More than 29,000,000 million Americans suffer from migraine and that represents about 10 percent of the population. Migraines trouble women roughly 3 times as much as men and migraines are not confined to adults with a significant number of children suffering from them as well. An attack lasts anything from a just few hours to several days and with longer attacks sufferers generally experience secondary effects for longer periods. In spite of the fact that migraine headaches are so common nearly 50% of all sufferers do not bother to see a doctor about the condition.
One frequent symptom of a migraine is an acute throbbing pain on one side of the head which is usually localized in the area of the temple. It is also frequently accompanied by various other symptoms such as nausea and vomiting and a sensitivity to both light and noise.
The exact causes of migraine headaches are not known and, despite the fact that for a long time it was thought they resulted from a dilation of the blood vessels, present-day research now favors other explanations. Additionally, despite the fact that there is no good consensus of opinion, a lot of researchers think that the condition is a genetic disorder that affects the way in which some brain chemicals such as serotonin act upon the nerve cells.
The complexity in unraveling the mystery of migraine headaches is amplified by the fact that migraine headaches come in two types.
The first form is referred to as 'classical migraine' and is linked with something which professionals term an 'aura'. This has nothing to do with mystical fields around the body but refers to the symptoms sufferers experience prior to the onset of a migraine headache. For these migraine sufferers it is common to experience visual hallucinations such as flickering lights and bright spots or even to suffer loss of vision immediately before the arrival of a migraine headache.
When there are no visual symptoms sufferers are said to suffer from the second form of migraine headaches.
Striving to pinpoint just what causes migraine headaches is far from easy although research data collected over many years could point to the final answer. For instance, individuals who get insufficient sleep appear to be at greater risk, as are individuals who get too much sleep which has been correlated with a greater incidence. Migraine attacks are also often linked to eating certain foods such as cheese and to missing meals.
Many researchers also think that certain hormonal factors have an affect on both the start and severity of migraine attacks and one piece of evidence to support this is the much higher incidence of migraine headaches in women than men. In fact, one particular study reported an incidence of 17% in men against just 6% in men. Additionally, studies have also revealed a connection between the contraceptive pill and migraines and it is known that Estrogen, which is a major ingredient in birth control pills, affects blood vessels.
However the list of triggers does not end here and many everyday activities such as walking up a flight of stairs or more intensive physical activity can trigger an attack, as can stress, extremes of heat and cold and loud noises and flickering lights. It has also been noted that migraine headaches occur more frequently with a combination of these trigger factors at work.
Luckily, there are a number of medical treatments available, though none can really be said to be tremendously effective in all cases, and keeping a diary of when attacks occur will often help you to identify lifestyle changes that could help in curing migraines. Where lifestyle changes alone do not do the trick then there are a variety of medicines that your doctor can prescribe.
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TheMigraineHeadacheCenter.com provides migrane headache information including details of migaineheadache treatment
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