What Do We Mean By A Migraine And Precisely What Are Its Symptoms?
One of the most common migraine symptoms is a sharp throbbing pain which is generally located on one side of the head near to the temple. Unlike normal headaches, migraines are also frequently 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 the United States, or in excess of 28 million Americans. They are also much more commonly experienced by women rather than men (about 3 times more women suffer from migraines) and can also be found sometimes in children.
Although migraine headaches are so common and frequently very painful with an attack lasting anywhere from a few hours to several days, only roughly half of all sufferers consult their physician and the remainder choose to suffer in silence.
It had long been thought migraines were the result of a of dilation of the blood vessels in the head but, despite the fact that there is no general agreement, medical opinion seems 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 brain chemicals such as 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.
There are in fact two forms of the condition, the first of which is referred to as 'classical migraine', which is characterized by an associated 'aura'. Here the term 'aura' is used to refer to visual light effects which are experienced just prior to the start of a headache including such things as bright light spots and flashing lights. In a few cases a complete loss of vision can be experienced for a few minutes before the onset of the headache.
The second type of migraine is a migraine without the prior symptoms of an 'aura'.
In exactly the same way that we do not know what causes a migraine, we also have very little idea about just what triggers an attack, though there are several factors which do appear likely to trigger an attack in sufferers. For example, getting too much sleep appears to be one factor and so does missing meals or eating particular foods like cheese.
Hormonal factors 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. This in part is thought to be because of the effect of estrogen on the blood vessels and it has been noted in some studies that there is a connection between contraceptive pills (containing estrogen) and migraine headaches.
However, just to confuse matters studies have also demonstrated that simple everyday activities like walking up stairs can trigger an attack, as can exposure to loud noises, cold and heat, flashing lights and occasionally stress.
Fortunately, there are a number of migraine treatments available, though 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 migraine headaches, then you are best advised to seek the help of your physician in finding an answer that works for you.
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