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What Do We Mean When We Talk About A Migraine Headache And What Are Its Symptoms?

One of the commonest migraine symptoms is a sharp throbbing pain that is normally situated on one side of the head close to the temple. Unlike normal headaches, migraines are also often accompanied by other symptoms which 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 over 28 million Americans. They are also much 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 frequently very painful with attacks lasting anywhere from a matter of hours to two or three days, only roughly half of all sufferers consult their physician and the remainder elect to suffer in silence.

It had long been thought migraines were caused by a of dilation of the blood vessels in the head but, despite the fact that there is no general consensus, medical opinion seems 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 migraines.

There are in fact two forms of the condition, the first of which is referred to as 'classical migraine', which is characterized by an accompanying 'aura'. Here the term 'aura' refers to visual light effects that are experienced immediately before the start of a headache including things like flashing lights and bright light spots. In some cases a complete loss of vision can be experienced for several minutes before the arrival of the headache.

The second type of migraine headache is a migraine without the 'aura'.

In exactly the same way that we do not really know what causes a migraine, we also have little idea about just what gives rise to an attack, though there are a variety of factors which do seem likely to trigger an attack in sufferers. For instance, too much sleep appears to be one factor and so does skipping meals or eating certain types of food like cheese.

Hormones are also thought to influence the onset of attacks and their severity and this is evidenced 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 connection between the contraceptive pill (which contains estrogen) and migraine headaches.

Just to confuse matters however studies have also shown that simple everyday activities like walking up stairs can trigger an attack, as can exposure to heat or cold, loud noises, flashing lights and sometimes stress.

Happily, there are a variety of migraine treatments available, although no single treatment is 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 migraines, you are best advised to seek the help of your physician in finding an answer which works for you.