How Do You Know If You Have A Migraine?

One of the most frequent migraine headache symptoms is an intense throbbing pain which is usually situated on only one side of the head near to the area of the temple. Migraines are also often accompanied by additional symptoms that can include sensitivity to light and noise, queasiness and occasionally vomiting.

Migraines are fairly common and affect about 10% of the population of the United States, or over 28 million Americans. They are also much more often experienced by women rather than men (about three times more women suffer from migraines) and can also be found sometimes in children.

Although migraine headaches are so common and normally very painful with attacks lasting anywhere from a matter of hours to two or three days, only about half of all sufferers ever consult their doctor and the rest elect to suffer in silence.

Migraines had long been thought to be were caused by a of dilation of the blood vessels in the head but, although there is no general consensus, medical opinion appears to be moving away from this theory in favor of a genetic basis for this problem. Current thinking is that migraine headaches are produced by the interaction of brain chemicals like serotonin with the nerve cells. At this point in time however the truth of the matter is that we are really not sure what cause a migraine headache.

In fact there are two different forms of the condition, the first of which is called 'classical migraine'and is characterized by an accompanying 'aura'. Here the term 'aura' is used to refer to visual light effects that are experienced just before the start of a headache including things like bright light spots and flashing lights. In some cases a complete loss of vision may be experienced for a few minutes before the onset of the headache.

The second type of migraine headache is a migraine with no 'aura'.

Just as we do not know what causes a migraine headache, we also have very little idea about just what gives rise to an attack, though there are some factors that do seem likely to trigger an attack. For example, getting too much sleep appears to be one factor, as does missing meals or eating certain types of food like cheese.

Hormones are also believed to influence both the onset and severity of attacks and this is evidenced the increased incidence of migraines among women. This in part is thought to be because estrogen affects the blood vessels and some studies have noted that there is a link between contraceptive pills (containing estrogen) and migraine headaches.

Just to confuse matters however studies have also demonstrated that simple everyday activities like climbing a flight of stairs can trigger an attack, as can exposure to heat or cold, loud noises, flashing lights and occasionally stress.

Happily, there are various migraine medications available today, although no single treatment has proved to be really effective in all cases. One thing which we do know though is that over-the-counter medicines are rarely effective and, if you are unlucky enough to suffer from migraine headaches, then you would be best advised to seek the help of your physician in finding a solution that works for you.