How Do You Know If You Have A Migraine And Just What Are Its Signs And Symptoms?
One of the commonest migraine symptoms is an acute throbbing pain that is usually situated on one side of the head close to the area of the temple. Migraine headaches are also often accompanied by additional symptoms that can include sensitivity to light and noise, queasiness and occasionally vomiting.
Migraines are relatively common and affect about one in ten people in America, or in excess of 28 million Americans. They are also much more often seen in women than in men (about 3 times as many women suffer from migraine headaches) and can also be see sometimes in children.
Although migraine headaches are so common and generally very painful with an attack lasting anything from a matter of hours to several days, only roughly half of all sufferers consult their doctor and the rest elect 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 consensus, medical opinion seems to be moving away from this theory in favor of a genetic basis for this condition. Current thinking is that migraine headaches results from 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 really do not know what cause a migraine headache.
There are in fact two forms of the condition, the first of which is called 'classical migraine', which is characterized by an associated 'aura'. In this case the term 'aura' is used to refer to visual light effects that are experienced immediately before the onset of a headache including such things as flashing lights and bright light spots. In a few people a total loss of vision can be experienced for some minutes before the onset of the headache.
The second type of migraine is simply 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 a number of factors which do appear likely to trigger an attack in sufferers. For instance, too much sleep appears to be one factor, as does missing meals or eating certain foods like cheese.
Hormonal factors are also thought to influence both the onset of attacks and their severity and this is evidenced the higher incidence of migraines among 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 the contraceptive pill (which contains estrogen) and migraine headaches.
However, just to confuse matters 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.
Luckily, there are a number of migraine treatments available today, although no one treatment is 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, you would be best advised to ask your doctor for help in finding an answer that works for you.