What is migraine encephalopathy?

Migraine encephalopathy, often linked to severe migraine variants like Hemiplegic Migraine (HM) or, rarely, Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome (PRES), is a rare neurological condition featuring acute confusion, altered consciousness, fever, seizures, or coma during a severe migraine attack. It mimics serious conditions like stroke or encephalitis but is generally reversible.

Can migraine cause encephalopathy?

In both populations, there is progressive development of symptoms in which neurologic manifestations typically occur in adolescence or early adulthood with more severe attacks starting after initial presentation of migraine. In select cases, attacks can include fever and encephalopathy.

What are the warning signs of encephalopathy?

The hallmark of encephalopathy is an altered mental state. Depending on the type and severity of encephalopathy, common neurological symptoms are progressive loss of memory and cognitive ability, subtle personality changes, inability to concentrate, lethargy, and progressive loss of consciousness.

Can pregnancy cause ocular migraines?

Migraines/Visual Disturbances

Many women experience ocular headaches for the first time during pregnancy. Ocular headaches, or a migraine with aura, leads to flashing lights, blind spots, and other vision impairments. Some women experience aura symptoms without a headache.

How to treat a migraine headache in kids?

Treating childhood migraines involves immediate relief with rest in a dark room and OTC pain relievers (ibuprofen/acetaminophen), alongside lifestyle changes like regular sleep, hydration, and trigger avoidance (stress, missed meals) to prevent attacks, with doctors sometimes prescribing stronger meds like triptans for severe cases or daily preventatives for frequent migraines.

Reversible Encephalopathy: Life-Threatening Headache Patients & COVID-19

When to worry about a child's migraine?

Most headaches aren't serious, but seek prompt medical care if your child's headaches: Wake your child from sleep. Worsen or become more frequent. Change your child's personality.

Can screen time cause headaches?

The constant focusing, glare from the screen, and blue light exposure can all contribute to eye strain-related headaches, especially if you're using screens for work or study for many hours at a time.

What are the red flags for ocular migraines?

Red flags for ocular migraines needing urgent care include vision loss in only one eye that lasts over an hour, new weakness or numbness on one side, speech problems, new headaches after age 50, or vision changes alongside symptoms like fever, stiff neck, confusion, or severe sudden pain, as these could signal a stroke or other serious conditions. While typical ocular migraines affect one eye with temporary spots or blind spots, red flags suggest something beyond a routine migraine, warranting immediate medical attention.

What foods trigger migraines?

Other common foods that trigger migraines include:

• Aged cheeses and pickled or fermented foods like blue cheese, feta, Parmesan, smoked fish, pickles, kimchi and soy sauce. ...
• Artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame. ...
• Cured meats, such as hot dogs, bacon, sausage, pepperoni and deli meats.

What are the symptoms of a severe migraine?

Headache pain may happen without warning, and is usually felt on one side of the head. Other common symptoms include nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, smell, and sound, confusion, blurred vision, mood changes, and fatigue. This phase can last from hours to days.

What tests show encephalopathy?

What tests diagnose encephalopathy?

• Blood tests.
• Imaging tests like a CT scan or an MRI.
• Electroencephalogram.
• Lumbar puncture (spinal tap).

Can COVID cause encephalopathy?

Patients diagnosed with COVID-19 who present clinically with delirium may have encephalopathy due to significant complications such as neuroinflammation or demyelination of the brain. This may be linked to post-acute COVID-19 syndrome or long COVID.

What kind of doctor treats encephalopathy?

Neurologists – acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, autoimmune encephalitis, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, Guillain-Barré syndrome, multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, neuromyelitis optica.

What is the rarest type of migraine?

Hemiplegic migraine is a rare disorder in which affected individuals experience a migraine headache along with weakness on one side of the body (hemiplegia). Affected individuals are described as having a migraine with aura.

What brain disease is associated with migraines?

Migraine has possible links to other brain diseases, such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis (MS) and fibromyalgia. Some of these diseases have symptoms that are similar to migraine, but they also have their own unique differences.

Are migraines a mini stroke?

Ocular migraine isn't a mini-stroke. They're distinct conditions. However, stroke can cause vision problems that may be similar to ocular migraine. Because of this, it's important to seek medical care if you experience sudden changes in your vision.

What is the best drink for a migraine?

What to drink for migraine

1. Water. One of the best drinks for migraine is simple water. ...
2. Coconut water. Electrolytes are minerals that help maintain fluid levels in your body. ...
3. Decaffeinated coffee. Coffee contains caffeine, which some people say helps relieve their migraine pain. ...
4. Tea. ...
5. Green smoothies. ...
6. Fruit juice. ...
7. Almond milk.

What are the 4 C's for migraines?

The "4 Cs" of migraines usually refers to common dietary triggers: Cheese, Chocolate, Coffee/Caffeine, and Cola/Citrus, though sometimes it's expanded to "5 Cs" with Cured Meats or other items, or even describes migraine characteristics like Crescendo, Crushing, Cranial, Consistent, Cyclical. While these food items can trigger migraines (especially aged cheese, red wine, caffeine, and MSG), triggers are highly individual, and a food diary helps identify personal culprits like wheat or other culprits.
 

What to eat to stop a migraine immediately?

Whole foods

For some individuals, adopting a whole-food, plant-based diet has been found to reduce the frequency of headaches or even prevent them. This diet includes dark green leafy vegetables, fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds.

What vitamin deficiency causes ocular migraines?

Vitamin deficiencies don't directly cause ocular migraines, but they may be a contributing factor. Scientific studies have found connections between migraines and low levels of vitamin D, magnesium, vitamin B12, and riboflavin.

Do red sunglasses help with migraines?

Limited research indicates that rose-colored FL-41 glasses may provide some relief for light sensitivity by preventing certain wavelengths of light from reaching the eye. However, there isn't much data, and different people may experience different effects. What's the best color lens for migraine?

What is the best medicine for migraines?

The best migraine medicine depends on severity, but often starts with over-the-counter pain relievers (like ibuprofen, aspirin, or acetaminophen) for mild cases, escalating to prescription triptans (like sumatriptan) for more severe attacks, as they block brain pain pathways. Newer options include CGRP antagonists (like rimegepant, ubrogepant) and lasmiditan, while anti-nausea drugs help with associated symptoms, but finding the right treatment often requires trying a few options.

What is the 30 30 30 rule for screen time?

The "30-30-30" rule for screen time is a guideline to prevent digital eye strain: every 30 minutes of screen use, look away for 30 seconds at something at least 30 feet (10 meters) away to relax your eye muscles and keep them moisturized. It helps reduce dryness, irritation, and fatigue from prolonged device use by giving your eyes a periodic refocusing break. 

Why does blue light cause migraines?

Why is blue light linked to migraines? There is a distinct neural pathway from the eyes to the brain—unrelated to how vision is transmitted—that causes blue light wavelengths to aggravate headache pain and other symptoms. The wavelength of blue light is in the range of 480nm-550nm.