In July 2019, an article by a newspaper in Cork, Ireland, a small town of approximately 200,000 people in the southwest part of the country focused primarily on the human cost of migraine, something that is neither novel nor unknown in the migraine community1.
The article did, however, have somewhat of a twist. It detailed the challenges facing migraine sufferers in those countries with a nationalized and often single payer health care system, as seen in Canada and many of the countries in the European Union. In those countries, there is often a long wait for patients to see their primary care providers, and even longer waits for access to specialty care such as neurology.
The primary spokesperson in this article was a Consultant Neurologist named Dr. Sean O’Sullivan, who practices out of Bon Secours Hospital in Cork. Because of the long waiting periods before he gets to see these migraine sufferers, he has a unique view as to how devastating and debilitating migraines are to their lives. While his words appear almost obvious to migraine patients, it is truly eye opening to those unafflicted by or unaware of the disease.
Dr. O’Sullivan focuses on the daily grind and accommodations migraine patients have to make in their daily lives. For example, many of the patients he sees have to spend much of their day “laying in a dark room”, rather than enjoying what most take for granted as simple activities of daily living. Many migraine sufferers have lost their jobs because of absenteeism, or are so dysfunctional that they cannot even apply for a job. In both instances, they are often placed in severe financial hardship. Many cannot be involved in normal social relationships and often are forced to spend their lives alone. This results in feelings of anxiety and depression. They often feel emotionally drained after an attack and may even experience an inability to think clearly. And the ultimate irony is that often times their severe predicament is not properly appreciated by friends, family, and colleagues, as migraine sufferers may not “appear sick” during an attack.
He also mentions how there are many other non-headache pain symptoms that migraineurs suffer that only aggravate what is already an intolerable situation. Those include, nausea and vomiting, severe light and sound sensitivity, and visual disturbances. Additionally, potential adverse pharmaceutical side effects may only further exacerbate a migraine sufferer’s situation.
While the above may certainly not come to a migraine sufferer as a surprise, it’s important that the message is well received and shared to a non-migraneur audience. We hope that through educating the unaware and bringing an understanding to the implications of this “invisible illness” it will function to improve social, professional, financial, and academic situations for migraine sufferers.
The team at Avulux®, aware of how migraine so severely affects activities of daily living, worked to design a solution that can help those with light sensitivity in almost any situation. After the invention of the Avulux® Lens, a lens that absorbs harmful wavelengths of blue, amber, and red light while alowing soothing green light through, Avulux solved several problems facing the migraine community:
- Avulux is Your Portable Dark Room™. Some customers claim their Avulux Migraine Glasses serve them as well as or better than “laying in a dark room.”
- Avulux helps manage the impact of light on your daily life.
- Avulux glasses don't cause any negative side effects.
- Best of all, you may try Avulux Migraine Glasses for 60 days. We offer a 60-day money back guarantee.
Avulux glasses do not cause any negative side effects and can be purchased without a doctor’s prescription.
References:
1Horgan, Sarah. https://www.echolive.ie/corknews/The-devastating-impact-migraines-can-have-on-people-6740fd9c-b51f-4442-84fd-2e177c9d4ad3-ds. July 2019.
