Migraine: A high cost in personal and social terms and in relation to employment
With 12% of the population suffering from migraines, the personal and social cost of this type of debilitating headache is considerable, in terms of wellbeing and quality of life,
as well as the impact it has on school and work attendance levels.
Half of people suffering from migraines are incapable of maintaining their everyday activities. Some 30% of sufferers are obliged to stay in bed, with 19% missing work. Social activities are also affected by migraine,
since 31% of those affected admit that are unable to maintain contact with family members, while 30% cease their social activities.
It is estimated that migraine results in the loss of almost 20 million work days each year, entailing a cost of 2,000 million Euros in Spain alone.
Also, the loss of yield is estimated at 60 percent on days when migraine sufferers work through an attack.
Migraine can be prevented through pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments. The medical practitioner should detect the triggers - overwork, anxiety, food intolerance,
sudden lifestyle changes, sleep disturbances - in order to prevent the onset of pain.
Occupational health measures can help to adapt work stations according to the risks that could trigger an attack in individual sufferers.
Approximately 4 million people suffer from migraine in Spain, and three quarters of these are women. The World Health Organisation ranks it as number 20 on the list of the most debilitating pathologies,
equalling an acute migraine attack to the debilitation suffered by a patient with tetraplegia, ranking it higher than the problems faced by a blind person.
According to Dr. David Ezpeleta, during the 1st International Conference on Headache, held in Madrid in 2008, "the most recent patient surveys carried out reveal that 80 percent feel abandoned by the healthcare authorities.
Similar numbers of patients also feel that there is a lack of relevant information. This leads to more than 50 percent of sufferers resorting to self-medication, the failure to diagnose three quarters of patients and the lack of importance
given in society to these headaches, leading to resignation on the part of sufferers." Since this is a pathology with a significant hereditary component, many patients believe that it is not necessary to consult their doctor.
Ultimately, the lack of control and self-medication encourage the chronicity of migraine.
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MIGRACALM® alleviates migraine pain by putting pressure on the superficial temporal arteries.
