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Getty ImagesHealth and well-being reporter
It’s a situation that has effects on greater than 10 million other people in the United Kingdom. It can exchange futures, finish careers, and shrink worlds. So when a hack comes alongside that claims it will possibly “cure”, or on the very least fend off a migraine, other people will take a look at it.
While there are scientific therapies, there’s no remedy. Prescription drugs will also be very efficient – however it does not at all times paintings. For many of us there’s no easy answer.
Some uncover their very own tactics of managing the debilitating ache: sitting in a sizzling bathtub whilst dressed in an ice pack and ingesting a smoothie, blasting the facet in their face with a hairdryer.
But now a brand new hack has abruptly long gone viral – the McMigraine Meal. A easy providing of a full-fat coke and a portion of salty fries appears to be doing the trick for masses who have been extolling its virtues on TikTok.
If there may be any science in the back of those hacks – what do they do to the frame?
Nick CookNick Cook from Oxfordshire carries “a wallet full of drugs” round in case of a migraine assault. He will “try anything” to make the ache pass away, he says.
“When you live with the condition, and you’re working a five-day week and you need to carry on, you’ll give anything a go.”
At its worst the ache round Nick’s eye socket can really feel like his eyeball is getting beaten. He says it is the caffeine and sugar in coke that is helping him.
“If I catch it soon it enough it can sometimes work, when my vision goes fuzzy and I can feel one coming on.”
He stresses that ingesting coke does not substitute his amitriptyline capsules – the day-to-day ache drugs he’s taking to check out to forestall migraines – however it does now and again lend a hand him “last until the end of the day”.
Kayleigh WatsonFor Kayleigh Webster, a 27-year-old who has had continual migraines all her existence, it is the salt at the chips that may decelerate a migraine assault.
“It can help,” she says cautiously, “but it’s certainly not a cure.
“Migraine is a posh neurological situation – and it cannot be cured through a little of caffeine, salt and sugar in a quick meals meal.”
Kayleigh’s tried cocktails of different medications, putting her feet in hot water, a flannel at the back of the head, acupuncture, cupping – but they’ve had little effect.
One of the few treatments that has given her relief is medical Botox – having dozens of injections in her head, face and neck. It’s still not clear how Botox works for migraine, but it’s believed to block powerful pain signals being released from the nerves.
A migraine – which can last days – is very different to a headache, which tend to be short-lived and can be treated more easily with painkillers like paracetamol. Migraines can cause head pain, neck pain, numbness, blurred vision, and even affect speech and movement.
Kayleigh WebsterSkulls dating back to 3,000 BC show ancient Egyptians even had trouble with migraines – but despite that long history, their exact cause is still unknown.
It’s thought pain receptors in the blood vessels and nerve tissue around the brain misfire – sending incorrect signals that something is wrong. But we don’t know why some people have an oversensitive nervous system – and why it reacts to some things and not others.
Experts say there’s not enough research into why only some people – around one in seven – are affected, or what can actually help.
Dr Kay Kennis, a GP who specialises in migraines, says while there are elements of the McMigraine meal that can help stave off an attack, these aren’t innate to “a McDonald’s”.
“The caffeine within the coke can act as a nerve disruptor, this is a substance that has effects on nerve task. For some, that disturbance works in a good approach,” Dr Kennis says.
“There are some painkillers that folks take for migraines that experience caffeine – and a few do reply nicely to that – however we do not absolutely know why.”
Getty ImagesBut she warns against using caffeinated fizzy drinks like coke as a way of regularly managing migraines.
“Too a lot caffeine could be a cause too – and you’ll be able to finally end up in a worse scenario in the end,” Dr Kennis says.
Other ingredients in a fast food meal, like the salt on the chips, can affect nerve activity, she explains, but adds the effects of sodium on migraines have not been tested.
She also warns that not only is fast food often ultra-processed and not conducive to a healthy diet, it also often contains high levels of Tyramine, a natural compound commonly found in many foods, which can cause severe migraines.
And, like many migraine hacks – they can have the opposite effect depending on each person.
Eloise UnderwoodFor Eloise Underwood none of the quick fixes on social media work.
The chronic migraine sufferer has been looking for a “magic cocktail” for seven years – she’s seen people recommend putting feet in scorching water (not recommended by experts and potentially dangerous); drinking hot coffee (caffeine can be a trigger); or various vibrating devices which have had little effect.
“There are such a lot of movies on-line that profit from the desperation all of us really feel,” Eloise explains.
She’s left several jobs – often due to lighting and noise in an office environment triggering migraines. She recently stopped working as an interior designer and has now launched a business pressing and framing wedding flowers from her home.
She wears loop ear buds to reduce the sharpness of the sounds around her, and limits her social life.
“People assume a migraine is only a headache – that is only one symptom of it,” Eloise says. “For me, a migraine is a complete frame revel in…
“Migraines have completely made my life smaller.”
Getty ImagesProf Peter Goadsby, a neurologist on the NIHR-King’s Clinical Research Facility, says analysis is starting to produce certain effects after years of underfunding.
His newest learn about displays drugs referred to as gepants may just block a bunch of ache receptors within the lead-up to a migraine assault, reducing off the ache prior to it begins.
“Any new treatment is a glimmer of hope,” Eloise says. “They do say that nothing will work for everyone – but something will work for someone.”
Lifestyle adjustments too can make a distinction, Prof Goadsby explains. It could be dull, he says, however principally – “be careful of your brain”.
“You want to have regularity, avoid the highs and lows. If you can feel the warning signs – yawning, sleepiness, mood change, passing more urine and even craving salt and sugar – listen to your body.
“Listen on your frame – do not concentrate to TikTok, that is my recommendation.”
Nick CookNick has been doing exactly that. He might reach for the odd coke and salty fries, but he’s moulded his whole life in order to manage his migraines.
“I do not drink, I put on shades even though it is cloudy,” he says. “I do not pass wild. When me and my spouse pass away, part the stuff we take is to lend a hand us organize our migraines.
On a up to date stag-do weekend, Nick spotted the variation between his and his buddies’ lives.
“They were up all night drinking to the early hours,” Nick says. “I turned up with my own pillow, apples, bananas, Weetabix, and any snacks I would need to keep me going, because hunger can be a major trigger.
“I’m in mattress through middle of the night – however my pals know me, and that’s the reason OK, as a result of that is how I’ve to are living my existence.”
