How Can You Recognize A Migraine And Just What Are Its Signs And Symptoms?

One of the most frequent migraine symptoms is an acute throbbing pain which is usually located on just one side of the head near to the temple. Migraine headaches are also often accompanied by additional symptoms that can include sensitivity to noise and light, queasiness and sometimes vomiting.

Migraines are relatively common and affect about one in ten people in the United States, or more than 28 million Americans. They are also far more commonly experienced by women rather than men (about three times as many women suffer from migraines) and can also be found occasionally in children.

Despite the fact that migraine headaches are so common and generally very painful with attacks lasting anywhere from a few hours to two or three days, only about half of all sufferers ever consult their physician and the remainder elect to suffer in silence.

These headaches had long been thought to be were the result of a of dilation of the blood vessels in the head but, in spite of the fact that there is no general agreement, medical opinion appears to be changing in favor of a genetic basis for this condition. Current thinking is that the condition results from the interaction of certain brain chemicals like serotonin with the nerve cells. At this time however the truth is that we really do not know what cause migraines.

There are in fact two different types of migraine, the first of which is referred to as 'classical migraine', which is characterized by an accompanying 'aura'. Here 'aura' is used to refer to visual light effects which are experienced just before the arrival of a headache including such things as bright light spots and flashing lights. In a few cases a total loss of vision can be experienced for several minutes before the onset of the headache.

The second form of the condition is simply a migraine with no prior symptoms of an 'aura'.

Just as we do not know what causes a migraine, so too we have little idea about just what triggers an attack, although there are some factors that do appear likely to trigger an attack. For example, too much sleep appears to be one factor, as does missing meals or eating certain types of food such as cheese.

Hormones are also believed to influence the onset of attacks and their severity and one piece of evidence for this is the higher incidence of migraines among women. In part this is thought to be because estrogen affects the blood vessels and it has been noted in some studies that there is a link between contraceptive pills (which contains estrogen) and migraines.

However, just to confuse matters studies have also demonstrated that simple everyday activities such as walking up stairs can trigger an attack, as can exposure to loud noises, cold and heat, flashing lights and sometimes stress.

Luckily, there are various migraine treatments available today, although no one treatment has proved to be really effective in all cases. One thing which we do know though is that over-the-counter medicines are seldom effective and, if you suffer from migraine headaches, you would be best advised to ask your doctor for help in finding a solution that works for you.

How Can You Recognize A Migraine And Just What Are Its Signs And Symptoms?

Menu

Recent Articles