What Is Migraine?

Migraine is a severe headache caused by a disorder of the vascular system. It is largely an inherited disorder and in excess of 70% of patients have at least one parent who has the complaint but migraine is no ordinary headache. At the onset of an attack the arteries in the scalp stretch and contract and cause an extremely painful, throbbing headache. Along with the headache comes a whole host of other symptoms such as visual disturbances (or scotoma), nausea, vomiting, numbness, trembling, unusual pallor or redness, speech difficulties and mood changes. When migraine occurs in children the headache may be less severe or not present at all. Instead the pain may be felt in the stomach.

There are two types of migraines and these are 1) ‘classic’ and 2) ‘common’ migraine.

Classic Migraine

This kind of migraine occurs in 15-20% of patients and has two different stages, a stage known as the pre-headache stage and the headache phase. In the pre-headache phase visual disturbances are likely to occur. This is called scotoma and is temporary in nature. The vision may be blurred or exhibit increased sensitivity to light or you may have blind spots, brightly flashing lights or zigzag patterns across the field of vision.

Although alarming, these effects are a normal part of classic migraine and are caused by the high levels of a brain chemical called serotonin experienced during an attack. Blood flow to the brain is temporarily restricted as the blood vessels of the scalp are tightly squeezed.

You may also feel numbness, tingling or weakness on one side of the body and your speech may become slurred or otherwise impaired. You may also feel very cold or very warm. Stage one can from five minutes to an hour, peaking and then receding as the headache phase begins.

The headache stage starts when serotonin levels in the brain drop to very low levels and the blood vessels expand and become larger. The headache may be felt on both sides of the head in children but in adults is usually one-sided and felt around the eyes, over one eye or over one or both temples.

In children the pain may be felt over the eyes but to below the eye, the cheeks, nostrils, ears, jaw and the gums. This phase could last for few hours or even several days and is made worse by moving the head or jerking the body. There may be nausea or vomiting during this stage and aches and pains in the back and limbs or you may feel feverish with chills and heat over the forehead. Diarrhea or constipation may also occur.

Common Migraine

This type of headache is more common and 80% of sufferers will experience this type. Usually only head pain is experienced and there is no pre-headache stage. Generally there are pre-pain signals like being unusually talkative, mood swings or difficulty concentrating. Food cravings are common as is yawning. Remember that in children, throbbing abdominal pain may be felt instead of headache.

After a Migraine Attack

Once the headache starts to abate you will feel tired and drained and may need to pass a large amount or retained urine. Possibly the best thing to do once you are pain free is to sleep for as long as possible. It may take a few days to recover your energy and concentration but after that you will be completely unaffected by your migraine attack.

For more information on the treatment of migraine attacks and how to avoid them see our articles entitled ‘What is the Tratment for Migraine?’ and and ‘How to Prevent Migraine’

Additional Information

* American Council For Headache Education
http://www.achenet.org

* Migraine Awareness Group MAGNUM
http://migraines.org

* The Migraine Trust
http://migrainetrust.org

* Doctors Guide
http://www.docguide.com