Sitting on a bench outside a neurological clinic, Mah* (name withheld) is rubbing her hands. As she waits patiently there with her mother, finally her name is called and she rushes in to get checked up.
Mah, 22, hails from the Downtown area of Srinagar and suffers from migraine. She has been suffering from the problem since she was around five years old. “Initially this term migraine was not that known back those days. So I just knew I was suffering from severe headache,” she told Ground Report. “It was in class 10 that I came to know that I was suffering from vascular migraine. And for that I was put on a medication course of six months,” she further added.
For Mah,life has not been easy since and she has had to follow certain rules and medical instructions to control her migraine. ” I could not ever eat chips because doctor abstained me from eating those. I still am suffering from migraine and due to which I cannot use my phone much,” she explained.
According to a study that was conducted in the Kashmir division, females are more likely to have migraine or any precipitating factor for a migraine attack. Another study revealed that there were 66.2 percent more women than men overall who had headaches.
What is migraine?
Migraine is a headache of great intensity that is often followed by nausea and sensitivities. Recurrent headaches are a symptom of migraine. It is a disorder where the sensory nerve in the head is highly sensitive. Migraine can be triggered many factors.
Sim* (name withheld) a 14 years old girl from the Anantnag district of the valley, also is suffering from migraine since the last two years. She told Ground Report, “It is nauseating whenever I suffer from a migraine attack. The left side of my head hurts alot. I feel a blasting pain on the left side of my forehead.” Talking about what triggers her migraine she said, ” Sour tasting foods trigger my migraine and sometimes chocolates as well. But most of the times noise and stress become the factors.”
Doctors have prescribed Sim to sleep well at least for six to eight hours and eat on time. ” I have been put on medication, initially it was a course of three months. But later doctor said to take medicine whenever I feel a headache,” she further added.
These are just some cases of migraine.
Very commonly found in Kashmir
Amongst Kashmiri women migraine is very commonly found. And reports suggest that the most common factors of the prevalence of migraine are stress and mental health issues prevalent in the region and some reasons are known and some unknown.
Migraine is very prevalent in the world with more than 10 million cases reported everywhere. The climate change is also one of the most common leading factors of migraine as it can create chemical imbalance in the brain including serotonin which is a common cause of migraine. Migraine however is treatable but is not fully curable.
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