Health Guide and Education Online

Migraine is more than just a headache; it is the most frequent neurological condition. It is a severe, painful headache that is intense, pulsating pain on one, or sometimes, both sides of the head.

Most people with migraine feel the pain in the temples or behind one eye or ear often preceded or followed by sensory warning signs such as flashes of light, blind spots, tingling in the arms and legs, nausea, vomiting, and increased sensitivity to light and sound.

The Truth About Migraine

The excruciating pain that migraines bring can last from 4 to 72 hours, with most people suffers from migraine keeping well between attacks.

Migraines can start without warning and their intermittent nature can disrupt daily life. However, there are several symptoms of migraine attacks and by observing these, migraine can be managed more effectively. Having a headache is not usually the first sign of a migraine attack, some people start to feel strange a day or so before the attack starts.

Migraine headaches resulted from a combination of blood vessel enlargement and the release of chemicals from nerve fibers that spiral around these blood vessels. During the headache, an artery located on the outside of the skull just under the skin of the temple (temporal artery) enlarges. This causes a release of chemical substances that cause inflammation, pain, and further enlargement of the artery.

There are also migraines that caused by inherited abnormalities in genes that control the activities of certain cell populations in the brain Migraine is three times more common in women than in men. Some individuals can anticipate the onset of a migraine because it is preceded by sign such as visual disruptions that appear as flashing lights, zig-zag lines or a temporary loss of vision.

Migraine can be triggered by many sources such as

• Anxiety or stress
• Allergies and allergic reactions
• Bright lights
• Irregular sleep pattern
• Smoking or exposure to smoke
• Skipping meals or fasting
• Alcohol
• Menstrual cycle variations, birth control pills, hormone fluctuations during menopause
• Tension headaches
• Foods containing tyramine (red wine, aged cheese, smoked fish, chicken livers, figs, and some beans), monosodium glutamate (MSG), or nitrates (like bacon, hot dogs, and salami).
• Other foods such as chocolate, nuts, peanut butter, avocado, banana, citrus, onions, dairy products, and fermented or pickled foods.

Hormone therapy may help some women whose migraines seem to be linked to their menstrual cycle. Stress management strategies, such as exercise, relaxation, biofeedback, and other therapies designed to help limit discomfort, may also reduce the occurrence and severity of migraine attacks.

With medication, there are two ways to approach the treatment of migraine headache. By preventing the attacks or by relieving the symptoms during the attacks. Many people with migraine use both approaches by taking medications originally developed for epilepsy and depression to prevent future attacks, and treating attacks when they happen with drugs that relieve pain and restore function.