Pain Relief Info Guide

One of the most common migraine headache symptoms is an acute throbbing pain that is usually situated on just one side of the head near to the temple. Unlike normal headaches, migraines are also frequently accompanied by other symptoms which include sensitivity to light and noise, queasiness and occasionally vomiting.

Migraine headaches are reasonably common and affect about one in ten people in America, or more than 28 million Americans. They are also far more often seen in women than in men (about 3 times as many women suffer from migraine) and can also be sse sometimes in children.

Despite the fact that migraines are so common and often very painful with an attack lasting anywhere from a few hours to two or three days, only roughly 50% of all sufferers ever consult their physician and the remainder elect to suffer in silence.

It had long been thought migraine headaches resulted from a of dilation of the blood vessels in the head but, in spite of the fact that there is no general consensus, medical opinion appears to be moving away from this theory in favor of a genetic cause for this condition. Current thinking is that migraines results from the interaction of brain chemicals such as serotonin with the nerve cells. Currently however the truth is that we really do not know what cause a migraine headache.

In fact there are two different forms of migraine, the first of which is known as ‘classical migraine’and is characterized by an associated ‘aura’. In this case the term ‘aura’ is used to refer to visual light effects that are experienced immediately prior to the arrival of a headache including such things as flashing lights and bright light spots. In a few people a complete 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 ‘aura’.

Just as we do not really know what causes a migraine, we also have very little idea about just what triggers an attack, although there are a variety of factors that do seem likely to trigger an attack. For example, getting too much sleep appears to be one factor and so does missing meals or eating particular types of food like cheese.

Hormones are also believed to influence both the onset and severity of attacks and this is evidenced the increased incidence of migraines among women. In part this is thought to be because of the effect of estrogen on the blood vessels and it has been noted in some studies that there is a link between contraceptive pills (which contains estrogen) and migraines.

However, just to confuse matters studies have also demonstrated that simple everyday activities such as climbing a flight of stairs can trigger a migraine attack, as can exposure to heat or cold, loud noises, flashing lights and occasionally stress.

Luckily, there are a number of migraine treatments available today, though no one treatment is really effective in all cases. One thing which we do know though is that over-the-counter medicines are seldom effective and, if you suffer from migraine headaches, then you would be best advised to seek the help of your physician in finding an answer that works for you.