1:3 people with migraine has problems with dizziness 1:4 migraineurs have had vertigo
While dizziness can be a sometimes difficult to describe sensation as a feeling ill and off balance , vertigo is a sense of the world spinning around you or a feeling like you ’ re walking on a rocking ship even though you ’ re on steady ground . Like migraines , balance symptoms often come and go and sometimes attacks of dizziness or vertigo are linked with migraine episodes .
Research on migraine and dizziness has uncovered important links and interconnections between pathways that control pain and pathways that control our sense of balance in the brain and nervous system . The trigeminal center is an important relay station for head pain and migraine symptoms and balance nerves also connect to this system . In addition , the brain transmitter , serotonin , is an important messenger for both migraine symptoms and dizziness . At the University of Pittsburgh , we ’ ve done research to show that migraine drugs targeting serotonin receptors can also reduce the dizziness you experience when we put you through balance testing experiments .
On occasion , individuals with migraine experience dizziness or vertigo as part of their migraine episodes – with symptoms occurring as part of the migraine prodrome or aura , or occurring during the painful part of a migraine attack . At other times , migraines and dizzy problems occur separate from each other . Because people with migraine may also experience dizziness or vertigo , several studies have helped identify important relationships between migraine and common balance disorders , including motion sickness , vertigo , and Ménière ’ s disease .
Motion sickness
Motion sickness is the development of sweating , dizziness , headache , sleepiness , and nausea when exposed to motion ( like riding in cars , buses , boats , trains , and airplanes ) or viewing a moving scene , like a 3-D movie . Motion sickness can be severe and disabling ; especially for those whom travel is part of their job , such as business travelers , pilots , and ambulance workers . Motion sickness can also interfere with daily activities and limit vacation plans .
Individuals with migraine are more likely to be sensitive to the effects of motion and develop problematic motion sickness . For example , a study published in the journal Headache compared motion sickness in people with and without migraines .
Motion sickness occurred :
• When riding in a car in over 40 percent of migraineurs compared with 8 percent of people without migraines
• When playing with playground equipment for almost half of those with migraine and only 16 percent without migraine
• While watching wide-screen movies for 28 percent with migraine and 4 percent without migraines
Overall , when testing children or adults , about half of those with migraine also have problems with motion sickness .
The main treatment for motion sickness sensitivity is to limit exposure to situations that might provoke symptoms . For example :
• Avoid reading when riding in a car
• When you are a passenger in a car , ride in the front rather than the backseat
• Select forward rather than backward facing seats on trains
• Avoid 3-D movies
Scopolamine patches may be used when motion is unavoidable , such as taking a cruise . The patches should be used for no more than 3 days . Longer use can result in prolonged motion sickness symptoms that start about 1 to 3 days after removing the patch and can continue for days to weeks . Antihistamines , such as meclizine ( Antivert ), can also be used . Acupressure at the wrist ( e . g ., Sea-Bands ) and taking 1 to 2 grams of ginger have also been shown to be helpful for reducing motion sickness symptoms .
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