Migraine Awareness Week

Every year the UK observes Migraine Awareness Week, a national, campaign that aims to raise awareness of a condition which is more than just a terrible headache; it has been classified as a neurological disease since 1962.

The statistics show that more than a billion people around the world are affected by migraines, with around 6 million of those being in the UK. Sufferers are more likely to be women, but men experience migraines too, and some of your employees could be included in these figures.

A migraine is usually a moderate to severe headache felt as a throbbing pain on one side of the head, other symptoms can include nausea and sensitivity to light and sound. The sensations get worse when moving around and can prevent normal activities being carried out.

There are three types of migraine, the most common being migraine without aura, where the migraine happens without any warning signs. Migraine with aura, where the warning signs are usually flashing lights just before the migraine begins, and the silent migraine, where an aura or other symptoms are experienced without a headache.

Some people experience migraines frequently, as much as several times a week, where others, may only have them occasionally.

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How can you help as an employer?

Recognising the signs – Although migraines affect people in different ways, one of the most common triggers is stress, and this is something, you as an employer can look out for. Migraines can come without warning and can be crippling, discuss with the employee how their migraines affect them so you can identify any triggers and agree the actions to be taken if the signs become apparent while at work.

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Be flexible – As an employer you have a duty of care to make reasonable adjustments to support employees with health conditions. This could include allowing time to sit in a dark room, if a migraine begins, or by providing heat packs that can be used to relax tense muscles. Employees will all feel stress at times, be aware of how stressful times affect your employees and what you could do to reduce them.

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For more information on migraines and how you can support your employees check out this NHS resourcehttps://www.nhs.uk/conditions/migraine/