Migraine symptoms can be very painful and interfere with daily activities. Medications can help reduce the frequency of migraine headaches and their severity.
Some people experience aura before or with their migraines, which can include blind spots, flashes of light and/or a zigzag pattern of lines across the vision. Other symptoms include a ringing in the ears and difficulty speaking.
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Migraine is a recurring headache that usually affects one side of the head. It’s a sharp, pulsating pain that may be moderate to severe and can last up to 72 hours.
The pain is caused by changes in blood flow around the brain, which causes narrowing and widening of the blood vessels. This makes the nerves that conduct signals in and out of your brain overexcited, resulting in a temporary shift in the chemical balance in your body, particularly of neurotransmitters like serotonin.
People who have migraines often experience a set of symptoms known as premonitory symptoms that occur up to 24 hours before the onset of a headache. These can include food cravings, unexplained mood changes (depression or euphoria), uncontrollable yawning, neck stiffness, sensitivity to light and sound and fluid retention.
Certain foods, smells, alcohol and caffeine can trigger migraines. So can stress and weather changes. Hormonal changes, such as those occurring before and during menstruation, pregnancy or menopause, can also cause or make them worse. So can medications, especially those used for other health conditions such as high blood pressure or cholesterol.
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Migraine often starts with a warning sign called an aura, which appears before or during the headache. It can include changes in your vision, tingling in one side of the face or body, and trouble speaking. It may also cause a dull ache in the back of your head. If you have these symptoms, get medical help right away.
Auras are usually reversible, but they can last up to an hour. There are several types of aura, but visual ones are most common. They can involve a zigzag pattern or flashes of light. You might see wavy lines or blind spots. You can also have a sensory aura, which can cause tingling in 1 or both of your limbs or the feeling that your face or body is numb. A rare type of aura is called a dysphasic migraine, which causes transient speech or language problems.
The most common treatment for a migraine is triptans, which block pain pathways in your brain. These are available as pills, nasal spray or injections. You can also take anti-nausea drugs to help ease your discomfort.
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Migraine can cause brain fog, which makes it difficult to concentrate. It may also make it hard to understand what someone is saying or think about something complex. Having family members or friends who can recognize the warning signs of an attack, like yawning or a change in mood, can help people get relief.
During an attack, most people have a throbbing headache, often on one side of the head. They can also have other symptoms, such as nausea (feeling sick to your stomach), vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sound. Some people experience a visual warning symptom, called an aura. It may include zigzag lines or flashes of light. Others may have muscle weakness or tingling in an arm or leg.
Some people have a headache without an aura, which is called migraine variant. These headaches are less severe than the typical migraine. Some people get an abdominal migraine, which is more common in young children and usually involves moderate to severe pain in the abdomen that lasts for up to 72 hours.
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Migraine pain often makes you feel nauseated, even before the headache starts. This is because the nerve cells in the brain that send out signals to make blood vessels swell and shrink also cause the nauseating feeling. The exact cause of migraine pain and nausea isn’t completely understood, but most experts believe that changes in brain chemicals play a role.
You can often prevent migraines by taking daily prescription medicines. These include migraine headache medications called triptans, NSAIDs (such as ibuprofen or naproxen) and anti-nausea medicines.
If a migraine attack begins, stay in a dark and quiet room. Try putting a cold compress or a frozen washcloth on your head to ease the throbbing. Try to sleep if you can.
If over-the-counter pain medicines don’t help, your doctor may prescribe stronger medicine as a nasal spray, dissolving tablet or rectal suppository. You might also be given an injection to treat nausea. You should not take acetaminophen (Tylenol) more than 4,000 mg (4 grams) a day to avoid liver damage. Sleeping and taking a cool bath might also help ease your symptoms.
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The pain associated with migraines can make some people feel dizzy. This feeling is called vertigo. It usually comes on suddenly and lasts for a few hours or days. It can be triggered by movement or other things like changes in light, sound and smell. It can be very disabling and cause difficulty in getting on with everyday tasks.
Almost half of the people with Migraine have episodes of dizziness in conjunction with their headaches. This is more common in people who have Migraine with aura, a visual symptom that may include seeing wavy lines or spots (scintillation) or blinding flashes. It is also more likely in women.
Vestibular migraine symptoms mimic those of Meniere’s disease or benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, so healthcare providers are usually not quick to diagnose VM. They may start with tests to rule out other causes of the problem.
The risk of Migraine increases with age, and most patients get their first attacks between the teenage years and the end of menstruation or during menopause. Having a family history of Migraine and other medical conditions such as bipolar disorder, depression or major depressive disorder can increase the likelihood of getting it.