According the National Headache Foundation, more than 29.5 million Americans suffer from migraine headaches. A migraine headache can be brought on by different factors. For example, a change in sleep patterns can trigger migraine attacks. A delay in eating a meal, or missing it altogether, is another trigger associated with migraine attacks. Various light effects can trigger a migraine, including bright lights, fluorescent lights, watching movies or television and sunlight. Stress and depression are underlying factors that can be triggers for episodes of migraine headaches. Also, medications that cause blood vessels to swell can trigger migraines.
Frequency
Migraine headaches that return at intervals that are measured in days, weeks or months are recurrent migraines. There may or may not be a pattern to the frequency of the migraines. An example is of a pattern in teenage girls having migraine headaches associated with their menstrual cycles. Some people, however, have chronic migraine headaches. According to Reuters Health, chronic migraine headache sufferers have headaches more than 15 times per month. People with episodic migraines have them fewer than 15 times per month.
Warning Signs
Some symptoms of an approaching episode of migraine headaches may help to provide an early warning of the full-fledged migraine. This can be helpful when driving or operating heavy machinery and with medication options. Symptoms of an approaching migraine attack include disturbances in vision. These visual disturbances include wavy lines, dots, blind spots and flashing lights. They can affect vision 15 to 60 minutes before the migraine pain starts.
Migraine Episode Symptoms
During an episode of a migraine attack, symptoms include pain that is typically on one side of the head. There is a throbbing or pulsating quality to the pain. The pain ranges from moderate to intense and can affect daily activities. There can be an increased sensitivity to light and sound. Nausea and vomiting are also symptoms of a migraine attack. These symptoms of a migraine attack can last up to 72 hours and sometimes longer. Physical exertion such as climbing stairs can make the symptoms worse.
