Abstract

This research aims to inform the readers the important information about migraine
disease. To successfully achieve the research objective, there will be the significant meaning
of the illness, its symptoms, genuine causes, possible triggers and incentives, and the
practical treatment and effective prevention based on only the reliable sources. After finishing
reading this research, the readers should gain more correct understanding about the migraine
disease which can occur in many forms and by many reasons with no exact cause guaranteed
from the neurologists, scientists, and doctors. Furthermore, the readers should possibly
identify the incentives and triggers for migraine illness which, as a result, the information will
be beneficial to help them avoid involving with those incentives and triggers. In the case of
the migraine sufferers, they will be able to determine which behaviors that contribute them to
the disease, and they will also be able to provide themselve with the essential medical
therapy. Migraine disease contains a huge negative impacts on the patients in the way that it
ruined the way of living life of people. Therefore, getting away from the disease will
encourage the good life improvement as well as the quality of life.

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 Table of Contents
1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………..……..3
2. Symptoms of Migraine…………………………………………………………..…….4
3. Causes of Migraine…………………………………………………………….….…...6
4. Migraine Treatment ………………………………...………………………..…..…..10
5. Migraine Prevention……...…………………………………………………..…..…..11
6. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………..……..12
References
Appendix

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 Introduction
Migraine refers to a type of headaches which is considered as one of the most severe
one among another. This type of headaches contains an obvious difference from other
illnesses which is the fact that the migraine mostly happens on the only one side of the
human’s brain before spreading out to the entire area inside the brain (See in appendix A).
Actually, migraine is involved directly with a nerve system which is quite more complex than
what the normal people understand or believe. It can generate the unfavorable impacts
throughout the whole body of the migraine patients, and can result in several symptomes
which, many times, lack the pain from the head at all. In fact, from several aspects, migraine
is seen differently. One reason can be because the symptoms of this illness can last from a
very few hours to a month. Some believe that this illness is not concerning, but it is really
dangerous without the proper and sufficient treatment and prevention. According to the
research from Migraine Research Foundation, New York, (2018), more than one billion
people across the world had been experiencing this migraine illness, and the illness occurred
without the gender or age discrimination. Both adult and children, and male and female gain
an equal opportunity to be diagnosed with migraine headache. Despite the healthy body,
migraine can occur as well. Apart from this, the research also explains that migraine can be
chronical. In some case, it lasts more than two months which directly impacts the daily life of
more than ninety percent of migraine patients because the migraine will interrupt the ability
to do normal activities of the patients and also make the patient's’ body system cannot
function completely.

Appendix A

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 Symptoms of Migraine
The symptoms of migraine illness are various which many times they overlap the
symptoms of other neurological illnesses causing the confuse to the patients to identify
themselve as a migraine sufferer. Normally, migraine can be divided into several types, and
each type contains its own In some people they may not have this symptom, but some are
suffering from that symptom of the migraine. However, the most common symptom one that
can be easily to everyone to suspect themselve whether they get the migraine or not is the
severe painful headache on one side of the brain.
As Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research or MFMER (2018) states,
there are four main stages of migraine disease. In those who are suffering from the migraine
illness, their symptoms can significantly explain which stage of migraine illness they are in.
Anyway, some people may experience all the stages while some people may skip some stage
depending on their own health condition and also the external environment around them. The
four main stages of migraine symptoms includes prodrome, aura, headache, and post-drome
(See in appendix B).

Appendix B
(Source : Me Without Migraine, 2015)

● Prodrome
Prodrome is the first stage of migraine disease. This stage actually starts before the
migraine starts around one day. The patients will not experience any pain in the brain

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 during this stage, and they also face with the emotional changes quickly. For example,
some patients can face the euphoria while some get moody easily. Apart from this,
some patients may get the pain in some organs such as arms and legs.

● Aura
Aura is the second stage which the patients will face the headache and the eye
problems. In most people, they will be sensitive to the light or sound which can lead
to the poor vision. The worse case is that some patients may lose their vision for a
short period of time.

● Headache
Headache is considered as the main and longest stage which patients will experience
the pain in their brain the most. Mostly, patients will face the pain especially in the
area above their eyes, and they might get other symptoms as well. For example, some
patients will face the intense headache together with vomiting.

● Post-drome
Post-drome is the stage after the pain attack. During this stage, patients tend to get
better from their intense headache in the previous stage. In some people, the headache
can be disappear during this stage. However, some may still feel some headache
symptom and the confusion.

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 Causes of Migraine
As migraine contains several symptoms which will be different in each stage of the
disease, the causes of migraine are various as well. However, although the medical
technology nowadays has been developed extremely and fast, the advances in medical
treatment are still unable to identify the exact factors that cause the migraine disease (NHS,
n.d.). The popular belief for causing the migraine is the nerve system of the patients which
functions abnormally even though that anomaly will occur only in a short period of time
compared to other brain and nerve illnesses.
Although there is no clear and obvious cause for the migraine disease, medical
technology can define the significant factors that can be the important triggers to the
migraine. For the most famous and popular triggers for the migraine disease that most of
patients are affected by these factors include the systems in the patient's’ body such as
hormone system, emotional system, and physical system. Moreover, some food substances
and some meals are believed to be the trigger for migraine as well. In addition, the
environment that surrounds the patients can encourage the migraine disease as well as some
medicine that the patients use for other illness cure.
The first main triggers includes the systems in the patient's’ body. The most
significant systems are hormonal, emotional and physical systems. Firstly, the changes in
hormone system in the patient’s body can affect the migraine headache. From many studies
from the doctors, most of women who face with the intense hormonal changes easily face the
migraine. Especially, when the period time of women, their hormone will change
dramatically which causes the imbalance in their hormone system resulting in the headache
symptom to those women. For those women who get migraine headache during their period
will be called as pure menstrual migraine. On the other hand, not only those women in their
period can face the migraine, but normal women can also face the migraine as well if their
hormone is changed abnormally. For those women who get the migraine headache after their
period will be called as menstrual related migraine.
Emotional factor is another important trigger for the migraine disease. In terms of
emotional factor, most of the patients will face the stress and anxiety which the doctors
believe to be the main reason for the migraine. Moreover, the depression from study, work, or
maybe the problems between relationship can cause the headache migraine to many people as
well. According to website Migraine.com (2010), over 60 percent of migraine patients are

6
involved with the stress and depression before. The website also explains that when humans
are depressed or get stress, their brain will release the chemical which cause the tension to the
brain and finally the headache. If the patients do not solve their depressive and stress
emotion, the severe migraine can occur eventually (See in appendix C).

Appendix C
(Source : Migrain, 2010)

Physical factor is equally important which can develop the headache and migraine in
many people. Those people who get healthier tend to face with less illness than those who are
weaker. However, there are some physical symptoms which the people may not be able to
avoid so they end up facing the migraine disease. According to NHS (n.d.), the most popular
physical triggers include tiredness, insufficient sleep, the tension in neck and shoulder, low
blood sugar, and jet lag.
Apart from these triggers, meal that people eat can result in the migraine as well. A
small number of people will notice the importance of the food they eat until it causes them an
illness which require a lot of treatment and medical care. For migraine illness, there is a
substance called tyramine which is contained in several kinds of food and drink. Normally,
tyramine will be found in fermented food such as cheese, cured meats, and smoked fish
(NHS, 2010). However, other kinds of foods which are rich in protein have a high potential to
contain tyramine as well. When it comes to migraine disease, some chemical structure
founded in tyramine called monoamine will be sent into the nerve system and cause some
headache to the patients (NHS, 2010). Furthermore, there is also a research from WebMD

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(2015) conducted since 2012. The research mainly based on the result of 200 hundred people
who always eat cheese and hot dogs regularly. The result shows that around 80 percent of
them faced with migraine symptoms while only the rest 20 percent faced nothing (See in
appendix C.1). This obviously shows that some types of foods with certain chemical
substances can allow migraine illness to normal people.

Appendix C.1
(Source : WebMD, 2015)

Furthermore, environmental and medical factors can lead to the migraine attack in a
large number of people. According to the information about the factors causing migraine
from NHS (2010), normal activity or environment that the patients may be surrounded
normally and frequently can be such a great factor for migraine illness. Sometimes the
patients are living their lives as usual, but they cannot imagine how influential the
environment they live and medicine they used affect the migraine development. The example
of environment that can trigger the migraine attack are various, including bright lights,
flickering screens from both television and computer monitor, loud noise, the changes in
climate, a stuffy atmosphere, and also the strong smells. One factor that is very important is
smoking. Most people already knew that smoking can cause several negative effects to
human’s health and body. For migraine attack, smoking is the main one that can encourage

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the migraine to get more intensive. According to Science Daily (2009), ​"smoking is a
precipitating factor of this type of headache, as the prevalence of active smokers is one third
higher in migraine sufferers and there is a direct relationship between the number of
cigarettes consumed and the frequency of migraine attacks". In other words, the smokers tend
to have a 29 percent higher chance to get migraine than those who do not smoke (​Science
Daily, 2009). Apart from smoking, medicine can cause the migraine attack as well. As a
variety of pills contain various chemical and substances, especially in sleeping pills and
combined contraceptive pills, these types of pills will increase the risk of the drug users to
experience migraine disease.

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 Migraine Treatment and Prevention
Migraine sometimes does not result in any dangerous symptoms to those migraine
patients, but the illness can take a deep root into brain and nerve systems. Therefore, to
understand the prevention and how to cure this illness is very important which can help those
migraine sufferers get better together with those who have a risk to get migraine prevent
themselve from this dangerous disease. In most case, those patients who get the attack from
migraine disease can be cured by several medical therapies. Acute treatment is one of the
therapies which can urgently cure and stop the progression and development of migraine
disease (Chawla, 2018). To provide the acute treatment for migraine patients, there are five
main stages which the patients must go through to overcome the brain disease (See in
appendix D). At first, the patients will be diagnosed with migraine. After they know that they
are migraine sufferers, the doctor will do the assessment for the level of disability of the
illness. Further, patients will be educated and informed about the way to cure the illness and
also the way to prevent it from going worse. So, the next step, the patients can start to protect
themselve and manage their own behavior to get away from the migraine attack. After that is
the stratified care that will help the patients cope with this nerve illness.

Appendix D
(Source : Chawla, 2018)

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 Migraine Prevention
In those people who are not diagnosed with migraine should understand the risk of
migraine and other factors as well. Since migraine can occur to everyone, we should know
which activity, food, or any factor that can help prevent the migraine disease from us.
Moreover, to prevent the illness is way more easier than to cure the illness.
As Reason and Kinman (2017) describe, there are a variety of way that can help
people prevent migraine illness from their life which the most useful and practical ones are
listed as the nine ways of preventing the migraine disease.
1. Avoid loud noises and bright lights
2. Pay attention to food choices
3. Keep a headache diary
4. Beware of hormonal changes
5. Take supplements
6. Pay attention to the weather
7. Eat and sleep on a regular schedule
8. Avoid stress
9. Choose relaxing exercises

Apart from these nine ways to prevent the migraine disease, Leah Polakoff, a famous
columnist for several food and health magazine, states about the way to prevent the migraine
disease by the power of foods. Less people will know that several types of foods can
incredibly help prevent the migraine effect as much as other healthy behaviors (Polakoff,
2016). Also, she describes that the book named “Eat for Extraordinary health and healing”
suggests the top seven types of foods which are believed to be “migraine-preventers”.
1. Dark leafy greens
2. Nuts and seeds
3. Red meats
4. Butterbur
5. Eggs
6. Whole grains
7. Cold-Water Fish

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 Conclusion
Migraine is another disease that has long been occur with several people at any age.
The disease results in a pain in a half of the brain of the patients which will get better or
worse depending on the behaviors and other influential factors from outside the patients.
With the symptoms of migraine, the patients mostly go through each stage or some people
may skip some stage. Anyway, the illness is still in need to be solved as soon as possible to
get over this pain and suffer. Moreover, there are several factors that sometimes the patients
cannot control as well, so to understand those factors or migraine triggers can help them
prevent themselve from the illness. Throughout this paper, there are the research information
ranging from the symptoms, causes, triggers, treatment, and prevention. Hence, for those who
had experienced the migraine illness can take this information as a reliable paper to
understand the illness more, and also notice the way to cure and prevent the disease. Once the
readers can understand the cause, the triggers that should avoid, and also the treatment and
prevention, every patients and normal people will be able to escape this brain illness which
finally will improve their quality of life as they contain such a healthy body and brain.

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 References
Chawla, J. (2018). Migraine Headache Treatment & Management. ​Medscape. ​Retrieved
from https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1142556-treatment
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2018). Migraine. Retrieved from
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/migraine-headache/symptoms-causes
/syc-20360201
Me Without Migraine. (2015). Migraine Headache. Retrieved from
http://www.mewithoutmigraine.com/migraine/
Migraine Research Foundation. (2018). Raising Money for MIGRAINE RESEARCH.
Retrieved from http://migraineresearchfoundation.org/about-migraine/migraine-facts/
Migraine. (2010). Emotions and Stress. Retrieved from
https://migraine.com/migraine-triggers/emotions-stress/
NHS. (n.d.). Migraine Causes and Triggers. Retrieved from
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/migraine/causes/
Polakoff, L. (2016). 7 Foods That Can Help Prevent Migraines. ​Prevention. ​Retrieved from
https://www.prevention.com/food/7-foods-that-can-help-prevent-migraines
Reason, L., Kinman, T. (2018). ​How to Avoid a Migraine Before It Happens. ​Healthline.
Retrieved from
https://www.healthline.com/health/migraine/how-to-avoid-one-before-it-happens
Science Daily. (2009). Smoking More Than Five Cigarettes A Day May Provoke Migraine
Attacks. Retrieved from
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090624102257.htm
WebMD. (2015). Tyramine and migraine. Retrieved from
https://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/guide/tyramine-and-migraines#1

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 Appendix

● Appendix A

● Appendix B

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● Appendix C

● Appendix C.1

● Appendix D

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