What is a Migraine?
Migraines are painful headaches that can also include other symptoms such as vomiting, nausea and fatigue. According to The National Headache Foundation, around 28 million Americans suffer from migraines and in general more women suffer from migraines than men. Migraines can last for a couple of hours or up to several days, and in some extreme cases even longer.
Causes of a Migraine:
The causes of migraines are unknown but there are several external factors known to be migraine triggers:
- Drinking excessive amounts or withdrawing from caffeine
- Menstrual periods
- Eating an unhealthy/undernourished diet
- Emotional stress
- Allergies to certain foods or food preservatives
- Changes in the weather
Symptoms of a Migraine:
There are often multiple migraine symptoms that can include:
- Moderate to severe head pain
- Sensitivity to light
- Blurred Vision
Tests and Diagnosis:
There is no specific test for diagnosing migraines, but a doctor will usually diagnose a patient suffering from migraines after asking numerous questions regarding the patient’s headaches and looking at their medical history of suffering from headaches. Once migraines have been diagnosed, a doctor will also usually complete a physical and neurological exam of their patient to try and find the root cause of the migraine.
Treatments and Drugs:
There are two main types of drugs that are used for migraine treatment and these include abortive and preventative treatments. Abortive treatments are designed for migraine relief which stop the migraine and its symptoms once it begins and preventative treatments are designed to prevent a migraine from occurring at all.
Common abortive prescription medications include:
- Ergotamine tartrate
Common abortive over-the-counter medications include:
- Advil Migraine
- Excedrin Migraine
- Motrin Migraine Pain
Common preventative prescription medications include:
- Anti-seizure medications
Migraine recovery time can vary for each sufferer; it can take hours or days for the symptoms of migraines to subside. However, the abortive medications as listed above may be able to help a migraine sufferer recover from their migraine headache more quickly.
Migraines can occur for different reasons, and the key for a migraine sufferer to prevent future migraines from occurring is to identify the cause of their migraine, which they may be able to discover by visiting their doctor. The preventative medications as listed above may also be able to assist in preventing future migraines from happening.
More information on migraines can be found at the following sites: