How common are headaches & migraines?
Headaches are very common in the US and effect 98% of the population at some point in their life. Migraines are a great deal more than just a headache and is the most common neurological condition in the world. Migraines affect over 15% of the US population and is more prevalent than diabetes, epilepsy and asthma combined. Migraine affects people of all ages, social classes, races and cultures. However, it is most prevalent during the productive years (20-50) and two thirds of sufferers are women.
Motion sickness is also a common migraine accompaniment, and some refer to this as vertigo. Studies today report about 50% of patients with migraine have motion sickness, compare that to only around 10-20% for testing control groups, would indicate it's significant. Migraine attacks can be completely disabling for some people, forcing the sufferer to abandon everyday activities and their normal life. Even in symptom-free periods, sufferers may live in fear of the next attack, which in many people, the stress can produce additional attacks and a continuous ongoing attack cycle. This is a common pattern for some people who have to cope with migraine and associated dizziness attacks their whole life.
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Studies confirm that there is a gender specific difference associated with migraine, which many experts attribute to hormonal differences among men and women. At all ages, about 5% of men have migraine (Stewart, 1994; Lipton et al, 2002). Women of childbearing age have a much higher prevalence, jumping up to roughly 10% at the onset of menstruation, and increasing to nearly 30% at the peak age of 35 years. At menopause, rates of migraine abruptly decline in women back to roughly 10%. Migraine headaches are often misdiagnosed by patients themselves as sinus headaches. A recent study suggested that 88% of 2991 patients who had diagnosed themselves as having sinus headache, actually had migraine (Schreiber et al, 2004).
Migraine Associated Vertigo (MAV)
Migraine without aura account for about 80% of migraine cases, while migraine with aura account for about 20% of migraine cases. These are the most prevalent types of migraine and related migraine associated dizziness & vertigo (MAV). Common symptoms for MAV include vertigo with or without nausea and vomiting, and an intollerance to motion. Headache is normally common, but not required for MAV. Many people will also develop auditory problems in both ears which can effect their hearing and balace. A common syptom is hyperacusis, which is an abnormally acute hearing due to heightened irritability of the sensory neural
mechanism. This characterisitic can differentiate it from most vestibular or inner ear disorders. When diagnosing someone with MAV, hyperacusis is a common symptom to be utilized when making a diagnosis. Along with acute hearing, a sensitivity to light (photophobia) is very common among MAV and in migraine patients in general.
Treatment for Migraine Associated Vertigo
Unfortunately there is no cure for migraine, or dizziness that sometimes occurs, but it is possible to bring your condition under control. There is a wide range of treatments available which can be very effective if utilized properly. However, migraine is a complex condition, and a treatment that is successful for one person may have no effect or produce unacceptable side effects for another. The most common treatment is developing a personal management system that will eliminate the triggers in your life. Patients are normally advised to abstain from like alcohol, chocolate, cheese, foods containing msg. If patients cannot get relieve using this method, they are commonly prescribed verpamil, a long lasting beta blocker. It is important to persevere until you develop a management plan that works for you.
References:
- Schreiber CP and others. Prevalence of migraine in patients with a history of self-reported or physician diagnosed "Sinus" headache. Arch Int Med. 2004: 164: 1769-1772
- Stewart WF, Shechter A, Rasmussen BK. Migraine prevalence. A review of population based studies. Neurology 44 (suppl 4) S17-S23, 1994
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