Individuals as young as 16 years old suddenly begin developing "bad headaches" which ultimately become a lot worse—excruciating pain, nausea, and days spent lying in dark rooms. And most of the time these "headaches' are dismissed as tension headache, or because of too much screen time but it always pays to steer clear of all the frustration, inappropriate medications, and endless visits to the doctor by telling your doctor the very specifics of your headache.

Migraine is more than a headache. It's a complicated neurological disorder affecting millions of individuals globally, tending to disrupt daily life with intense pain, nausea, and sensory sensitivities. Although widespread, migraine remains poorly understood, and therefore many sufferers go years without an accurate diagnosis or adequate treatment protocol. If you suffer from migraine attacks, being an advocate for yourself in medical visits is important. Here's a complete guide on what to talk to your doctor about so you can get the best possible treatment.

Migraine is a neurological and genetic disorder caused by a variety of biological and environmental stimuli. In contrast to ordinary headaches, migraine attacks may be incapacitating, lasting from a few hours to several days. Symptoms vary from intense, throbbing pain on one side of the head to nausea, vomiting, and increased sensitivity to light and sound.

Things You Should Tell Your Doctor About Your Migraine

Others also have an "aura" prior to an attack, and this can take the form of visual disturbances, tingling in the face or extremities, or trouble speaking. Since it is so complex, explaining your experiences and symptoms to your doctor in clear terms is important for proper diagnosis and treatment.

1. Describe Your Head Pain in Detail

One of the most critical aspects of diagnosing migraine is the ability to describe your head pain accurately. Use descriptive terms to help your doctor understand the nature and severity of your pain. Common migraine pain descriptors include:

• Throbbing or pulsating
• Sharp or stabbing
• Crushing or pressure-like
• Burning or tingling
• Ice pick-like or hot poker sensation

Also, rating your pain using the 0-10 pain scale (with zero being no pain at all and 10 representing the most painful imaginable) can assist your physician in judging the intensity of your migraine attacks.

2. Track Your Symptoms and Triggers

Maintaining a migraine diary is an easy way to record your symptoms as well as any possible triggers. Your physician will want this data in order to figure out patterns and choose the right treatment. Key items to monitor are:

• At what time of day do your attacks usually happen? Are they associated with certain times of day, hormonal fluctuations, or levels of stress?
• How long do your migraine attacks last? How often do you have them?
• Do you have nausea, vomiting, dizziness, sensitivity to light, or an aura before the headache begins?
• General triggers are particular foods (chocolate, caffeine, alcohol), sleep problems, stress, potent odors, changes in the weather, and hormonal changes.

3. Talk About Your Family Medical History

Migraine often runs in families. If any of your close relatives have a history of migraine, it is essential to inform your doctor. Research indicates that if one parent has migraine, there is a 50% chance their child will also experience it, and this likelihood increases to 75% if both parents have the condition. Understanding your genetic predisposition can help your doctor tailor a treatment plan that considers potential hereditary factors.

4. Share How Migraine Impacts Your Everyday Life

Migraine isn't all about headache—it can really take a toll on your quality of life. Talk about how your migraine attacks influence your work, daily activities, and relationships. If your symptoms keep you away from work a lot or restrict your participation in social activities, your physician should know. This can impact decisions about treatment choices, such as preventive medications or lifestyle changes.

5. Report Changes in Your Mood and Mental Health

Chronic migraine can affect your emotional health. Research indicates that people with migraine are five times more likely to have depression, and as many as 50% of people with chronic migraine also have anxiety. Stress and emotional distress may also serve as triggers, making it a vicious cycle. If you have symptoms of depression, anxiety, or stress-related problems, talk to your doctor. The treatment of mental health issues is an important aspect of total migraine care.

6. Talk about Past Treatments and How They Worked

If you've ever tried some medication or other treatment in the past, be it over the counter or prescribed, let your doctor know about it. Such important information that you should communicate includes:

• Which medications have you tried? (E.g., triptans, beta-blockers, antidepressants, anti-seizure medications, pain medications)
• Were they effective for pain or frequency reduction?
• Did they have any side effects?

Did you use any non-medication treatments such as acupuncture, dietary modifications, or cognitive behavior therapy?

This information assists your physician in deciding whether to change your current treatment, attempt other medications, or investigate novel treatment methods, including Botox injections or CGRP inhibitors.

7. Discuss Your Sleep Habits and Lifestyle Issues

Sleep deprivation is a common migraine trigger. If you have sleep problems like insomnia, daytime excessive sleepiness, or non-regular sleep patterns, tell your physician. Also, bring up lifestyle issues, such as:

• Diet and hydration: Do food or not drinking enough water initiate migraine attacks?
• Exercise habits: Does exercise trigger or prevent your migraines?
• Caffeine and alcohol intake: These products are migraine triggers in some individuals.

Your physician can suggest lifestyle changes in your daily life that can decrease the number of and intensity of migraine attacks.

8. Manage Hormonal Changes and Their Effect on Migraine

For a lot of women, migraine attacks have a direct correlation with changes in hormones. If you experience more migraine attacks just before your menstrual period, during pregnancy, or menopause, talk to your physician. Changes in hormones can affect the frequency of migraines, and certain treatments such as hormonal therapy or birth control medication may be useful in controlling symptoms.

The American Migraine Foundation provides useful resources to guide you through migraine management and enhance your quality of life. If you don't feel heard or your treatment is not effective, don't be afraid to get a second opinion or try new treatments. Migraine management is a collaboration between you and your physician—your voice and experiences are important in determining the best route to relief.

As per the World Health Organization (WHO), globally, over 1.2 billion people ages 30 to 79 have hypertension. The number has increased from 650 million in 1990 to 1.2 billion in 2021. This increase is attributed to many factors, including lifestyle factors, which include salty indulgence, stress, and screen time which has been increased. These three impact your blood pressure levels, know how.

What Are The Three S Worsening Your Blood Pressure?

Salt

As per the Harvard Heart Publishing, an average American consumes the equivalent of about 1 1/2 teaspoon of salt per day, which is 50% more than the recommended amount.

About a third of healthy people and about 60% of people with high blood pressure are salt sensitive.

How does salt affects blood pressure?

When you consume too much sodium, your body holds on to extra water to balance the sodium levels. This added fluid increases the volume of blood in your vessels, which in turn raises your blood pressure and forces your heart to work harder. High sodium intake can also reduce the effectiveness of certain blood pressure medications. For example, diuretics help eliminate excess sodium and water, while vasodilators work by relaxing the blood vessels. However, a high-sodium diet makes your body retain fluid again, refilling those relaxed vessels and undoing the medication's effects.

Stress

As per the official publication of State Medical Society of Wisconsin, stress can cause hypertension through repeated blood pressure elevations as well as by stimulation of the nervous system to produce large amounts of vasoconstricting hormones that increase blood pressure. Factors affecting blood pressure through stress include white coat hypertension, job strain, race, social environment, and emotional distress.

As per National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, around 50 million American adults live with hypertension, defined as a systolic blood pressure over 139 mm Hg or diastolic pressure over 89 mm Hg. In about 95% of these cases, the condition is classified as "essential" hypertension, meaning there’s no single identifiable cause. However, experts agree that multiple factors—including stress—can contribute to rising blood pressure in these individuals.

Screentime

As per a 2024 study published in Cureus, hypertension is a major risk factor for coronary artery disease. The study links the increased accessibility of smartphones with the increasing hypertension.

This study explored the relationship between screen time and blood pressure (BP) among young adults.

The study also noted that higher screen time was more common among individuals using multiple devices. The prevalence of elevated BP in the sample was 35.8%, aligning with national data and raising concerns about the cardiovascular health of young adults.

Previous studies support these concerns. For instance, Nang et al. and Martinez-Gomez et al. linked prolonged TV viewing to higher BP and an adverse cardiovascular risk profile in adolescents. However, these relied on self-reported data. Other risk factors, such as age, gender, obesity, inactivity, and substance use, have also been linked to hypertension.

Women’s reproductive health is a sensitive subject. Even though there have been many advancements in women’s healthcare, large gaps in research and medical well-being of women have been observed. The general lack of information regarding women’s healthcare and education have also been highlighted in the recent years.

While you may think it is not a matter of urgency, a new report found a very concerning toxin in tampons, levels of which were higher than what is even allowed in drinking water.

A new report from two groups, the Women's Environmental Network (WEN) and Pesticide Action Network UK, has raised serious concerns. They found harmful chemicals in many of the menstrual products sold in regular stores across Britain. The study was particularly worried about finding pesticides, especially glyphosate, which is the most common weed killer used worldwide, in these products that women use in a very sensitive part of their bodies.

Disturbing Levels of Pesticides Detected

The findings are quite shocking. Tampons are a largely used menstruation product, which soaks the menstrual blood by insertion in the vaginal canal. The World Health Organization, a global health authority, has said that glyphosate probably causes cancer. Even more alarmingly, one box of tampons had levels of glyphosate that were 40 times higher than what's legally allowed in drinking water!

It's thought this happens because the pesticide might be sprayed on the cotton crops that are used to make tampons. The report also found another dangerous chemical called chlorpyrifos in some tampons. This is an insecticide that's actually banned in the UK because it can harm the brain and nervous system.

The report was very clear about how serious this is: they said that for some chemicals, there's no safe amount, so any trace found in period products should be less than what can even be detected.

Direct Threat to Health

There's worry about how these chemicals might affect health. This is because a part of the body that absorbs things very easily, the vagina, lets chemicals skip the body's natural cleaning systems and go straight into the blood. People are saying this isn't just careless, it's actually dangerous. They also feel it's wrong that these kinds of chemicals are still in period products today.

Lack of Regulation and Impact on Farmers

The report pointed out a major problem: there are no specific rules in the UK for these products. Manufacturers don't have to tell you what's in their products, and there are no laws to stop pesticide residue from ending up in the final product you buy.

The issue also affects cotton farmers. The report highlighted that "cotton farmers are being exposed to toxic pesticides at concerning levels." Many of these farmers are women, and they face health risks every day from working with these dangerous pesticides both on their farms and even in their homes.

Demands for Clearer Information and Change

People are strongly demanding that the industry be more open. It's simply not okay that users don't know what's in products they use on such private parts of their bodies. There's an urgent need for companies to be transparent (show all ingredients), take accountability (be responsible for their products), and make real changes in how things are done. This is because everyone who has a period deserves better and safer products.

The report asks the government to act quickly:

• Test period products very strictly.
• Make it a legal rule for companies to list every ingredient and extra chemical.
• Include organic, disposable period products in free school programs.

Concern regarding pollution and how it affects our health is a worry that affects many of us worldwide. As years pass on by, the pollution levels are also increasing, and so is our mortality risk. The World Health Organization (WHO) explains that exposure to air pollution is strongly linked with stroke, ischaemic heart disease, lung diseases etc. However, these are not the only things you must worry about when it comes to air pollution exposure. A new study shows that it could also affect the way our brain functions.

A study from Italy, published in a science journal called iScience, found a really important clue in our genes. It seems that when we breathe in polluted air, it can actually change how our genes work in the brain. Think of it like flipping a switch that creates the perfect conditions for diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's to start growing.

Early Warning Signs and High-Risk Groups

The researchers saw some worrying changes even in young adults. Their brain tissue showed signs of DNA damage that looked a lot like what you'd see in someone with Alzheimer's – but decades before they would normally be diagnosed. This is a huge red flag.

Certain jobs also put people at a higher risk. If you're a miner, factory worker, or driver, you're exposed to more polluted air. Even people who work with plastics face a hidden danger from tiny particles called nanoparticles that can get into their brains.

But here's some good news: this discovery could mean doctors can check for these changes without needing to do anything invasive, like surgery. They might be able to test for something called extracellular vesicles. These are like tiny packages that carry material from damaged brain cells. So, if we can test for these packages, it could give us an early warning sign from the brain itself.

Understanding the Complexities and Taking Precautions

It's clear that being generally unhealthy and breathing polluted air from a young age can increase your risk of these brain conditions. However, we still need a lot more research to fully understand how everything is connected. Experts from News Medical have pointed out that studying air pollution is tricky because the air we breathe in the real world is a mix of many different pollutants.

To help protect yourself on days when pollution levels are high, organizations like Asthma + Lung UK suggest some simple steps:

• Stay indoors as much as possible.
• Avoid exercising outside, especially vigorous activity.
• If you're walking, try to stay away from busy roads with heavy traffic.
• Keep your car windows closed when driving in traffic.
• If you do want to be active outdoors, try to do it earlier in the day, as the air tends to be cleaner then.

Looking Ahead: Prevention and Policy

There's a big call for more research to understand how air pollution affects younger people and other parts of our brain's thinking abilities. The results of this research could lead to exciting new ways to prevent these diseases. It could also push for better safety rules in workplaces, stricter environmental standards to clean up our air, and even new laws to protect public health from air pollution.