
Quality of pain: Intense pounding or throbbing and/or debilitating Compare your symptoms with those in this chart to see what type of headache you might be having. Talk with your doctor about what sets off your headaches to help find the right treatment for you.Ĭompared with migraine, tension-type headache is generally less severe and rarely disabling. Each day you have your period, not just the first day (This can allow you and your doctor to see if your headaches occur at the same or similar time as your period.).What you ate or drank 24 hours before the attack.Where you were and what you were doing when the migraine started.Each day you have a migraine headache, put that in your diary. To pinpoint your migraine triggers, keep a headache diary. Foods that contain tyramine, such as aged cheeses, soy products, fava beans, hard sausages, smoked fish, and Chianti wine.Foods that contain MSG (monosodium glutamate), a flavor enhancer found in fast foods, broths, seasonings, and spices.Foods that contain nitrates, such as hot dogs and lunch meats.Stress and anxiety, or relaxation after stress.Hormone changes during the menstrual cycle.Bright lights, loud noises, or strong odors.Many women with migraine tend to have attacks triggered by: A person's response to triggers also can vary from migraine to migraine. A combination of triggers - not a single thing or event - is more likely to set off an attack. These triggers can vary from person to person and don't always lead to migraine. People who get migraines may have abnormal genes that control the functions of certain brain cells.Įxperts do know that people with migraines react to a variety of factors and events, called triggers. This inflammation then causes blood vessels in the brain to swell and press on nearby nerves, causing pain. When the levels of these substances increase, they can cause inflammation. Most researchers think that migraine is due to abnormal changes in levels of substances that are naturally produced in the brain. The exact cause of migraine is not fully understood. Migraine often becomes less severe and less frequent with age.Most people have a family history of migraine or of disabling headache.Most often, migraine affects people between the ages of 15 and 55.We don't know what causes migraine, but some things are more common in people who have them: But migraine attacks can interfere with your day-to-day life. Most of the time, migraines are not a threat to your overall health. Some people get migraines once or twice a week.

The pain can last a few hours or up to one or two days. Migraine can occur any time of the day, though it often starts in the morning.

Some people also may see spots or flashing lights or have a temporary loss of vision. Besides pain, migraine also can cause nausea and vomiting and sensitivity to light and sound. Most people with migraine headache feel the pain in the temples or behind one eye or ear, although any part of the head can be involved. A migraine headache is usually an intense, throbbing pain on one, or sometimes, both sides of the head. Most people who suffer from migraines get headaches that can be quite severe.
