Vincent Van Gogh, Julius Caesar, Napoleon, Virginia Wolfe, Elvis Presley, and American President John F Kennedy, had something in common. A BIG headache called migraine.

Contrary to the little importance that is given to a person suffering from migraine, World Health Organisation has classified migraine as the 19th leading cause of disability worldwide. A survey by European Headache Foundation reveals that on an average, a 'migraineur' (sufferer) experiences migraine attack and related syndromes, 36 days/year, thus disabling him/her to concentrate on personal life, professional front and reducing overall efficiency.

In India, migraine has still not been viewed as a major cause of concern. It is just considered as 'one of the many headaches' or cliched as 'It is all in your head'.

According to Dr Thimmappa Hegde, Director and Senior Consultant Neurosurgeon, Narayana Institute of Neurosciences, Bangalore," No figures are available on incidence of migraine in the last two years (approximately) in India, Karnataka or Bangalore," a startling indication of sheer neglect of a big problem.

Many senior neurosurgeons and experts opine that changes in the lifestyle and stress related jobs have resulted in the increase in number of patients complaining of headaches, most commonly - migraine. Most of them believe that stress is the major trigger factor. And young professionals, with long work hours, less sleep and irregular food habits are prone to suffer from this disease.

Conventionally, migraine pain is suppressed with pain killers so that the patient feels relieved. But they offer no permanent cure. Most of the neurospecialists agree that migraine drugs come with a price tag- side effects.

According to Dr Pramod Kumar Pal, Associate Professor, NIMHANS, Bangalore, migraine is caused by changes in neurotransmitters in the brain, a condition that is not revealed by MRI scan. As such, he says any kind of headache needs to be clinically examined. Generally, he adds, it is common for people in their twenties and thirties to have migraine though children are also known to suffer from it. The condition does not ordinarily affect the elderly.

Side effects, though not major, says Dr Pal, include giddiness, weight gain/loss, sleeplessness, etc, so certain medication cannot be given to people suffering from specific problems such as asthma, diabetes, and the like.

That is the reason alternative treatments or complimentary therapies are recommended by allopaths themselves. This includes yoga, de-stressing exercises, meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, accupressure, aromatherapy and others. 

Homeopathy seems to be a safe bet. Principally, this system of treatment has no side effects at all and has proved to give maximum benefit for migraine.

'Stop Migraine' is a programme launched by Dr Deepak Shah, Director of 'The Healing Touch', Bangalore, that combines homeopathy medication with spinal healing.

"Migraine patients have benefitted significantly in terms of reduced number of attacks, lessening of pain intensity and relief even without painkillers," he adds.

"Spinal Healing is a clinically proven, increasingly popular method of healing, which first assesses and then corrects spinal misalignments. Spinal misalignment is said to lead to stress and indirectly stress related diseases including acidity, headaches, blood pressure and depression."  Also, in most cases - subconsciously, migraine patients are known to have suppressed emotions of the past, that are then released with spinal healing.

At Healing Touch, Holistic Healing Centre, Malleswaram, Bangalore, patients are helped to deal with migraine pain in a holistic way. They learn to identify the trigger factors and manage to keep away from the controllable ones.

Patients are directed to maintain a 'Headache Diary-triggers to treatment'.  "In most cases, the cause of migraine is not known. In some there is a family history of migraine, pointing to a genetic cause. While the 'cause' is physiological considering the symptoms, the triggers are often psychological, eg, stress, anxiety," says Dr Shyamala Vatsa, Consultant Psychiatrist, HOSMAT Hospital / Sagar Clinic (of Sagar Apollo), Indira nagar, Bangalore.