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One of the most frequent symptoms of a migraine is an intense throbbing pain that is usually located on only one side of the head near to the temple. Migraine headaches are also often accompanied by other symptoms that can include sensitivity to noise and light, nausea and occasionally vomiting.
Migraines are reasonably common and affect about 10% of the population of 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 sse occasionally in children.
Although migraines are so common and normally very painful with an attack lasting anywhere from a few hours to two or three days, only roughly half of all sufferers ever consult their physician and the rest choose to suffer in silence.
It had long been thought migraines were caused by a of dilation of the blood vessels in the head but, although there is no general agreement, medical opinion seems to be moving away from this theory in favor of a genetic basis for this condition. It is now believed that migraines results from the interaction of brain chemicals such as serotonin with the nerve cells. Right now however the truth of the matter is that we are really not sure what cause migraines.
In fact there are two different forms of migraine, the first of which is known as ‘classical migraine’, which is characterized by an associated ‘aura’. Here ‘aura’ is used to refer to visual light effects that are experienced immediately before the onset of a headache including things like bright light spots and flashing lights. In a few people a total loss of vision may be experienced for a few minutes before the arrival of the headache.
The second type of migraine headache is simply a migraine with no ‘aura’.
Just as we do not really know what causes a migraine, so too we have very little idea about just what triggers an attack, though there are several factors that do appear likely to trigger an attack in sufferers. For instance, too much sleep seems to be one factor and so does missing meals or eating certain foods such as cheese.
Hormones are also believed to influence the onset and severity of attacks and one piece of evidence for this is the increased incidence of migraines in women. In part this is thought to be because of the effect of estrogen on the blood vessels and some studies have noted that there is a connection between contraceptive pills (containing estrogen) and migraines.
However, just to confuse matters studies have also demonstrated that simple everyday activities like climbing a flight of stairs can trigger a migraine attack, as can exposure to loud noises, cold and heat, flashing lights and sometimes stress.
Happily, there are a variety of migraine medicines available today, though no single treatment is really effective in all cases. Over-the-counter medications are however seldom effective and, if you are unlucky enough to suffer from migraine headaches, you would be best advised to seek the help of your physician in finding a solution which works for you.
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