Migraine
What is a migraine?
A migraine is a throbbing, intense headache in one half of the head. It can affect people of all ages and the cause is often not known.
During an attack, the blood vessels in the brain dilate and then draw together with stimulation of nerve endings near the affected blood vessels. These changes to the blood vessels are probably what cause the pain, but migraine headaches is a condition that is poorly understood.
What are the typical features of migraine?
People often use the word migraine to refer to headaches of many different types. So-called classical migraine attacks have several features (though a person may not experience them all):
- Headaches that occur in bouts of between roughly 4 to 72 hours.
- The headaches usually affect one side of the head at a time, although both sides may be affected in separate attacks.
- The headaches are usually throbbing and worsened by normal physical activity nausea and/or vomiting
- Preceding symptoms, called the ‘aura’ that most often are visual, such as zigzag lines or flashing lights across or at the edges of the fields of vision
- Sensitivity to light and sound
- Non-visual aura such as a sensation of tingling in the body.
What are treatments?
The treatment that works best for different people may vary.
- We find the migra cap can offer great relief to many people, this has the added advantage of being drug free and suitable in pregnancy
- Many over the counter remedies help. Ask our pharmacist for more advise
- If this fails, you should talk to your doctor about prescription treatments
- A food diary often helps identify if foods are a cause of your migraine
- If you have a migraine, the best thing is often to rest in a dark room
