Migraine is quite a common health problem, but very poorly understood. People usually describe every headache to be a migraine, while in actuality, it’s a different specific kind of headache, posing with certain characteristic features.

A migraine, with some prior knowledge of what it is, can be easily coped with and treated. This blog explains just that: in simple words what a migraine is, its types, reasons, and effective treatments.

Meaning of Migraine

A migraine is an intense kind of headache, usually only on one side of the head. It can also be extremely painful enough to hamper daily activities in any given time frame.

Other symptoms are often included with this affliction, such as nausea, vomiting, and irritability with light and noise. They can last for some hours to some days and have a big impact on the quality of life.

Types of Migraines

Migraines can be classified into several types, each with its own features:

1. Migraine Without Aura: This is the most common form. It consists of a described moderate to severe head pain without preceding warning signs.
2. Migraine with Aura: About 25-30% of the patients who have a migraine experience a kind of warning, known as an aura, before the headache occurs. An aura includes visual disturbances in the form of flashes of light or zigzag patterns. Symptoms can be in the form of temporary loss of vision, tingling in the face and both hands, slurred speech, and dizziness.
3. Chronic Migraine: If you are having a headache on 15 or more days each month, and at least 8 of these days each month your headache is a migraine, you may have Chronic Migraine. This one is pretty significantly life-altering.
4. Hemiplegic Migraine: Symptoms indicate that it is this rare form of migraine that can cause temporary paralysis or weakness on one side of the body, together with disturbances in vision and sensation.
5. Retinal Migraine: This is the experience of having a disturbance in vision, or temporary blindness, in one eye. It generally lasts up to one hour.

Causes of Migraines

The exact cause of migraines is not fully understood, but several factors are believed to play a role:

1. Genetics: Migraines do tend to run in families, so some genetic component most likely is operating.
2. Environmental Factors: A change in the environment, which could be seasonal or even simple changes such as lighting or weather, may serve to initiate the migraine.
3. Hormonal Changes: Changes in hormones, especially in women, may cause a migraine. This is the reason why some women get migraines around their menstrual cycle, pregnancy, or menopause.
4. Dietary Triggers: The triggers can be in the form of foods and beverages, most notably, alcohol, caffeine, aged cheese, processed meats, and chocolate.
5. Stress and Anxiety: The common migraine triggers are emotional stress and anxiety.
6. Sleep Patterns: Both sleep deprivation and too much sleep can be initiators of a migraine.

Treatment of Migraines

Treatment of migraines requires equally lifestyle changes and medications, complemented by alternative therapies in some cases. The following are examples of common approaches:

Medications of Migraines

1. Pain Relievers: Over-the-counter pain relievers like ibuprofen and aspirin might ease mild migraines.
2. Triptans: These are prescription drugs, such as sumatriptan and rizatriptan, that are specially designed to treat migraines. Mostly, they narrow blood vessels and obstruct pain pathways in the brain.
3. Anti-Nausea Drugs: Drugs from the category of metoclopramide can be prescribed to reduce the nauseating properties of the migraine.
4. Preventive Medications: For frequent migraines, doctors may prescribe medications to reduce their frequency and severity. Beta-blockers, antidepressants, and anti-seizure drugs are all examples.

Dr. Naresh Kumar Damesha
Consulting Neurosurgeon