Migraine

Some people suffer from severe headaches that often have a number of associated symptoms like nausea, increased sensitivity and visual problems. These may be migraines. Some people experience migraine attacks more frequently such as several times a day, or week, while others only occasionally like once a year.

Migraine Causes

It is thought that migraines are caused by changes in the chemicals of the brain especially serotonin. Low serotonin levels can cause blood vessels in part of your brain to suddenly contract. Soon after the blood vessels widen, and this may be the cause of the headache. It is not yet known what the exact cause of sudden drop in serotonin level is.

Hormones are also suspected to cause migraines. This is especially true of women who complain of migraines around the time of their periods. Migraines that only occur only around this period are known as Menstrual Migraines.

Migraines are thought to be triggered by emotional, physical, dietary, and environmental factors. Some medication is also thought to trigger migraines in some people. These include sleeping tablets, contraceptive pills, and hormone replacement therapy.

Migraine Symptoms

The main symptom of a migraine is an intense headache that can occur at the front, or one side of the head. The pain can feel like a throbbing sensation that can move to another area of the head, and can be both moderate and severe.

There are two types of migraines with their own symptoms

1. Classical Migraine with Aura

One in four people experience migraines that have aura symptoms. An aura is a warning sign and these are symptoms that are experienced before the migraine begins. They can start 15 minutes to an hour before the headache begins and include:

• Stiffness - You may feel stiffness and pins and needles in your neck, shoulders or limbs,
• Difficulty Speaking - Difficulty in expressing yourself properly using words,
• Visual Problems - You are likely to experience flashing lights, zigzag patterns, blind spots and other visual distortions,
• Problems with coordination, and
• Loss of consciousness in very rare cases

2. Common Migraine

Common migraine symptoms often begin at the same time as the headache but disappear when the headache eases. They include:

• Nausea, and
• Increased sensitivity – this may be to light, sound or smells

Prevention and Treatment of Migraines

There is no cure for migraines though a number of methods are used to treat the symptoms. It is normally in the form of medicine which can be used in combinations too. This includes:

• Painkillers like aspirin,
• Anti-inflammatory medicines like ibuprofen,
• Anti-sickness medicines,
• Combination medicines that act as pain killers and anti-sickness medicines, and
• Triptan medicines that make the blood vessels around the brain contract.

Prevention is not easy and is mainly used to keep the condition under control. You can keep a diary to identify the triggers of migraine attacks, and its intensity. Once you identify the triggers, one can then avoid them.

Medication is also available to prevent migraine attacks. These include: beta-blockers, Anti-depressants, anticonvulsants, and serotonin agonists.

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