A migraine is a type of headache that generally affects one side of the head and can cause serious throbbing pain or a buzzing feeling. It often comes with feeling sick, throwing up, and being very sensitive to light and sound. Attacks of migraines can last anywhere from a few hours to a few days, and the pain can be so bad that it makes it hard to go about your daily life.
Some people get a sign called an aura before or along with their headache. A person with an aura might see flashes of light or have blind spots. They might also feel buzzing on one side of their face, arm, or leg, or have trouble speaking.
Some headaches can be stopped or made less painful with medicine. With the right drugs, self-help methods, and changes to your way of life, you might feel better.
Symptoms
Migraines can go through four stages: the prodrome, the aura, the attack, and the post-drome. Migraines can happen to kids and teens as well as adults. Migraine sufferers don’t always go through all the steps.
Prodrome
One or two days before you get a migraine, you might notice small changes that give you a heads up.
Constipation
Changes in mood, from sadness to happiness
Hunger
The neck is stiff
Urinating more often.
Holding on to fluids
A lot of breathing
Aura
Auras can happen before or during headaches for some people. Auras are signs of the nervous system that can go away. Most of the time, they are visible, but they can also be caused by other things. Each sensation generally starts slowly, gets worse over a few minutes, and can last for up to an hour.
Here are some examples of migraine auras:
Things you can see, like different shapes, bright spots, or flashes of light.
Loss of sight.
Arms or legs that feel like they are on pins and needles.
The face or one side of the body feels weak or numb.
Hard time talking.
Attack
If you don’t fix it, a migraine generally lasts between 4 and 72 hours. Migraines happen in different ways and at different times for each person. Migraines can happen once in a while or several times a month.
When you have a migraine, you might:
Pain on one side of your head most of the time, but often on both.
Pain that is sharp or throbs.
Sensitive to light, sound, smell, and sometimes touch.
Illness and throwing up.
Post-drome
You might feel tired, confused, and worn out for up to a day after a migraine attack. Some people say they feel happy. If you move your head quickly, the pain might come back for a short time.
When To See A Doctor
Migraines are often not recognised or treated. If you have migraines often, write down when they happen and what you did to treat them. Then you should make an appointment with your doctor to talk about your headaches. Even if you’ve had headaches before, you should see a doctor if the trend changes or if your headaches feel different all of a sudden.
See a doctor right away or go to the emergency room if you have any of the following symptoms, which could be signs of a more serious health problem:
A sudden, strong headache that feels like thunder.
A stroke could be happening if you have a headache with a fever, a stiff neck, dizziness, seizures, double vision, tingling, or stiffness in any part of your body.
After a head accident, you might have a headache.
A constant headache that gets worse when you cough, work hard, strain, or move quickly.
After age 50, new brain pain started.
Migraine Causes
Even though no one knows for sure what causes migraines, genetics and the surroundings seem to play a role. There may be changes in the brainstem and how it works with the trigeminal nerve, which is a major pain route. So could be an excess of hormones in the brain, like serotonin, which helps control pain in the nerve system.
Scientists are trying to figure out what role serotonin plays in migraines. The pain of a migraine is also caused by other chemicals, such as calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP).
Migraine Triggers
There are many things that can cause migraines, such as:
Women’s hormones change. Many women seem to get headaches before or during their periods, when they are pregnant, or when they are going through the menopause.
Hormonal drugs, like oral contraception, can also make headaches worse. But for some women, taking these medicines makes their headaches happen less often.
Drinks. Alcohol, especially wine, and too much energy from things like coffee are two of these.
Stress. Migraines can be caused by stress at work or at home.
Sense impressions. Migraines can be caused by loud sounds or lights that are bright or flash. Some people get headaches when they smell strong smells like perfume, paint thinner, second-hand smoke, and other things.
Sleep shifts. Some people get headaches when they don’t get enough sleep or when they sleep too much.
Stress on the body. Migraines could be caused by intense physical exercise, even sexual activity.
The climate changes. A migraine can be caused by a change in the weather or the pressure in the air.
Medications. Migraines can be made worse by oral contraceptives and vasodilators like nitroglycerin.
Foods. Migraines may be caused by aged cheeses, salty foods, and foods that have been prepared. So could going without food.
Additives to food. These include the sugar aspartame and the antioxidant monosodium glutamate (MSG), which are found in many foods.
Risk Factors
Several things can make you more likely to get headaches, such as:
About the family. If someone in your family has headaches, there is a good chance that you will get them too.
Age. Migraines can start at any age, but most people get their first one when they are teenagers. Migraines tend to be the worst and happen the most in your 30s. After that, they get less bad and happen less often.
Sex. Migraines are three times more common in women than in men.
Changes in hormones. If a woman has migraines, she might start getting headaches right before or soon after her period starts. They could also change when a woman is pregnant or during menopause. In most cases, migraines get better after the menopause.