Health Network News

If you suffer form very painful headaches and have done so since you were young, the chances are you may suffer from migraines which are often experienced by other members of a family group. 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. It is a debilitating condition that leaves its victims feeling weakened and exhausted even when the pain has subsided.

Medical science still hasn’t discovered why there can be such long periods without a headache for some people and not others. Many of the symptoms experienced by sufferers are closely connected to other everyday illnesses. Migraine can affect people from as young as ten and up to the age of forty; almost no cases are recorded after the age of 50.

It is quite common for members of the same family group to suffer with migraine attacks; even though there may be a link, so far it has eluded medical science.

Science cannot as yet explain why this condition is more likely to affect women than men but women have a three times greater chance of having the condition than men; one in every 4 women will be a victim of it, whilst only 1 in 12 men will suffer with it at some point in their life.

Migraine with aura is a symptom where some sufferers are able to predict an attack up to half an hour before it happens. There are many warning indicators of the attack:

Feeling Sick

Problems with vision

Reduction in the sensations of taste

Problems speaking

Other symptoms exist but these appear to be the most common. The most common type of this condition is known as migraine without aura; this condition can escalate and is made worse by any movement, loud noises and bright lights which can cause the person to vomit.

Science is still trying to discover the reason for migraines and why some people are more susceptible to the condition than others although one theory has suggested that contracted blood vessels in the brain may be the cause.

It might be that it is the expansion of the blood vessels afterwards that causes the headache; however, all suffers say the attack knocks them out and they are unable to carry out even the most simple of daily tasks. As there are so many situations that could trigger an attack, only a few are listed here:

Bad weather

Certain types of food

Altitude

Anxiety or panic attacks

Certain groups of drink

Very bright internal lighting

Not enough food

Stress caused by personal problems

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.