Article Medically Reviewed By:
Seymour Diamond, MD
Director and Founder Diamond Inpatient Headache Unit, Diamond Headache Clinic, St. Joseph Hospital/The Chicago Medical School at the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science Chicago, Illinois
Overview
What Is It?
Migraine is a biologically based disorder. Its symptoms are the result of changes in the brain, not a weakness in character or an inappropriate reaction to stress.
The excruciating throb of a migraine, often accompanied by nausea or sensitivity to light and sound, can be brutally painful. As anyone who's suffered a migraine can tell you, these headaches, when left untreated or treated ineffectively, can disrupt every aspect of a person's life, from the ability to work to day-to-day activities and relationships. They can eventually lead to a loss of self-confidence, sense of control and self-esteem.
In the United States, about12 to 16 percent of the population suffer from migraine headaches, and 40 percent could benefit from preventative therapies, according to the American Migraine Prevalence and Prevention (AMPP) Study.
Women experience migraines three times more frequently than men. Researchers have found that migraines have a greater overall impact on the lives of female sufferers, affecting their self-esteem, professional development and family and social life.
What are Migraines?
Migraine is a biologically based disorder. Its symptoms are the result of changes in the brain, not a weakness in character or an inappropriate reaction to stress. For many years, scientists believed migraines were linked to the dilation and constriction of blood vessels in the head. They now believe migraine is caused by inherited abnormalities in certain cells in the brain. People with migraine have an enduring predisposition to attacks triggered by a range of factors. Specific, abnormal genes have been identified for some forms of migraine.
People who get migraine headaches appear to have special sensitivities to various triggers, such as bright lights, odors, stress, the menstrual cycle, weather changes or certain foods and beverages.
If you get a migraine, you may experience an aura five to 20 minutes before the attack. An aura may lead to seeing flashing lights, visuals resembling TV static or zigzag lines, or you may temporarily lose vision. Other classic symptoms of a migraine aura include speech difficulty, weakness in an arm or leg, tingling of the face or hands and confusion. An estimated 20 percent of migraine victims experience an aura prior to an attack. Even if you don't have an aura, you may experience a variety of vague symptoms before a migraine, including mental fuzziness, mood changes, fatigue and unusual retention of fluids.
The pain of a migraine is described as intense, throbbing or pounding and is felt in the forehead, temple, ear and/or jaw, around the eye or over the entire head. It may include nausea and vomiting and can last a few hours...
Click here to read more from Healthy Women
