What Causes Migraines?
When someone is constantly plagued by migraines, they often wonder what are the migraine causes and the migraine triggers so that they can avoid having them so much. Here are some of the more common migraine causes.
Stress
One of the biggest migraine causes that people have is stress. Even though stress is known to cause tension headaches, it can also cause the very painful migraine headaches. Stress can be brought on by a lot of different things. If someone has a lot of stress in their life and they are always having migraines, they need to reduce the stress and they will get rid of one of their migraine triggers.
Food
There are things that are in certain foods that can cause migraines, such as sulfites and monosodium glutanate, which are both found in things like chocolate, wines, Chinese food, peas, wines, and cheeses. If you think that you may be getting migraines due to the foods that you are eating, make a log of when you get a migraine and what you ate and look for patterns. If you find the the food is giving you the migraines and are migraine triggers, then you should avoid eating that kind of food.
Menstruation
Due to the fact that migraines are something that happens more often for women than men, it’s been discovered that menstruation can be one of the migraine triggers. Because a woman’s hormone levels fluctuate during menstruation, it can be one of the migraine triggers. Even though there aren’t any cures for this migraine trigger, a woman can speak to their doctor and see about getting a prescription for their migraines.
Alcohol
When someone drinks a lot of alcohol, they often wake up with a hangover the following day, and a migraine is one of the hangover symptoms. Avoiding drinking yourself into a stupor is a good way to avoid getting a migraine.
Medication
When you pick up a prescription from a pharmacy, look at the paper that the pharmacist has given you. A lot of medications are migraine triggers. One of the medications that causes migraines and a lot of people know about are birth control pills. Other medications that are created to dilate blood vessels can be migraine triggers. So if you are having migraines because of medication, it may be time to talk to the doctor. They may have an alternative medication that they can prescribe that won’t cause migraines.
The migraine causes listed above are some of the most common causes of migraines and they are also some of the most preventable. Even though they may not be completely preventable, people can reduce their risk of getting a migraine if they know the migraine triggers and which are the ones that affect them. Although one can’t eliminate all their stress or stop taking medication, they can do things to work around those two triggers. Migraines are common, but they don’t have to be a part of the everyday life of someone if they keep their eyes out for signs.
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What is a Migraine Equivalent?
A term that is sometimes seen on the Internet and other places is the term migraine equivalent. A lot of people see it but they don’t’ know what ti exactly means. So this article is going to give you a better understanding of what the term migraine equivalent means and may also give you a better understanding of what may be happening to you in your own life.
When people think about migraines, they usually associate them with a really bad headache, nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sound. But a migraine equivalent is a migraine that comes without pain. But a migraine equivalent is a migraine that comes without the pain.
So if the migraine equivalent is a migraine without the pain in the head, why it such a big problem? The reason is simple: even though there isn’t any pain, it still is something that causes problems for people who suffer from it.
Symptoms
When someone has a migraine equivalent, they still have some of the same symptoms that someone who has a regular migraine has. Here are some of the most common t hings that people who have this will experience.
Visual Problems
One of the most common symptoms is changes in the person’s vision. Some of the changes are flashes, little light points that glitter, stripes or mirages that shimmer, and colors and patterns that seem to appear suddenly.
Other things that someone might experience with this kind of migraine is hallucinations. They may feel as if they are in a dream, feeling as if they are in the middle of a fantasy world.
Numbness and Tingling
Another symptom of this kind of migraine is numbness and tingling in a person’s feet, hands, legs, face, or arms. This can be complete numbness or it can just feel like the person’s limb fell asleep.
Length of Migraine
The migraine equivalent has really no set length of time, just like a regular migraine. It can last anywhere from a few seconds to several hours or more. It may be just one event or it can be a few things that are tied together. But it shouldn’t be thought that people who have this kind of migraine are getting off easy. The symptoms that they experience during this kind of migraine can really affect their day, frighten them, or make them wonder if they are going mad.
Although people may feel as though people who have this kind of migraine have it easy because there is no pain involved, the problems that they face with it are just as bad and just as frustrating. They have trouble telling what is real and what isn’t, they have problems with numbness in their body, and they just don’t feel like themselves. Just because there is no pain involved it doesn’t mean that the person who has the migraine isn’t affected. They are affected as badly as any other sufferer and even more so because some people may not believe that it’s a migraine.
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Migraine vs Regular Headaches
How do you know if you are experiencing a migraine headache or just a regular headache. Migraine tests are usually just a review of the headache symptoms. With just a regular tension headache, you will experience a band of pain around the head, which may extend to the neck and back. It is usually caused by contraction of the neck and facial muscles but can be intensified by dental problems and eye strain. The pain is mild to moderate, and it is usually felt all over the head. This headache will last only a short time, and usually responds well to over-the-counter pain relievers like aspirin. It does not involve other symptoms like nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, or vision blurring and vertigo.
A migraine headache is caused by an enlargement in the blood vessels in the head near the temple. These enlarge blood vessels cause the production of chemicals that can cause inflammation and pain and further enlargement of the blood vessels. The pain of a migraine headache is moderate to severe. Many migraine suffers are completely bedridden during a migraine headache attack. The pain is a stabbing and throbbing pain, usually experienced only on one side of the head. A migraine headache can last for several hours up to several days. Migraine tests are usually just a review of the symptoms and after effects. It typically does not respond to over-the-counter pain relievers because the sympathetic nervous system is activated by this condition. This prevents the stomach from processing things that have been consumed and passing them on to the small intestine. This is where medications would be processed to help relieve pain. This is one of the migraine tests that can verify what type of headache you are suffering from. So, when a person gets a migraine headache sometimes they just have to wait it out. The action of the sympathetic nervous system can also cause dizziness and fainting in migraine suffers.
Many people believe that migraines are caused by a change in the hormones in the body, so women are more likely to be migraine suffers than men, especially because of menstrual cycles. Sometimes migraines can be triggered by foods and food additives. Many people feel that chocolate, excessive caffeine and things like MSG in Chinese food can bring on migraines. Keep a diary of the foods that seem to cause your migraines and avoid those foods. Migraine tests for proving these claims have not been developed, but you will know after a while what triggers to look for.
As mentioned above, a regular headache will usually respond well to over-the-counter medications, within a short time frame. You will typically get relief within 30 minutes to one hour. Migraine headaches on the other hand, do not respond well to medication. Migraine suffers usually just have to get through the attack by laying quietly in a dark room until the migraine symptoms pass. Migraine tests consist basically of just a general physical exam and a screening for symptoms of the migraine sufferer. You physician will simply review the conditions you experience before during and after an attack.
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What Is a Migraine Part II
A migraine is a form of vascular headache. It is caused by the increasing of the blood vessels near the temporal artery. The increase of the blood vessels causes the release of chemicals around these blood vessels. The temporal artery itself enlarges. It is located outside the skull, just under the skin over the temple. The chemicals that are released cause inflammation and pain.
This sort of just builds on itself until the pain is severe. Sometimes migraine headaches activate the sympathetic nervous system. This can cause vomiting and diarrhea in the person suffering from the migraine. This can cause delayed absorption of stomach contents by the small intestine, therefore if medications are taken to relieve the pain, they may not work while the attack is happening.
Some of the migraine symptoms are cold hands and feet, because the sympathetic activity decreases blood circulation. This increased sympathetic activity can cause extreme sensitivity to light and noises. It can also cause blurred vision. Migraines are characterized as intense throbbing pain in one temple or the other. Usually the pain is only on one side of the head. If will switch from one side to the other with each attack. If you are having a migraine only on one side for an extended period of time, you need to see a doctor as this may be caused by a brain tumor. Most people who are suffering from a migraine want to lay down in a quiet, dark room until the pain stops. This may take a few hours or a few days.
Some common migraine symptoms are sleepiness, irritability, fatigue, depression, yawning and craving of sweets or salty food right before the onset. Some people experience migraine symptoms like flashing, bright lights moving in a zig zag pattern and sometimes even blind spots. Some people may experience pins and needle sensations on their hands and arms on one side or around their mouth and nose on one side.
Other migraine symptoms involve experiencing abnormal tastes and smells. Some complicated migraines are accompanied by neurological dysfunction. Vertabrobasilar migraines affect the brain stem and can cause fainting or vertigo (dizziness). These are also sometimes symptoms and warning signs. Hemiplegic migraines cause paralysis or a weakening of one side of the body. The symptoms are similar to those of a stroke. These symptoms normally are only temporary and go away in time. The condition is usually diagnosed when migraine symptoms like those mentioned begin to show up.
Migraines can start in childhood or early adulthood. It is thought that the condition might be hereditary. Migraines can be aggravated by caffeine. Certain types of foods may trigger attacks as well, so keep a diary of foods that you consume before an onset. It is best not to skip meals, as this has been known to bring on attacks. It is said that exercise is a good deterrent to migraine attacks. If you exercise regularly, you will sleep much more soundly and therefore may be more likely to avoid migraines.
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How to Get Migraine Pain Relief
If you suffer from migraine headaches you know all too well that the pain they produce can be extreme and often debilitating. Sometimes there is little that can be done except to ride out the attacks in a dark quiet room. Some people have found relief from some over-the-counter migraine pain relievers like Excedrin Migraine, Advil Migraine, or Motrin Migraine pills. These pills don’t work for everyone. They contain caffeine, so if your migraine pain is made worse with caffeine, you should avoid trying these. Sometimes you can get migraine pain relief by putting a cold washcloth on your head. This can potentially help restrict the blood vessels, giving you some migraine pain relief.
There are natural herbal supplements that have been reported to give migraine pain relief. Feverfew (tanacetum parthenium) is known to help blunt migraine pain. You can take this in capsule form or just take 2 leaves daily. It may take a few weeks to get fully into your system, so continue to take it for at least four weeks on a daily basis. Once it does it will reduce the frequency of migraine headaches and when you do actually get one it will reduce the migraine pain associated with it. If you take the capsules you will need to take 250 mg daily for a few weeks to start getting results. Ginkgo biloba is another herbal supplement that has been reported to reduce migraine pain for some people. It improves circulation, decreases inflammation as well as inhibiting the production of a platelet-activating factor that may be linked to migraines. This also has to be taken for a few weeks to be effective.
Another method that many people have gotten migraine pain relief from is by taking magnesium supplements. It is said that 80% of Americans’ suffer from a magnesium deficiency. This is thought to lead not only to migraine headaches but to heart problems and diabetes. Most physicians fail to recommend that their patients consider a magnesium supplement, so most people are oblivious to the possible benefits. For those people who have found this recommendation by researching on the Internet, many order or purchase magnesium supplements from a health food store and find that after a period of time, they are not getting any results. The human body can only absorb about 10% of the magnesium that is taken orally. To get a full dose you would have to take a lot of pills. This in turn could cause some serious stomach problems. There are magnesium lotions available though, that allow the magnesium to get into the blood stream a lot faster and easier than through the digestive system. It is recommended that the lotion be applied to the arms and legs daily. You can do a foot bath with the lotion in the water at night to help get more magnesium into your body. If you use both of these methods, you may find that not only do you get migraine pain relief, but you may recover from other medical conditions as well.
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What is an Ocular Migraine?
NOTE: this article is being rewritten to provide more accurate information.
Most people know what a migraine is but what is an ocular migraine? It is a migraine that may or may not cause pain but it does cause visual disruptions. These migraines are thought to be caused by changes in the blood flow to the brain. The technical name for these conditions is opthalmalic migraines but most people just call them ocular migraine for short. Migraines of any type are thought to be trigger by certain foods like chocolate, excessive caffeine consumption, MSG in Chinese food, etc.. They can also be caused by flashing lights or even hormonal changes. Most people who suffer from migraines on a regular basis will notice warning signs that an attack is coming on, but ocular migraines can have a sudden onset.
Ocular migraine sufferers can have a number of different visual changes during the attack. Typically, the person will experience a blind spot in the middle of the eye that may have flashing lights inside it or may have colored zig zag lines running through it. This blind spot may get larger and completely block vision in one eye. The condition can last for a few minutes up to 20 to 30 minutes. It is a good idea to record all the visual disruption experiences as to specifically what you saw and how long it lasted. You physician may be able to help you pin point what triggers the attacks so that you can try to avoid them. It what you experience changes in a major way, you should seek medical advice. Otherwise just be aware of the symptoms of an onset of a problem.
Most eye doctors or general physicians can do little to help this condition because it is not completely understood. No one knows what actually causes it. The visual symptoms related to the ocular migraine are not directly related to the eye but instead are related to activity in the visual cortex in the back of the brain. If you begin to experience an ocular migraine take safety steps immediately. Since this condition can completely block your vision, if you are driving or doing any other activity that requires complete vision, stop what you are doing. The condition usually only lasts for a little while. After your vision returns completely, you can return to what you were doing.
If you begin to experience these migraines on a more frequent basis or if they begin to interfere with your daily functioning, you should see your doctor to see if there is a medication you can take to reduce the frequency of the problem. Some people have reported that taking vitamin B12 has helped reduce the incidence of the ocular migraine. This has not been proven in medical trials but it is worth a try to see if this helps you control the frequency of occurrence.
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