply of energy to the brain. The brain wants to be constantly supplied with energy, but unlike muscles and the liver, it cannot store it. Therefore, the brain resorts to blood sugar as fuel. “However, if the blood sugar level fluctuates particularly after a meal, this is considered to be the reason why the brain switches into a kind of energy-saving mode that can trigger migraines,” she says. The problem: the same food can cause different blood sugar reactions in different people. An individual approach to nutrition is therefore important for good migraine prophylaxis.
There is no such thing as a migraine diet, writes Jan Brand from the Königstein im Taunus migraine and headache clinic in Migräne-Magazin. It is important to find out the very personal diet-related influences with the help of the headache diary in order to deliberately delete them from the menu. Brand names cheese and red wine, among other things, as foods that are known to be migraine provocateurs. Other migraineurs reacted to proteins in yoghurt or bananas. Still others, according to Brand, cannot tolerate preserved meat and sausage products because of the nitrate in them, and glutamate and caffeine withdrawal can also be triggers. “Even ice cream can trigger a migraine – because of the cold shock that puts the trigeminal nerve in turmoil,” says Brand.
Sources:,
Source: Stern
I’m Caroline, a journalist and author for 24 Hours Worlds. I specialize in health-related news and stories, bringing real-world impact to readers across the globe. With my experience in journalism and writing in both print and online formats, I strive to provide reliable information that resonates with audiences from all walks of life.
