Migraine stigma a real headache

By KATHERINE HOBY

"All one side of my body seemed to float away, my eyes were all glassy and I just couldn't concentrate ... I couldn't get my words out and started to cry ... on arriving home a terrible head pain took over."

Annette Hallam remembers her first migraine headache in painful detail.

The Auckland woman, who is national director of the Migraine Sufferers Support Group, has just been elected to the council of the World Headache Alliance and will be working with other members to have migraine recognised as a disability.

"Migraine is a very serious neurological condition," she says.

"The stigma, pain, and guilt can take the quality of our lives away. Education is our number one aim."

She says it is vital that governments, medical professionals and families recognise how debilitating migraines can be.

She will work with Dr Matilde Leonardi, of the World Health Organisation, to produce a scientific headache/migraine study.

Another key education objective is to address society's preconceptions about migraine, particularly that it is something that only middle-aged women suffer from.

"Men do get them, young women suffer from them and children do, too."

Men get migraines much less commonly than women, but when they get them they seem to be very bad, she says.

Childhood migraine is a much unrecognised or misdiagnosed condition, she says.

Many children may suffer from something called abdominal migraine.

Certain things seem to trigger migraine in children - rich food, over-excitement, fizzy drinks, altered sleeping patterns while travelling or on holiday, ice cream, swimming with goggles or bathing caps on, and bright sun.

Her general advice for adults and children who tend to get migraines: try to spread your workload evenly, avoid getting over-tired, eat at regular times, don't skip meals, and avoid trigger foods - for example, Marmite, Vegemite, and yoghurt.

She says children should not drink tea or coffee as it affects their ability to absorb iron. Adults should also limit tea, coffee and painkillers - when they wear off a migraine sufferer might get a "rebound headache".

* Annette Hallam flies out to Italy on Thursday to attend her first meeting of the World Headache Alliance.

FACTS ABOUT MIGRAINES

What is a migraine?

A migraine is a severe headache, lasting anything from two hours to two or three days, accompanied by disturbances of vision, and/or nausea.

The word migraine is derived from the Greek hemi crania or half skull, a description of the major symptom - the one-sided headache.

"True" migraine sufferers do not generally want light, sound or movement close to them.

Up to half the people who get migraines have a warning that an attack is coming. They may feel irritable, crave certain foods, yawn a lot or have trouble talking.

Migraine with aura is when someone experiences flashing lights, jagged outlines or blind spots, as well as numbness and tingling in the arm or the side of the face.

Migraine without aura accounts for about 80 per cent of attacks.

It does not have the same warning signs, but may include nausea.

What causes a migraine?

The underlying cause of migraine is unclear. More than half of sufferers have a family history of the complaint, so inherited factors are important.

A migraine can be caused by stress, a change of routine, certain foods or be sensory-related. Menstruation and the contraceptive pill may trigger it in female sufferers.

Certain beers, wines and spirits may trigger a migraine. Foods such as cheese, ice cream and chocolate have the same potential, as well as some less obvious items, such as nuts, raisins or pate.

Holidays need to be carefully planned. The build-up to Christmas brings many risk factors, from the rush and bustle of shopping to the humidity and glare of increasingly fine days.

What can be done?

For some sufferers there is no alternative but to lie absolutely still in a darkened, quiet room until the pain subsides.

Others take drug treatments to try to ease the pain or shorten the duration. There is no "magic cure" that suits everyone, but research into the causes of and remedies for migraines continue.

How can a sufferer avoid a migraine?

There are too many triggers to completely avoid migraines.

Dr Leo Revell, a trustee of the Migraine Sufferers Support Group, suggests avoiding bending the neck forward and trying to keep it upright with the muscles relaxed.

Don't frown or clench your teeth, he says. Exercise regularly, but do less physical exertion on hot days. Avoid flickering lights and loud noise.

* For more information contact the Migraine Sufferers Support Group on 09-482-1331.