Treating headaches seem simple enough; take a few Tylenols and then go lie down until the pain stops. Migraines, on the other hand, are not so easily tamed. Headaches come and go so quickly that within a few hours of treatment; they are nothing more than just a bad memory, whereas migraines are more of a long lasting nightmare that worsens over time and is unable to woken up from. The differences lie in the development of a migraine. Migraine headaches do not fall into the typical tension headache department but fall into the vascular headache category.
Migraine headaches are often a reoccurring neurological condition that requires more attention than just a few hours of rest and a few over the counter pills. Chronic migraine sufferers know how difficult treating a migraine can be, therefore they don’t waste their time trying to treat them with over the counter medications such as Advil, Tylenol and Motrin; it just won’t happen. The reason that over the counter medicines will not work at sufficing migraines is due to the way a migraine develops and the physiological changes that occur when an individual experiences one.
Chemical Changes
As a migraine develops, the blood vessels in the brain begin to enlarge; as the blood vessels in the brain expand, they release a harmful chemical into the brain to attack the brain’s arteries. This chemical change in the brain creates a series of side effects that can force an individual into seclusion up to seventy two hours. Symptoms begin to debilitate the individual leaving him or her completely immobile until the pain recedes.
Migraine treatment has come a long way in the last decade. The discovery of triptans has helped lessen the severity of a migraine attack as well as shorten the duration of a migraine. Triptans are a preventative treatment that has the ability to constrict or narrow the arteries to the brain preventing them from expanding and causing migraines. This method has proven to be a successful one for those whose doctors will prescribe it. The downside to using a treatment such as triptans is the side effects associated with them.
Careful Consideration
Triptans though effective can be harmful; caution is needed as well as research in order to determine if you are a safe candidate for this particular migraine treatment.
Tags: Chronic migraine, enlarged blood vessels, headache, migraine, migraine attack, migraine headaches, migraine relief, migraine treatment, treating migraines, Triptans
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