How are migraines diagnosed?
To make the diagnosis of migraine, your doctor will take your complete medical history. They will ask you about:
- Your headache symptoms
- The type and location of your headache
- The frequency of headaches
- Triggers for the headache
- Medication history
- Aura: How you felt before, during and after the headache
Your doctor may ask you for tests, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or electric encephalography (EEG), to rule out any other causes of headache (e.g., stroke or epilepsy)
How do you tell the difference between a migraine and a headache?
According to the International Classification of Headache Disorders 3 (ICHD) criteria for migraine without aura, you must have had at least five headache attacks fulfilling the following criteria:
Headache attacks lasting four to 72 hours (untreated or unsuccessfully treated)
The headache has at least two of the following characteristics:
- Unilateral location
- Pulsating quality
- Moderate or severe pain intensity
- Aggravation by or causing you to avoid routine physical activity (for example, walking or climbing stairs)
- In addition, during the headache, at least one of the following characteristics:
- Nausea and/or vomiting
- Photophobia (light intolerance) and/or phonophobia (noise intolerance)
Are there any migraine treatments?
There is no permanent cure for migraine headaches. However, with treatment, you can
- Prevent the attacks
- Get relief from the symptoms
- Decrease the severity and frequency of the attacks
These treatments include:
- Pain relievers: Over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers, such as acetaminophen, aspirin, caffeine and ibuprofen, work well in relieving your headache temporarily. Be careful when you take OTC pain relievers because using them too much can give you rebound headaches.
- Triptans: You might get a pill to swallow, tablets you dissolve on your tongue, a nasal spray, an injection, or a skin patch.
- Dihydroergotamine: This can be used as an injection or as a nasal spray.
- Reyvow (Lasmiditan): This is a newly approved drug (2019) to relieve the signs and symptoms of migraine.
- Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonists: These are prescribed if other medicines fail to provide you relief.
If other treatments do not work and you have four or more migraine days a month, your doctor may suggest medicines to prevent them or reduce their severity. These include
- Anti-Seizure medicines
- Blood pressure medicines (like beta-blockers and calcium channel blockers)
- Some antidepressants
- Shots of Botox (botulinum toxin type a)
- CGRP antagonists
If you feel the aura of migraine or that a migraine attack is about to start, you can place a device known as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), another migraine treatment option, on the back of your head. It sends waves of magnetic energy to part of your brain, which may stop or reduce pain.
QUESTION
Who suffers more frequently from migraine headaches? See AnswerWhat is the best thing to do for a migraine?
If you get migraines, you can ease the pain immediately by simple measures that include:
- Resting with your eyes closed in a dark, quiet room
- Putting an ice pack on your forehead
- Hydrating yourself by drinking plenty of liquids
You can talk with your doctor and try complementary or alternative treatments along with other medications. These include:
- Biofeedback: This method helps to identify stressful situations that could trigger migraines. By modifying your body’s reaction to stress, you can prevent migraine attacks.
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): A specialist can teach you changes people’s attitudes and their behavior.
- Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR): A therapist will teach how to tighten and relax your body muscles to relieve the stress that triggers your migraine.
- Supplements: These include riboflavin, coenzyme Q10 and melatonin.
- Physical therapies: These include chiropractic, massage, acupressure, acupuncture, and craniosacral therapy.
- Deep breathing
- Yoga
How can you prevent migraine?
Try these steps to prevent symptoms:
- Identify and avoid triggers
- Manage stress
- Eat on a regular schedule
- Drink lots of fluid
- Get plenty of rest
- Get regular moderate exercise
- Use devices (Cefaly and gammaCore) that prevent migraine
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Migraine Headache
Migraine headache is a type of headache associated with a sensitivity to light, smells, or sounds, eye pain, severe pounding on one side of the head, and sometimes nausea and vomiting. The exact cause of migraine headaches is not known. Triggers for migraine headaches include certain foods, stress, hormonal changes, strong stimuli (loud noises), and oversleeping. Treatment guidelines for migraines include medicine, pain management, diet changes, avoiding foods that trigger migraines, staying hydrated, getting adequate sleep, and exercising regularly. Prevention of migraine triggers include getting regular exercise, drinking water daily, reducing stress, and avoiding trigger foods.
Migraines and Seizures
Migraines are a type of headache and seizures are the main symptom of epilepsy. Migraine headaches and seizures are two different neurological problems that have similar signs, symptoms, and auras, for example, sensitivity to light (photophobia) and sound, irritability, nausea, and vomiting.Symptoms unique to migraine and migraine auras are water retention, problems sleeping, appetite changes, and talkativeness. Symptoms unique to seizure and seizures auras are depression, a feeling of heaviness, a feeling that a seizure is approaching, and depression.
Many of the symptoms of migraine and seizures are the same, however, seizures do not cause migraines; however, people who have seizures are twice as likely to have migraines and vice-versa. People who have migraines are twice as likely to have seizures, and people with seizures are twice as likely to have migraines; however, one condition does not cause the other.
Migraine and Stroke
Migraine headache is a type of headache in which the exact cause is not known; however, they may be inherited, and certain foods and environmental factors can trigger and may contribute them. A stroke (brain attack) happens when a blood vessel in the brain leaks, bursts, or becomes blocked, which can be caused by many other health problems. Both migraines and strokes can can cause severe head pain (migraine pain usually is only on one side of the head). Migraine aura symptoms may mimic or feel like a stroke or mini-stroke (transient ischemic attack, TIA) because they have similar symptoms and signs like severe headache, numbness in the legs, feet, arms, hands, or face, nausea, vomiting, and dizziness. Other migraine aura symptoms include vision problems like flashing lights or blind spots in one eye. The main difference between migraine headache and stroke symptoms and signs is that a migraine headaches usually come on gradually while a stroke symptoms come on suddenly and unexpectedly.
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Headaches are the most common reason why a person goes to the doctor or other healthcare professional for treatment. There are different types of headaches, for example, migraine, tension, and cluster headaches. The most common type of headache is tension headache. Migraine is much less common. There are few similarities between migraine and other headaches, for example, the severity of the pain can be the same, mild, moderate, or severe; and they can occur on one side or both sides of the head. However, there are many differences between migraine and other types of headaches. Migraine headaches also have different names, for example, migraine with aura and menstrual migraine.Symptoms of migraine that usually aren't experienced by a person with another type of headache include nausea, vomiting, worsens with mild exercise, debilitating pain, eye pain, throbbing head pain.
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Untreated migraine attacks usually last from 4 to 72 hours, but may last for weeks. Most headaches resolve within 24-48 hours. Doctors don't know exactly what causes migraine headaches; however, other headaches like tension headaches have more specific triggers and causes. Additional tests usually are required to diagnose migraine from other types of headaches, diseases, or other medical problems. Most headaches can be treated and cured with home remedies like essential oils, massage, and over-the-counter pain medication like acetaminophen (Tylenol) and NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) like naproxen (Aleve, Anaprox, Naprosyn) or ibuprofen (Advil, Midol, Motrin). Most headaches resolve with OTC and home remedy treatment, while your doctor may need to prescribe medication to treat your migraines. If you have the "worst headache of your life," seek medical care immediately.
Should I Go to the ER for a Migraine?
A migraine is a severe throbbing and pulsating headache that causes pain on one side of the head. A patient should visit an emergency department if they have a severe headache with or without nausea and vomiting.
What Causes Migraines?
A migraine is a complex disorder that involves episodes of recurrent and severe headaches. An episode of a migraine can be very painful, lasting for hours, making day-to-day activities difficult until the episode is resolved. The frequency and severity of migraine attacks tend to decline with age. And women are more likely to suffer from migraines than men.What Causes Migraines in Females?
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