A lot of people get
migraines – roughly 11 out of every 100. These
migraine
headaches can run in families and tend to start
between the ages of 10 and 46 but of course there are
exceptions to this with children starting even under
the age of 5 and adults after the age of 50. In this
article, we will tell you about the main migraine symptoms.
Migraine headache symptoms
A migraine typically begins in a specific area on
one side of the head. It then spreads and builds in
intensity over 1 to 2 hours before gradually subsiding.
It can last up to 24 hours and in some cases, several
days. Along with the migraine, there may be other
migraine symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, sensitivity
to light (called photophobia), and sensitivity to
sound (phonophobia). The hands and feet may feel cold
and sweaty and you may not be able to tolerate unusual
odors.
As there many different types
of migraines, you also get many different migraine
headache symptoms.
o Migraine with aura – this is when bight shimmering
lights appear around objects or at the edges of the
field of vision. There can also be zigzag lines, wavy
images or even hallucinations. There can even be temporary
vision loss with this migraine. Other migraine symptoms
can include motor weakness, difficulty with speech
or language, dizziness, vertigo, tingling or numbness
of the face, tongue or extremities.
o Common migraines (without aura) – this is
the most usual type of migraine and along with the
migraine headache, symptoms may include tiredness
or mood changes the day before the headache starts
plus nausea, vomiting and sensitivity to light.
o Basilar artery migraine - this is where there is
a disturbance of the basilar artery in the brainstem.
The migraine symptoms can include a severe headache,
vertigo, double vision, slurred speech and even poor
muscle coordination. This type usually occurs in children
or teens.
o Carotidynia – this is where extreme pain can
be felt in the jaw or neck with tenderness and swelling
over the carotid artery in the neck. This is more
common in older people and the attacks can occur as
often as several times per week and last for a few
minutes to up to several hours.
o Headache-free migraine – this is where the
aura (described above) can occur without a headache.
o Ophthalmoplegic migraine – this is where the
main migraine symptom is a headache felt in the eye,
similiar to ocular
migraines. There may well be vomiting too. As
the headache continues, the eyelid droops and those
nerves responsible for eye movement become paralyzed.
Unfortunately this may continue for days or even weeks.
o Status migraine – fortunately this is a very
rare type of migraine which manifests with very intense
pain, often lasting longer than 72 hours. Hospitalization
can be required.
Although migraines are so common, it is mostly women
who suffer from them as approximately 75% of migraine
sufferers are women. The migraine headache symptoms
in women are often associated with menstruation, hormonal
changes and even pregnancy.
Statistics show that 157 million workdays are lost
each year in the United States due to migraine headache
symptoms and the World Health Organization considers
migraines to be one of the most debilitating diseases
in the world.
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to our Migraine and Headache Treatment page
