Cause of Migraines

What Should I Do If I Have A Migraine

Headaches Affect Nearly 90% of Men and 95% of Women. The disability resulting from headache (for example, work absenteeism or reduced functioning at work, school or home) is the greatest dollars-and-cents cost associated with this illness. Headaches are of different variations, one of them is migraine.

A migraine may remain at a "static" level that is tolerable, as long as the patient is not physically active, such as sitting at the office, or reading at home. In a migraine, throbbing pain is felt on one side of the head. Usually migraine is preceded by a sensation such as salty taste in the tongue, aura, nausea, flashing lights and blind spots. A migraine is a splitting headache that just seems to set in apparently as a result of no reason at all.

Migraines are diagnosed based on symptoms. No procedure can determine the diagnosis. A migraine attack often involves more than just a headache. A few people also experience a migraine preceding an attack.

What causes migraines is still somewhat of a mystery. Medical researchers believed that migraine headache was because of chemical changes in the blood vessels supplying the brain and its coverings. Changes in temperature, humidity and barometric pressure are all potential migraine triggers. A change in altitude is also a possible trigger.

Staying up late or drinking too much coffee will bring on a migraine every time. Some even go to say that a migraine maybe triggered by the end of a stressful situation. Migraine triggers are numerous and varied and occur in combinations peculiar to a individual. For some migraine sufferers, though not all, pregnancy can bring about a change in the frequency and intensity of migraines.

Being aware of what brings on your headaches is key to finding drug free relief. Crucial to the appropriate treatment of headache is the proper diagnosis of its type, and migraine headache is a particularly common form of recurring headache. One of the most important aspects of headache treatment is your own control over your headache, and control starts with identifying your own triggers, and learning to avoid them. There are many possible triggers for migraines and they differ from one migraine sufferer to another.

There are a lot of treatment options presently available for your migraine headaches. Some of you will get spectacular results with one or more of these treatments and others will not. Try putting a cold damp cloth on your forehead or temple (on the side that is painful), or use a frozen bag of peas wrapped in a small towel, as cold compresses can sometimes help with the pain. So if the attack is coming, try to get to a dark quiet room, since noise and bright lights seem to aggravate the symptoms of migraine.

There are various alternative headache treatments such as using aromatherapy, acupunture, biofeedback, homeopathy and herbal remedy such as feverfew. While we do not have scientific proof, it is possible to speculate on why these dietary changes may work. Some patients report that their headaches get better with elimination of wheat, sugar, or milk products from their diets. Other treatments include taking a hot bath or shower and/or using heat or ice on your neck or head.

Some people I know put fingertip pressure on one of your temporal arteries, which are arteries you can feel on either side of your head near your temples. Before you consider any treatment for your headaches, it is important that you make sure your diagnosis is indeed migraine Sometimes a separate visit to your medical practitioner to discuss your headaches specifically may be necessary.

If you are a headache sufferer, you know that certain situations or things you do or foods you eat, will cause an attack to start. Please remember that a good doctor is your best ally when it comes to diagnosing, preventing and treating migraines. Besides regular check ups with your family medical practitioner eating the right foods and getting enough sleep are important to your peace of mind.

Now whatever is the cause or whatever be the nature of the headache, most headaches are preventable. Before treating your health problems with drugs it is wise to seek the advice of a health professional. The only good thing with regards to a migraine is that it usually stops as people get older.

By: Kohym

Cindy Heller is a professional writer. To learn more about cause of migraine headache and other types of vascular headache, visit frequent headache.

Technorati Tags: migraine headaches, migraines

Prevent A Migraine Headache

Michigan is the eighth most populous state in the United States. Many people there suffer from migraine headache – what should they do about it?.

A migraine headache is a form of vascular headache. Migraine headache is caused by a combination of vasodilatation (enlargement of blood vessels) and the release of chemicals from nerve fibers that coil around the blood vessels. Migraine headaches typically last from 4-72 hours. They may occur as often as several times a week to only once a year. People who have migraines are called migraineurs. Migraine headaches affect about 15% of the population. Three times as many women as men have migraines. Over 80% of migraineurs have family members who have migraines. Migraines are classified according to the symptoms they produce.

The two almost popular types are migraine with atmosphere and migraine without atmosphere. Migraines almost usually are establish in women, with a 3:1 female-to-male ratio. In childhood, however, migraines are more popular in boys than in girls. Migraine with atmosphere is characterized by a neurological phenomenon (atmosphere) that is experienced 10 to 30 minutes before the worry. Most auras are visual and are described as sunny shimmering lights around objects or at the edges of the area of imagination (called scintillating scotomas) or zigzag lines, curly images, or hallucinations. Others see short-lived imagination departure.

Common migraine accounts for 80% f migraines. There is no "atmosphere" before a popular migraine. Migraine without atmosphere is the almost rife character and may happen on one or both sides (multilateral) of the chief. Tiredness or climate changes may be experienced the day before the worry. Nausea, vomiting, and sensibility to illuminate (photophobia) frequently follow migraine without atmosphere. A kind of drugs have been specifically designed to handle migraines. Medications used to fight migraines slip into two comprehensive categories. Pain-relieving medications too known as intense or unsuccessful handling.

These drugs are designed to halt symptoms that have already begun. Preventive medications types of drugs are taken regularly, frequently on a regular ground, to fall the hardship or frequency of migraines. Try to avert foods or new things that appear to induce migraines for you. Get lot of slumber and drink lot of fluids. Try to loosen and cut the strain in your living. Most migraineurs can handle mild-to-moderate attacks at house. Using a cold compress to the region of pain. If sure foods appear to get triggered your headaches in the past, consume something else. If sure scents are a trouble, attempt to avert them.

By: Juliet Cohen

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Juliet Cohen writes articles for Health Problems. She also writes articles for Stye and Sunburn Treatment.

Technorati Tags: Ann Arbor migraine treatment, Michigan migraine treatment, migraine headache treatment, prevent migraine

 by: Margaret Albright 

A migraine headache is a very bad, throbbing or pulsating headache that tends to recur. It is often associated with nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, sound, and smells. Hands and feet may feel cold and sweaty and unusual odors may be intolerable. Migraines may disrupt your sleep and can cause depression. Moving around can make the headache feel worse. Attacks tend to become less severe as the migraine sufferer ages.

Migraines afflict about 24 million people in the United States. They may occur at any age, but usually begin between the ages of 10 and 40 and diminish after age 50. Some people experience several migraines a month, while others have only a few migraines throughout their lifetime. Approximately 75% of migraine sufferers are women.

Migraine pain is often intensified by routine physical activity, coughing, straining, or lowering the head. The headache is often so severe that it interferes with daily activity and may awaken the person. The attack is debilitating, and migraine sufferers are often left feeling tired and weak once the headache has passed.

Types of migraines:

There are many forms of migraine headaches. Migraines are classified according to the symptoms they produce. The two most common types are migraine with aura and migraine without aura. We will only reference these two types of migraines in this article.

The aura is the occurrence of neurological symptoms 10-30 minutes before the classic migraine attack. You may see flashing lights, zigzag lines, wavy images, or hallucinations. Some migraine sufferers experience temporary loss of vision. Other symptoms of classic migraine include speech difficulty, confusion, weakness of an arm or leg and tingling of face or hands.

Non-visual auras include motor weakness, speech or language abnormalities, dizziness, vertigo, and tingling or numbness (parasthesia) of the face, tongue, or extremities.

Migraine with aura:

The pain of a classic migraine headache (migraine with aura) is described as an intense throbbing or pounding felt in the forehead/temple, ear/jaw or around the eyes. The pain typically begins in a specific area on one side of the head, then spreads and builds in intensity over 1 to 2 hours and then gradually subsides. An attack usually lasts no more than 24 hours but, in some cases, may last two or more days.

Migraine without aura:

Migraine without aura is the most common type and may occur on one or both sides (bilateral) of the head. Fatigue, mood changes, mental fuzziness and fluid retention may be experienced the day before the headache. With this type of migraine headache usually come abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light (photophobia).

Both types of migraines can strike as often as several times a week or rarely as once every few years. People who have migraines on rare occasions may confuse them with symptoms of the flu. If you have regular weekly or monthly migraines, you definitely know you have a migraine.

What are the Causes of Migraines?

The cause of migraine is still widely unknown. Some doctors think migraines may be caused by a chemical or electrical problem in certain parts of the brain. A key element of a migraine headache is blood flow change in the brain. According to this theory, the nervous system responds to a trigger such as stress, (see more on triggers below), by creating spasms in the nerve-rich arteries at the base of the brain. The spasms constrict several arteries supplying blood to the brain, including arteries from the scalp and neck.

As these arteries constrict, the flow of blood to the brain is reduced. At the same time, platelets clump together and release a chemical called serotonin. Serotonin acts as a powerful constrictor of arteries further reducing blood and oxygen supply to the brain. In reaction to the reduced oxygen supply, certain arteries within the brain dilate to meet the brain’s energy needs. This dilation spreads, finally affecting neck and scalp arteries. Some doctors believe this dilation causes the pain of migraine.

Another theory is, the headache may result from a series of reactions in the central nervous system caused by changes in the body or in the environment. There is often a family history of the disorder, suggesting that migraine sufferers may inherit sensitivity to triggers that produce inflammation in the blood vessels and nerves around the brain, causing pain.

Triggers:

A trigger is any stimulus that initiates a process or reaction. Some things are known to trigger a migraine or make it worse. If you are a migraine sufferer, you probably already know what stimulus triggers your migraines.

Common migraine triggers are:

Alcohol
Environmental factors such as weather, altitude, time zone changes
Caffeine (coffee, chocolate)
monosodium glutamate (MSG – found in Chinese food)
nitrates (found in processed foods, hot dogs, bacon, etc.)
Glare or flashing lights
Hormonal changes in women (monthly periods, birth control pills, estrogen therapy)
Hunger and fasting
Problems with sleep – too much, too little or interrupted
Medications (over-the-counter and prescription)
Smells, fumes and odors (perfume, smoke, pet odors, cleaning solvents)
Stress, time pressure, hassles, major losses, anger, arguments and conflict.
Excessive or constant noise

It is almost impossible to avoid many of these triggers. Life has a way of happening and many of these triggers are just a part of life. It is possible to avoid the things we put in our body but many of the triggers are going to occur no matter how hard you try to avoid them. Trying to avoid them could be a trigger itself.

So what are you going to do?

If you are looking for a natural way to end your migraines, I have found a product that will help with your migraines, Nexoprin. http://www.allnaturalcures.net/Nexoprin.htm Visit All Natural Cures and get your health back. All safe, natural cures and home remedies.

About The Author

Margaret Albright is a student of Naturopathy and an editor for the website All Natural Cures | Home Remedies and More (http://www.allnaturalcures.net) – All safe, natural cures and home remedies. Take control of your health TODAY! Pick up our RSS feed.

This article was posted on November 09, 2005

Technorati Tags: cause of migraine, migraine headache, migraine pain