If you've ever had a migraine, you'll understand the appeal of anything that promises to make it stop. Even when that advice involves attaching hair clips to your eyebrows.
Author
- Katie Edwards
Commissioning Editor, Health + Medicine and Host of Strange Health podcast, The Conversation
Social media has plenty of suggestions. Some people swear by a large Coke and McDonald's fries, which has gained the nickname of a "McMigraine". Others recommend putting your feet in hot water while cooling the back of your head with spoons. Suddenly, managing a migraine seems to require the logistical planning of a spa day, with a takeaway delivery slot.
But how much science is there behind these remedies? And why can migraine make you feel so dreadful long before your head starts hurting?
In this episode of the Strange Health podcast, I explore the world of migraine and the online hacks promising relief with my co-host Dan Baumgardt, a practising GP and lecturer at the University of Bristol.
Our guest is Amanda Ellison, professor of neuroscience at Durham University and author of Splitting: The Inside Story on Headaches. Amanda experiences migraines herself, so she understands both the biology and the willingness to try something that might help.
When the headache is only part of the story
Migraine can involve nausea and a heightened sensitivity to light or sound. Its effects can also begin hours or even days before the headache, with early symptoms including tiredness and food cravings. Not everyone experiences every stage, and some people have an aura, such as flashing lights or zigzag patterns, without a headache at all.
For Ellison, repeated yawning can be a warning that an attack is approaching. She explains what she notices as her symptoms develop, and describes the peculiar experience of having part of her vision disappear during a trip to the beach.
Then there's the aftermath. The pain may have subsided, but exhaustion and difficulty concentrating can linger during the recovery phase, sometimes called the "migraine hangover". There hasn't even been a night out to account for it.
Chips, Coke and the case against chocolate
Ellison also helps us examine the reasoning behind some popular headache hacks. The important distinction is between a possible explanation for why something might offer comfort and evidence that it reliably treats migraine. Caffeine, for example, can help some people, but excessive consumption or withdrawal can also contribute to attacks. A takeaway order is hardly a carefully controlled treatment.
And in a discussion on migraine triggers, Ellison says chocolate gets a bad rap. If you eat it shortly before a migraine, it's understandable to suspect a connection. But craving chocolate can itself be an early symptom of an attack that has already begun. The timing can make the snack look guilty.
Along the way, Ellison explains why identifying the kind of headache you have is a useful starting point: something that helps with brain freeze won't necessarily help with migraine.
Listen to the episode for a lively exploration of what happens during an attack, and why understanding your own symptoms can help you make sense of the advice.
Have you spotted a bizarre health trend you'd like us to investigate? Email [email protected] . The stranger the question, the better.
Strange Health is hosted by Katie Edwards and Dan Baumgardt. The executive producer is Gemma Ware, with video and sound editing for this episode by Anouk Millet. Artwork by Alice Mason.
If you've got a question about a viral trend or video you've seen and you'd like us to delve into the science behind it in a future episode, please email us at [email protected].
Listen to Strange Health via any of the apps listed above, download it directly via our RSS feed or find out how else to listen here . A transcript is available via the Apple Podcasts or Spotify apps.
Katie Edwards is Commissioning Editor, Health + Medicine at The Conversation in the UK and co-host of the Strange Health podcast.
Dan Baumgardt and Amanda Ellison do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
