Could Your Headache Be a Migraine?

1. A Visual Guide to Migraine Headaches Slideshow Pictures
2. Headache and Migraine Triggers Slideshow Pictures
3. Take the Migraines Quiz

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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