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Over One Billion Suffer From This Condition
Part One of a Two Part Series

Worldwide, in a lifetime only 1% of the human population will never experience this debilitating condition. 90% will get at least one of these per year and over 16-17% of the world will have the most severe form of this malady. That is over one billion people worldwide! We are talking about headaches. According to the World Health Organization, 303 million people suffer from migraines and an estimated 20 million attacks happen every day.

So what is a headache? Scientists and researchers used to believe that it was an abnormal, unexplained over-dilation of the blood vessels. This increased blood flow causes a throbbing sensation as well as a whole host of other symptoms. These symptoms may include some of the following:

   1. Moderate to severe head pain that is localized behind one or both eyes
   2. Head pain that changes from side to side
   3. Sensitivity to light
   4. Blurred vision
   5. Nausea/vomiting
   6. Loss of appetite
   7. Fatigue
   8. Dizziness
   9. Sensitivity to noise and many more...

It is extremely important, knowing how disruptive they are to a person's activities of daily living, to recognize the "triggers" that can bring a headache to fruition. They range from caffeine withdrawal, alcohol (subtle hint to all of you rugby players), sunlight, menstruation, sinusitis and changes in barometric pressure. Lifestyle factors such as stress, abnormal sleep patterns, skipping meals (low blood glucose), and obesity can increase the likelihood of a migraine headache, as well.

The most recent evidence suggests that it is actually a nervous system malfunction causing a vascular problem. A problem arises in the Pons portion of the brain stem giving confusing signals to the Trigeminal nerve. This results in an increase in electrical activity waves which triggers the dilation of the blood vessels. Yes, I am a total geek but don’t lose me... I actually have a point if you just stick with me!

The nervous system controls everything, correct? This includes the opening and closing of the blood vessels based on body position, temperature changes, the size of the heart, etc... Most migraine headache medications constrict or decrease the size of the blood vessels stopping the "pounding" feeling temporarily but never completely. Therefore, the problem is never fixed.

So what can possibly influence the nervous system to stop going "haywire" and calm down permanently? We will discuss the solutions next month!