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Health and Fitness > What Is A Migrane Headache?
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Article rating : 0.00, 0 votes. Author : Donald Saunders
Over twenty-nine million Americans are afflicted by migraine headaches and that is about 10% of the population. Migraines trouble women roughly three times more often than men and migraines are not confined to adults with a significant number of children suffering from them as well. A migraine attack lasts anywhere from a few hours to several days and with longer attacks sufferers generally experience secondary effects for far longer. Despite the fact that migraines are so common close to 50 percent of all victims do not see a doctor about the condition.
A frequent symptom of a migraine is a sharp throbbing pain on one side of the head which is usually localized in the area of the temple. It is also often accompanied by other symptoms like nausea and vomiting and sensitivity to light and noise.
Just what causes migraines is not known and, although for a long time it was suspected that they resulted from a dilation of the blood vessels, contemporary research now favors other explanations. In addition, though there is no general consensus of opinion, many researchers consider that the migraine is a genetic disorder which affects the way in which certain chemicals in the brain like serotonin act upon the nerve cells.
The difficulty in solving the mystery of migraines is amplified by the fact that migraine headaches come in two different forms.
The first form is referred to as 'classical migraine' and is linked with something which professionals refer to as an 'aura'. The aura has nothing to do with mystical fields surrounding the body but refers to the symptoms sufferers experience before the onset of a headache. For these migraine sufferers it is common to have visual hallucinations like bright spots and flickering lights or even to suffer loss of vision immediately prior to the arrival of
a headache.
When there are no visual symptoms sufferers suffer from the second form of headaches.
Attempting to pin down exactly what gives rise to a migraine headache is not easy although data collected over the years may point to the final answer. For instance, individuals who get too little sleep appear to be at greater risk, as are individuals who get too much sleep which has been correlated with a greater incidence. Attacks are also commonly linked to eating certain foods such as cheese and to missing meals.
It is also think that some hormonal factors affect the start and severity of attacks and one piece of evidence in support of this is the much higher incidence of migraines among women than men. Indeed, one particular study revealed an incidence of 17% in men against only 6% in men. Additionally, studies have revealed a link between the contraceptive pill and migraines and we known that Estrogen, which is a major component of contraceptive pills, affects blood vessels.
However the list of factors which trigger migraines does not end here and simple everyday activities like 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 migraines occur more frequently with a combination of these triggers at work.
Happily, there are various medical treatments available, though none can really be said to be overwhelmingly effective in all cases, and writing a diary of your attacks can often identify lifestyle changes which may help in curing migraines. If lifestyle changes alone do not do the trick then there are a variety of medications which your doctor can prescribe.
TheMigraineHeadacheCenter.com provides migrane headache information including details of migraine headache treatment
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