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What Characterizes A Migraine And What Are Its Symptoms?
One of the commonest migraine symptoms is an intense throbbing pain that is usually located on just one side of the head near to the area of the temple. Migraines, unlike normal headaches, are also frequently accompanied by additional symptoms that can include sensitivity to light and noise, nausea and occasionally vomiting.
Migraines are reasonably 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 more women suffer from migraine) and can also be see sometimes in children.
Although migraine headaches are so common and usually very painful with an attack lasting anything from a few hours to several days, only roughly 50% of all sufferers consult their physician and the remainder choose to suffer in silence.
Migraines had long been thought to be resulted from a of dilation of the blood vessels in the head but, although there is no general consensus, medical opinion appears to be changing in favor of a genetic basis for this condition. It is now believed that migraines results from the interaction of certain brain chemicals like serotonin with the nerve cells. Right now however the truth is that we really do not know what cause migraines.
There are in fact two forms of the condition, the first of which is known as 'classical migraine', which is characterized by an accompanying 'aura'. Here 'aura' refers to visual light effects which are experienced immediately before the onset of a headache including such things as bright light spots and flashing lights. In some people a complete loss of vision may be experienced for several minutes before the start of the headache.
The second form of the condition is simply a migraine without the 'aura'.
Just as we do not know what causes a migraine, so too we have little idea about just what gives rise to an attack, though there are a number of factors which do seem likely to trigger an attack. For instance, getting too much sleep seems to be one factor, as does skipping meals or eating particular foods such as cheese.
Hormones are also believed to influence both the onset of attacks and their severity and this is evidenced the increased incidence of migraines in women. This in part 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 demonstrated that everyday activities like climbing a flight of stairs can trigger an attack, as can exposure to loud noises, cold and heat, flashing lights and even stress.
Luckily, there are a number of migraine treatments available today, though no single treatment has proved to be really effective in all cases. One thing which we do know though is that over-the-counter medicines are seldom 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.
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