Advice Centre
Migraine Awareness Week 2021 (5th to 11th September 2021)
Did you know 1 in 7 people suffer from migraines? Most people will have experienced headaches at some stage in their lives, imagine something more severe and prolonged with debilitating impact , well that could be a migraine. Many suffer in silence but there is help available in the form of right treatment and support.
We need to raise awareness to improve the situation so that people with this condition can be supported.
Organisations like the Migraine Trust offer a wealth of information – https://migrainetrust.org/. They do research to help patients and educate people on the importance of how to speed up diagnosis and referrals to specialists. There needs to be greater awareness of how to help patients with migraine amongst non-specific healthcare professionals.
What is a migraine?
It is a long term and painful condition caused according to scientist by an abnormal brain activity affecting nerve signals, chemicals and blood vessels in the brain. Certain factors and life styles can trigger migraines, such lack of sleep, skipping meals and low blood sugar as well as stress.
Symptoms include
- Headaches and pain
- Sight disturbance
- Seeing Flashing lights
- Sensitivity to light, sound an smells
- Extreme fatigue
- Nausea
The impact can be severe on one’s personal life, work, relationships and mental well-being. Understanding in the workplace is helpful and necessary. People often live in fear of another attack, some give up their hobbies or are unable to enjoy life.
Treatment includes in the first place taking advice from the G.P. and then a referral to a neurologist. There are many forms of treatment which may include
- Preventative medicine
- Acute medicine to stop or reduce the symptoms
- Nerve block injections
- Alternative therapy
- CGRP (Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide monoclonal antibodies
How can we help?
At IMD Solicitors we like to support awareness days as we know being aware can prevent suffering and help others. Learn about the impact migraine can have on those around us. Help them seek help and support them. If you work with someone who has migraines try to be understanding and encourage them to get medical help. We at IMD Solicitors act for clients with serious medical negligence claims. Years ago I recall acting for a client who went to a locum out of hours G.P. complaining of severe migraines and fever. The doctor failed to make the correct diagnosis and the consequence resulted in a successful compensation claim as essentially, the doctor’s failure caused a bleed to the brain to be left untreated. Hopefully, migraines may not lead to having to resort to legal action but getting help and the right treatment can help the patient better manage the symptoms and have a better quality of life.
Contact us
If you would like to have an informal chat with our Clinical Negligence experts in confidence to see if you have a viable claim then please complete the contact form on our website and we will give you a call back at a time convenient to you or please call/ contact Daxa Patel, Clinical Negligence Partner & Solicitor by contacting us on 0330 107 0107 or email clinicalnegligence@imd.co.uk. Once we are contacted by you, one of our helpful team members will contact you. Please note we have a team of lawyers who speak many languages including English, Polish, Romanian, Russian and Lithuanian.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.