The foremost common symptom of a migraine headache is an acute throbbing pain which is generally located on just one facet of the pinnacle near to the area of the temple. Not like traditional headaches, migraines are also typically in the course of different symptoms that embody sensitivity to light and noise, nausea and generally vomiting.
Migraines are fairly common and have an effect on regarding ten% of the population of the United States, or in excess of twenty eight million Americans. They're additionally far additional commonly seen in ladies than in men (about 3 times as several girls suffer from migraine) and will also be found occasionally in children.
Though migraines are thus common and usually terribly painful with attacks lasting anywhere from some hours to two or three days, only concerning fifty% of all sufferers ever consult their physician and the remainder select to suffer in silence.
It had long been thought these headaches were caused by a of dilation of the blood vessels in the top however, though there's no general consensus, medical opinion appears to be moving far from this theory in favor of a genetic cause for this condition. Current thinking is that the condition results from the interaction of sure brain chemicals, like serotonin, with the nerve cells. At this point however the reality is that we have a tendency to really don't apprehend what cause migraines.
There are of course two different styles of the condition, the primary of which is known as 'classical migraine', which is characterised by an associated 'aura'. In this case the term 'aura' is employed to seek advice from visual light-weight effects that are experienced immediately prior to the onset of a headache including such things as bright lightweight spots and flashing lights. In an exceedingly few folks an entire loss of vision can be experienced for a few minutes before the arrival of the headache.
The second kind of the condition is merely a migraine without the previous symptoms of an 'aura'.
Simply as we do not really know what causes a migraine, thus too we tend to have terribly very little idea concerning simply what triggers an attack, though there are a number of factors that do seem possible to trigger an attack in sufferers. For instance, getting an excessive amount of sleep appears to be one factor, as does skipping meals or eating bound sorts of food like cheese.
Hormonal factors are also thought to influence each the onset and severity of attacks and one piece of proof for this can be the higher incidence of migraines among women. This in half is regarded as as a result of estrogen affects the blood vessels and it's been noted in some studies that there's a affiliation between the contraceptive pill (that contains estrogen) and migraine headaches.
Just to confuse matters however, studies have conjointly shown that easy everyday activities like walking up stairs will trigger an attack, as will exposure to heat or cold, loud noises, flashing lights and even stress.
Happily, there are plenty of medical treatments out there these days, though no single treatment has proved to be very effective in all cases. Over-the-counter medications are however rarely effective and, if you suffer from migraines, you are best advised to seek the assistance of your physician to find a answer which works for you.
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