Table of contents:
- The risk of disease may increase if you have frequent migraines
- 1. Depression
- 2. Anxiety disorders
- 3. Heart disease
- 4. Asthma
- 5. Stroke
- 7. Epilepsy
- 8. Bell's palsy
Migraine headaches can be easily treated with adequate rest and taking migraine medication. However, make no mistake. You still shouldn't underestimate this disease, especially if you have frequent migraines. Frequent migraines are associated with an increased risk of the following eight serious illnesses.
The risk of disease may increase if you have frequent migraines
There is no national data that has succeeded in summarizing how many migraine sufferers in Indonesia. However, it is estimated that one in five women and 1 in 15 men experience frequent severe migraines accompanied by symptoms of nausea and sensitivity to bright light and loud sounds.
The characteristics of migraine symptoms above are similar to those of a number of other medical conditions that may be more serious. So if you have frequent migraines lately, you should immediately check with your doctor to find out the real cause and a more appropriate treatment. Seeing a doctor also helps prevent your condition from getting worse.
Here are some diseases whose risk may increase if you have frequent migraines.
1. Depression
Migraines and mental illness can be linked. Migraines are common in people who have depression and bipolar disorder.
A study reports that if you frequent episodic migraines, the risk of developing mental illness can increase up to 2 times that of people who don't migraine. Especially if you have a chronic migraine, which can occur more than 15 times per month. The risk of developing mental illness is four times higher.
What is the relation? Frequent migraine symptoms and severe stress that triggers depression both change the brain's serotonin levels.
So to avoid this risk, you need to completely overhaul your lifestyle. Manage stress well through fun routines and hobbies. Also make sure you eat healthy foods, exercise diligently, and get 7-8 hours of sleep every night. Poor diet, sedentary tendencies and lack of sleep have long been linked to an increased risk of migraines as well as depression.
2. Anxiety disorders
Quoting Prevention, the American Migraine Foundation states that about 50% of people who experience chronic migraines are also known to have anxiety disorders. Vice versa. People who have anxiety disorders report frequent migraines.
What connects the two conditions, again, is the stress from both the migraine trigger and the anxiety attack trigger. Know that there are many ways to relieve stress and anxiety. One of them is meditation and deep breathing techniques. Yoga is also a great alternative to physical activities for managing stress and anxiety.
3. Heart disease
Migraines can occur at any time when you meet the trigger. Whether it's very hot weather, skipping meals, or lack of sleep.
However, frequent migraines can also be a sign that something is wrong with your body. According to research published in the European Journal of Neurology, migraines can increase your risk of developing heart disease, especially due to uncontrolled hypertension.
If you are already at risk for heart disease or already have heart disease and experience frequent migraines, avoid migraine medications that contain triptans. This drug can cause narrowing of the blood vessels in the brain and heart. In addition, stop smoking and avoid secondhand smoke around you.
4. Asthma
Asthma and migraine are different diseases. Asthma is a respiratory disorder, while migraine is a disorder of the nervous system. However, you need to know that they both have something in common, namely, they cause inflammation.
In migraine, inflammation occurs in the blood vessels outside the brain causing throbbing pain in the head. People with asthma experience inflammation and narrowing of their airways, making it difficult for them to breathe freely.
In people with asthma, the brain that doesn't get enough fresh oxygenated blood can cause the typical migraine headache symptoms. In fact, there are asthma medications that have the potential to prevent migraines at the same time.
5. Stroke
If you experience frequent headaches with sensitivity to bright light and a tingling feeling on your face or hands, you should be alert. Migraines can be at risk of causing an ischemic stroke. An ischemic stroke occurs when a blood vessel that supplies blood to an area of the brain is blocked by a blood clot.
People who often have migraines have their blood platelets become active, which triggers blood clots. As a result, the risk of getting a stroke is higher. Especially if migraines often occur in people who are older and have a smoking habit.
However, the risk of stroke due to migraines was lower in women. Migraine accompanied by aura is a “regular” disease for women, and younger women have a lower risk of stroke than men.
7. Epilepsy
Epilepsy and migraine both occur due to disorders of the nervous system of the brain. Both conditions are often triggered by the same thing, for example, lack of sleep.
That's why if you have migraines, the risk of developing epilepsy can increase. Vice versa, having epilepsy makes you often experience migraines. However, the risk of epilepsy due to frequent migraines is still smaller when compared to heredity.
8. Bell's palsy
A 2014 study published in the Neurology Journal revealed that people who frequent migraines are twice as likely to be at risk of Bell's palsy. Bell's palsy is a paralysis of the facial muscles.
Researchers agree that the link between migraines and Bell's palsy is a change in blood vessels, inflammation, or infection from a virus.
What you need to note is that in addition to migraines, Bell's palsy also shows symptoms such as weakness on one side of the face, difficulty making expressions, or pain in the jaw and back of the ear.
