Just What Is A Migraine Headache And Just What Are Its Signs And Symptoms?
One of the commonest migraine symptoms is an acute throbbing pain that is generally situated on one side of the head close to the temple. Unlike normal headaches, migraines are also often accompanied by other symptoms that can include sensitivity to noise and light, nausea and sometimes vomiting.
Migraines are relatively common and affect about one in ten people in America, or over 28 million Americans. They are also far more often experienced by women rather than men (about three times as many women suffer from migraine headaches) and can also be found sometimes in children.
Despite the fact that migraine headaches are so common and generally very painful with an attack lasting anywhere from a few hours to several days, only about 50% of all sufferers ever consult their doctor and the rest elect to suffer in silence.
Migraine headaches had long been thought to be were the result of a of dilation of the blood vessels in the head but, despite the fact that there is no general consensus, medical opinion appears to be moving away from this theory in favor of a genetic basis for this problem. It is now believed that migraine headaches are produced by the interaction of certain brain chemicals such as serotonin with the nerve cells. Right now however the truth is that we are really not sure what cause migraines.
There are in fact two different forms of migraine, the first of which is called 'classical migraine', which is characterized by an accompanying 'aura'. Here the term 'aura' is used to refer to visual light effects which are experienced immediately before the arrival of a headache including things like flashing lights and bright light spots. In some people a complete loss of vision may be experienced for several minutes before the start of the headache.
The second type of migraine headache is a migraine with no 'aura'.
In exactly the same way that we do not know what causes a migraine headache, so too we have little idea about just what gives rise to an attack, although there are some factors that do seem likely to trigger an attack in sufferers. For example, getting too much sleep appears to be one factor, as does skipping meals or eating certain types of food like cheese.
Hormones are also believed to influence both the onset and severity of attacks and one piece of evidence for this is the higher incidence of migraines in 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 (containing estrogen) and migraines.
Just to confuse matters however studies have also demonstrated that simple everyday activities like climbing stairs can trigger an attack, as can exposure to heat or cold, loud noises, flashing lights and sometimes stress.
Happily, there are several migraine treatments available, though no one treatment is really effective in all cases. Over-the-counter medications are however rarely effective and, if you suffer from migraines, then you are best advised to seek the help of your physician in finding an answer that works for you.