Host: Migraine can have a huge effect on day-to-day life. Anyone who suffers will know how attacks can effect their work and play. Every year 25 million days are lost from school or work due to migraine, costing the UK economy a billion pounds.
New research just published by the clinically proven migraine 4head QuickStrip, has revealed that nearly three quarters of sufferers, when they have an attack, experience pain that is continuous and without relief and have symptoms that are uncontrollable and violent.
Nearly two-thirds describe the pain as like being hit over the head with a hammer, over a third, said it was like being repeatedly stabbed with a sharp object from inside their head and a tiny fraction said, it was like being stabbed repeatedly in the head by needles.
Knowing your migraine triggers is key to trying to control an attack. But for many sufferers, it's not that easy to stop a trigger. 4Head QuickStrip's research revealed that for 85% of sufferers, stress and exhaustion is a trigger and the time of the month can play a part for nearly a third of women sufferers.
Trying to avoid triggers like stress is not that easy. Stress follows us everywhere and the daily pressures of life can build up without us necessarily knowing, as for hormones they are lower unto themselves.
Simple painkillers can help with some of the headache, but they may not control the violent pain, the nausea or other symptoms. Sometimes it's not that easy to take a painkiller and many of us don't like taking tablets all the time. Rebecca Stevens is someone who knows this all too well.
Rebecca Stevens: When I suffer with a migraine, I actually feel really nauseous, also my head feels, like I have a pulse in my head, that's just like beating like a hobby in my head, and also I felt like someone has hit me over the heads. Unfortunately, don't actually know what triggers my migraines. I do tend to get them, when I'm bit rundown, dehydrated or stressed.
I've read recently though that the migraines and the high blood pressure might be linked. So, I actually suffer from both migraines and the high blood pressure. So, I'm going to go to see my GP and see if mine could actually be connected.
Sometimes when I have a migraine, I don't always like to take tablets to relive the pain, because I can feel really nauseous, and also I find that they can take quite a long time to kick in.
Host: One solution for people like Rebecca, who want to tackle the pain of the migraine fast, whilst waiting for their medication to kick in, is to use 4head QuickStrip. In latest test trials, the cooling pain relief action of QuickStrip was felt quickly, aiding pain relief in 9 out of 10 trialists.
In fact, in the same study over half, 60% said, it helped to control the throbbing and dole the pain down, and a quarter said it helped relive the violent sharp aspects of the pain.
Rebecca Stevens: The great thing about 4head QuickStrip, is you can apply it by the forehead and back of the neck and it gives a natural cooling sensation, which helps deal with the pain really fast, while you wait for your medication to kick in.
Also, while I was pregnant with my son, I used 4head QuickStrip, because you can use them while you're pregnant, unlike some other migraine medication.
Host: The other clever thing to note about 4head QuickStrip is that it's completely natural, containing the powerful pain killer levomenthol in an advanced hydro-gel patch. As a result, it can block the pain signals caused by migraine headaches.
Whilst dealing with your migraine is vital, there are other things you can do to avoid or minimize the affects of a migraine headache. Eat regularly and avoid sugary snacks. Drink plenty of fluid, at work try and avoid florescent flickering lights. Talk to your boss about more suitable lighting, and take regular breaks from computer work. Lastly, if you get a migraine, deal with it fast. In the long run, this will lessen the length of the attack.
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