Could Your Headache Be a Migraine?

Headache & Migraine Triggers Slideshow

Most people get headaches now and then, but how do you know if it's a migraine? This is a headache in which blood vessels constrict and dilate, releasing inflammatory substances that cause painful pulsations. The mild to severe pain can last from four hours up to a week, two to four times a month. Your headache may be a migraine if you have any combination of these symptoms:

• Moderate to severe pain (often described as pounding, throbbing pain) that can affect the whole head, or can shift from one side of the head to the other
• Sensitivity to light, noise or odors
• Blurred vision
• Nausea or vomiting, upset stomach, abdominal pain
• Loss of appetite
• Sensations of being very warm or cold
• Paleness
• Fatigue
• Dizziness
• Fever (rare)
• Bright flashing dots or lights, blind spots, wavy or jagged lines (aura)

If you think you might be a migraine sufferer, see a doctor for your treatment options.

Questions to Ask Your Doctor

• Can migraines be prevented?
• What medications treat migraines?
• What pain relievers can cause rebound headaches?
• What foods trigger headaches?

Did You Know?

• Botox may prevent and treat migraines.
• Certain foods, like aged cheese and red wine, can trigger headaches.
• An aura is a sign that a migraine is about to begin; this includes blurred or distorted vision, blind spots or bright colored, flashing or moving lights or lines in vision.
• A cluster headache is an intense headache that occurs one to three times per day, which may last two weeks to three months.
• A rebound headache is one that occurs from over-using medications for headache pain.
• Tension headaches are the most common type of adult headache; thought to be caused by tightened muscles in the back of the neck and scalp.

Know Your Numbers

• There are 150 diagnostic headache categories.
• People spend $4 billion a year on over-the-counter pain relievers for headaches.
• 45 million Americans suffer chronic headaches.
• 28 million Americans have migraines each year.
• 70% of migraine sufferers are women. .
• 78% of headaches are the tension type.

For more, please read the Migraine Headache and General Headache articles.

WebMD the Magazine - September/October 2005
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