Click Partners

Unlike normal headaches that many of us suffer with, a migraine is often a hereditary complaint that starts when someone is still in childhood. Most suffers will go to bed as the headache (usually on one side) takes hold and which could last a matter of a few hours but if left without attention, could last for days. Almost all sufferers will complain of exhaustion and a feeling of weakness that takes some time to pass.

Some sufferers only experience only one attack per year whereas for someone who is liable to frequent attacks, this in the range of one or two every month. Certain symptoms are common for many sufferers including a problem with bright lights, sometimes even dull light, in addition to flu like chills and lightheadedness. Migraine is most prevalent in people between the ages of ten to forty years old; almost no cases are recorded after the age of 50.

Whilst family groups are known to share attacks, so far there has been a problem finding a genetic trait that links certain family members to migraines; even though there may be a link, so far it has eluded medical science. There is a condition that causes an inflammation of blood vessels in the brain and it is possible that people who suffer have sensitivity in this area. More women suffer from attacks and they comprise 75 percent of reported cases; only about eight percent of men will have an attack in their lives so it is very much a condition that affects women.

A number of people have a warning when they are about to have an attack which is called migraine with aura which can be anywhere between ten minutes to half an hour before the actual attack. The warning signs may include:

*Nausea is very common *Vision is affected *Strange sounds or smell *Lack of sensation in sufferers extremities

these are the most commonly experienced symptoms. However, the condition that’s most common is a migraine without aura where the pain increases in one area of the head; these victims have no warning, but the symptoms can also be intensified if they move to much.

At the moment the theory that blood vessels leading to the brain become narrower and affect the nerves is the closest science has come to discovering the cause of migraines. It might be that it is the expansion of the blood vessels afterwards that causes the headache; most victims become unable to do anything for some time after the attack. The range of possible triggers that create an attack is huge; the most common are listed below:

*Weather patterns *Particular foodstuffs *Height *Certain groups of drink *Bright lights *Not enough food *Tension

Only by carefully documenting everything that was going on prior to the attack can the victim hope to find out what starts the attacks off.