The word 'migraine' is derived from the Greek word hemikaranion meaning pain affecting one side of the head. Migraine is an attack of headaches which affects one part of the head and the pain is unbearable for many. The throbbing pain and recurrence of it makes it a very severe headache. It is the severest forms of headache which involve the blood vessels, nerves and chemicals in the brain.
Signs and Symptoms
The headache which one gets during migraine is disabling as well as very severe. These headaches arrive hand-in-hand with warning signs like flashes of light, blind spots or tingling in your arm or leg. This pain can continue for hours and sometimes even day.
Different people have different experiences when migraine attacks. Some have pain on one side of their head and some have it on both the sides. It is a continuous and throbbing pain which makes you incapable for any other physical work. Some migraine attack come along with auras which were called as classic migraines.
Every person does not suffer migraines with aura, which in past was known as common migraines. If you are in the classic group then you are likely to get auras 15 to 30 minutes before the headache begins. You also come across other sensations like drowsiness, irritability sometimes even depression.
Causes Some of the most common causes for having such attacks are
Women and Heredity: It is understood that migraine affects women more than men and in many cases it is inherited. Due to hormonal changes there are variations in the estrogen level which might be the culprit for triggering the migraine headaches. During pregnancy and menopause too the hormonal medications may create more problems.
Stress: As we went about making life simpler for us, it seems to have got complicated. Such complications and tension leads to stress which is not a good sign.
Food & beverages: This can also be one of the reasons for having a headache. Some of the usual suspects include alcohol especially beer and red wine, chocolate, old cheese, caffeine, marinated foods, processed as well as canned foods. For many people skipping their meals and fasting would not be advisable with such a condition.
Environmental changes: Weather plays an important role and different seasons can trigger such headaches. So a sudden change can be problematic.
Physical changes: Sleep plays an important role and changes in the sleeping pattern which can be too much or too little sleep can be the first step for migraine attacks.
Prevention
One can save lot of money and pain when the proper measure for prevention is taken. Knowing about yourself and your migraine is the first step towards prevention. If you know about migraine and what triggers it in you, you can be more alert. Avoiding the things which would trigger migraine is very important.
Getting oneself a fit and healthy body helps in preventing many of the diseases away. A healthy body will have a healthy mind which one can get by many of the exercises. Reducing the hormonal medications in women helps in controlling the estrogen and keeping it under tabs. Smoking is very harmful in any of the health issues so by quitting smoking it may also prevent migraines, which can be a trigger.
Treatment
The most common of all treatments for headaches is the use of aspirin. These drugs may not be that useful in case of migraines. For migraines there are other medicines which help in relieving the pain as well as medicines which can prevent such an attack.
There are other ways of helping clearing this pain from your life, which can be Acupuncture. By pricking needles at some of the relevant points can help in relieving the pain. It has helped in reducing stress as well tension which accumulates in our body. These are toxins in our bodies which have to be removed.
These are special relaxation techniques which help in removing the stress and it is called as Biofeedback. It guides you in following your body's responses and help to deal with it accordingly. A good massage has also gone a long way. The focal point for the massage are the shoulders, back, neck and head which are the most tensed regions and has to be relaxed.
More than just a "bad headache," migraine sufferers know the debilitating effects of this disease. Nearly 30 million Americans suffer migraines on a regular basis. Characterized by a throbbing pain located in one side of the head, migraines often cause nausea, as well as severe sensitivity to light and sound.
Symptoms vary by individual, and can last anywhere from four hours to several days. Most sufferers report a three-pronged migraine attack consisting of:
Pre-headache. The headache itself. Post-headache. The pre-headache and post headache phases of a migraine have been known to last for days in some sufferers, and may include accompanying symptoms such as muscle tenderness, body aches, neck and shoulder tension, fatigue and mood swings.
"Aura," or light flashes accompanied by blind spots, zigzag lines, shimmering lights and numbness in the arm, neck and face, are some of the severest side effects of migraine headaches, experienced by one-third of all sufferers. Although they can be quite hash, aura symptoms usually last less than an hour, and are a precursor to the actually migraine itself.
What happens during a migraine? Research shows that once a migraine is triggered in the brain, the body reacts with an inflammatory response, releasing large amounts of serotonin into the body, which causes an interaction between the trigeminal nerve and blood vessels in the brain. When this happens, the body's natural pain processing centers become overloaded and begin to spontaneously "fire." This is what causes skin sensitivity on the head and scalp.
While there is no direct answer as to the cause of migraines, there are many types of headache triggers that have been studied. Because every patient is different, triggers also vary from person to person. However, some of the main triggers experienced by many migraine sufferers include: diet, excessive hunger, severe weather changes as air pressure suddenly dips or rises, activity, environment, emotions, medications, and hormones. Heredity too, is believed to play a large part in who will get all types of headaches, especially migraines.
Once a patient learns the specific "triggers" that bring on a migraine, they can try and avoid them, take preventative measures such as medication o relaxation to help ward off, or at least lesson the severity of the impending migraine.
Once a patient has been diagnosed with repeat migraines, there are several treatment options available.
Preventative Care is essential in reducing the number of attacks experienced by a sufferer. A careful study of individual triggers is crucial in order to help the patient better understand his/her migraines, and how to better deal with them. Daily medications have been found helpful in some sufferers in reducing the number and severity of attacks. Relaxation techniques, proper diet, exercise and sleep regiments, as well as biofeedback and massage therapy have all been used successfully to both prevent migraines and deal with their pain.
Acute Therapy treats the symptoms after the attack actually begins. Many medications are now available to ease the severity of attacks, but must be taken as soon as the migraine begins for best results. Acupuncture, massage and heat and cold applications have also been found useful in migraine treatment.
Both Kevin Pederson & Matthew Hick are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Kevin Pederson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Nutrition, Fibromyalgia and Yoga Practice. Kevin Pederson has been managing a number of natural home remedies websites which have information on