One of the most disturbing and challenging headaches are the migraine headaches, with the latter crippling the lives of most patients. Migraine headaches usually begin at a tender age, with many children and young people known to suffer from them. But in many cases, as they grow older the problem usually goes away. Knowing the symptoms of migraine headaches is most important, not only for the patient, but also for the family members of the patient, as they are the ones who usually responsible for the latter's treatment and care. The signs and symptoms of migraine headaches are very prompt and severe, thus enabling the patient to easily recognize the same and distinguish with other forms of headache. The intensity of pain is the maximum in migraine headaches, thus distinguishing it immediately with tension headaches, the latter being much more common as well. The way the pain originates, persists and the degree, all make it very different from other forms of headache.
One of the most common symptoms of migraine headaches is a premonition of the onset of a migraine attack. In the case of classic migraines, half an hour before the headache begins, the patient begins to see auras, that is, visions of light flashes, zig zag lines and blind spots. This is accompanied by tingling in the hands and feet. However, in the case of common migraines, patients usually do not feel any auras. In such cases even the patient can begin to feel the migraine attack coming, as can the family members. Some of these include feeling thirsty, drowsiness, depression, irritability, sudden mood swings, with elation and intense activity and the craving for something sweet to eat. The migraine attack can take from half hour to few hours to develop. And the attack can last from anywhere between four to 72 hours. Once, the migraine subsides, the patient still continues to feel extremely tired and sensitive to sudden movements of the head.
When the migraine headaches begin, the pain begins mostly on one side of the head, though it can switch sides during the attack and can even exist in both the sides. The pain is significantly sharp, accompanied by other symptoms of migraine headaches including nausea and vomiting, high sensitivity to light and sound, blurred or double vision and sensitive to strong odors, among others. Usually the patient only wants to lie down in a dark and quiet room. The person feels extremely tired at the same time and often cannot speak as well. In certain severe cases, the patient is even known to suffer from seizures or paralysis. But this is temporary and the patient feels extreme fatigue, once the migraine attack is over. Any sort of physical activity usually increases the pain. While the pain may range from moderate to intense, most patients can feel the persistent throbbing pain. There are several types of migraine headaches, with some of them being migraine with aura, migraine without aura, abominable migraine, basilar artery migraine, headache free migraine, Carotidynia, opthalmoplegic migraine and status migraine. Migraine headaches are such that can occur in anybody, irrespective of age, gender and especially in those with a family history.
Know more about other symptoms and signs of headache at Symptoms of Headaches .
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