BEYOND HEADACHES: UNDERSTANDING, NAVIGATING MIGRAINES

KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 (Bernama) -- People's misconception of migraines as mental illness should be unravelled and explained in order to provide practical insights for effective management of the condition.

Sunway Medical Centre, Sunway City consultant neurologist Dr Hiew Fu Liong said migraines are not just headaches as they are frequently accompanied by other symptoms like dizziness, nausea, vomiting, tiredness, photophobia as well as phonophobia, and in some cases people may encounter some emotional aspects.

"As one of the common neurological problems, migraines are also known as recurrent episodes of severe headaches. There are different phases to an episode and these are prodrome, aura, attack and post-drome migraines,” he said in a statement..

“The prodrome stage is marked by subtle warning signs like malaise, fatigue and food cravings. The aura stage involves sensory disturbances such as visual flashes or heightened sound sensitivity. 

He said the migraine attack is a unilateral head pain and aversion to light and sound that can last from four to 72 hours whereas the post-drome stage follows the attack, with lingering lethargy lasting a few days.

Dr Hiew said there are different types of migraines namely a migraine without aura, migraine with aura, as well as basilar, ocular, catamenial and hemiplegic migraines.

He said it is important for patients to understand the triggers and risk factors of the condition to mitigate the occurrence or reduce their frequency.

"These risk factors can vary significantly from person to person and may include sudden changes in weather, dehydration, sensitivity to strong odours, caffeine consumption, exposure to loud noises and many more," he said.

Dr Hiew also stressed that misdiagnosis of the condition can cause misuse of medications which could result in potential complications such as gastritis or kidney damage.

"While there is no cure for migraines, the goal of treatment is to manage the condition effectively. Medications are designed to ease the pain and discomfort of migraine episodes. By consulting a neurologist, patients can develop personalised strategies to either prevent migraines or better manage their symptoms when they arise," he said.

Dr Hiew said that the two treatment options available for the condition can be divided into two categories that is to stop the pain and to prevent migraine attacks.

He also said pain relief treatment involves medications like painkillers while migraine prevention treatment includes anti-epileptic, anti-hypertensive and antidepressant medications.

"There is also advanced treatment such as the Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor blocker that blocks CGRP receptors on the trigeminal nerve responsible for communicating pain and sensitivities to touch and temperature, thus preventing migraine attacks," he added.

Meanwhile, the statement also said that according to a research, one in four women and one in 12 men will experience migraines at some point in their lives.

Sunway Medical Centre, Sunway City as one of the largest quaternary private hospitals in the country has recently been named in the top 250 hospitals globally in Newsweek World's Best Hospitals 2024 rankings and top 75 for Neurology in Newsweek's Best Specialised Hospitals Asia Pacific 2024 for two years in a row.

It also won the Hospital of the Year (Malaysia) award at the Healthcare Asia Awards 2024 for the third consecutive year, setting the benchmark for hospitals around the world in areas of clinical excellence, research and innovation.

-- BERNAMA