Anyone that suffers from migraine headaches will tell you that they are no fun. Migraines, which are a very painful type of headache that can have a drastic impact on an individual’s quality of life, are commonly characterized by intense throbbing, light sensitivity, noise sensitivity, vision changes and nausea, and are said to affect an excess of 37 million people in the United States alone. According to migraine.com, 91% of migraine sufferers report not being able to work or function normally while experiencing a migraine attack. Migraines impose a significant toll on quality of life and inflict a heavy physical and emotional burden on affected individuals and their families, as well as burdening the healthcare industry.
- The average migraine sufferer takes 2.5 times more prescription drugs
- Has 6 times more diagnostic tests than non-migraine sufferers
- Spends an estimated $145 per month in healthcare costs (as opposed to the average $89 or less spent each month by non-migraine sufferers)
Scientists and researchers have been working diligently to improve the quality of migraine care by gaining a better understanding of how migraines work, finding more effective and cost-efficient treatment methods, and learning about what kinds of preventative measures can be taken to reduce the frequency of migraine occurrences.
There are a variety of different prescription and over-the-counter medications that can be used to help in the treatment and prevention of migraines, as well as lifestyle and dietary changes that can be implemented. Incorporating certain vitamins and supplements, such as a
B Complex vitamin, into your daily vitamin regimen can also help. Additionally, the FDA has also just approved a new device, called the Cefaly, which is a drug-free and non-invasive treatment method to look forward to.
Sources:
http://migraine.com/migraine-statistics/
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_145062.html
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs277/en/
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