Migraines Come At A Cost

Do you suffer from migraines? I do. We know that migraines come with a lot of pain. However, there is another element we often overlook – which is the lost. Unsurprisingly, some research has been done to try and determine how much we, collectively, are losing because of this. Chronic, debilitating headaches have a high cost not just for the sufferer, but for their family, and, surprisingly, their employer as well.

Migraineurs, which is the official term for those like me who suffer from migraine headaches, lose out a lot on the quality of life. This also extends to the finances, with some data estimating that families with a migraine sufferer may have an increased health care cost of up to seventy percent. Who knows how they got that figure, eh?

There is another issue too, which is the lost of income. Of course, this depends on the country said person is working in. And then there is the need to pay others for things such as childcare when one’s migraine is that bad. The issue of discrimination also comes along as raises and promotions are not made available to them because they are deemed unreliable due to their condition.

What about the cost to employers? Well, someone actually did research in the United States on this issue, with the conclusion that migraines cost employers over twenty-four billion dollars each year.  Breaking it down, part of it is due to being absent or claiming workers’ compensation. The other half would be the lost productivity for those who continue work despite the migraine.

For those whose condition is serious enough, outpatient care is estimated to cost employers billions in total. Add the cost of prescription drugs to that and you can see how serious this issue can be. Since migraines affect a lot of people in the western world, there has also been some research that has come out of the United Kingdom. An estimated twenty-five million working or school days are lost annually due to migraines.

So what is the point of this post? If anything, it is to ask for understanding. The sad reality is that people without migraines cannot empathise or relate to people who do, and may therefore be judgmental or dismissive about it. This is the same with other disorders too. So if you happen to be one of the lucky ones, I implore you to have a bit of understanding the next time someone is suffering a migraine.

While we have no specific links for migraines (as those we checked out didn’t seem to pass the reviews tests), here are some other links for you: