Migraine Headaches Symptoms And Causes

People suffering from migraine headaches know how painful and troublesome the disease can be.

Most often people in the age bracket of 15 to 55 are more prone to Migraine-headaches and it is more common in women than men.

Many of the victims have a family history of the disease.

However, with the advancement of age, migraine headaches lose its severity and tend to be less frequent.
Some Facts
Migraine typically last for 4 to 72 hours. Its frequency varies from daily to less than once per year on an average. Fifteen percent of the populace are victims of the disease.

If you are a migraine victim, migraineurs to be precisely called, must have been at a loss due to severity of the headache that characterises the disease. The headache is usually felt on one or at times on both sides of the head.

The pain is mostly felt in the front around your temples or behind the eyes or ears. Thee headaches can start troubling you right from the morning itself.

Besides the headache, nausea and vomiting accompany migraine. In addition to these you tend to be more sensitive towards light and sound.

The causes of migraine
Unfortunately, the exact causes of the ailment are not clearly known. However, experts might tell you that due to a combination of the expansion of blood vessels and release of certain chemicals result in the unbearable pain.

Migraine occurs due to excess presence of the chemicals dopamine and serotonin in the brain.

Besides this, the migraineurs tend to have certain habits that induce migraine. Consumption of certain foods like chocolate, cheese, nuts, alcohol etc. causes headaches to some people.

Missing a meal and stress can be causative factors too. If you are a woman consuming birth control pills, headaches can result at the end of the pill cycle.

If you are a regular smoker, then stop the habit immediately as it might trigger migraine or interfere with its treatment.

Treatment of migraine headaches
You can treat yourself by using cold compress to the area of the pain. Resting with pillows supporting the head or neck helps. Withdraw yourself from stressful surroundings and retire to a room with little sensory stimulation like light, sound etc.

Develop regular sleeping habits and drink a moderate amount of caffeine.

Over-the-counter migraine headache medications like acetaminophen, ibuprofen, aspirin, etc. can be effective but do have certain restrictions.

Combination medications like “Excedrin Migraine” are effective. Besides, abortive and preventive medications like Sumatriptan (Imitrex), Zolmitriptan (Zomig), Eletriptan (Relpax) etc. can give you some relief.

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