All about Migraine
Migraine has been there since old times. Julius Caesar had them as well as Joan of Arc. Migraine headache is a not a new disease neither is it uncommon. What is migraine? And how does it affect people?
Migraine is a kind of headache that affects almost 30 million Americans. Common in young women, migraine is a type of headache which can debilitate certain activities. Why are there headaches? Migraine is due to the vasoconstriction (narrowing) or vasodilation (widening) of the arteries in the head. This causes irritation and does the release of chemicals that causes certain reactions like pain, nausea and vomiting, and throbbing or restless feeling in the head.
Migraine symptoms vary from each person. Some experience mild headaches while, other experience severe one. In short everyone faces migraine uniquely. Though I mentioned earlier the reason for the pain which is either constriction or dilation of the arteries, the cause of these unusual activities is unknown. Experts are still trying hard to identify what causes migraine. It is quite ironic for a certain condition to be old enough as Julius, still doesn’t have discovered the cause for it.
There are two basic types of Migraine
We can categorize them as migraine with aura and migraine without. There are other types which focuses on the area affected in the head. Without aura means “without warning”, attacks just come out from nowhere. This is the most common type of migraine. Aura is like a sign that a migraine attack is coming. It is described as a period where a person have tunnel vision, sees flashing lights or dots, or olfactory even auditory signs.
Whatever the type of migraine, when it comes to intense headache, the person is basically debilitated. This causes absences form work and school and loss of productivity. What is the best way to handle them? Certain medications prescribed by the doctors can be remedies for symptoms like pain. There are other remedies like having ginger extracts and fresh grape juices, which research have shown to decrease migraine episodes.
Other approach is identifying triggers. Triggers can be considered as precipitating factors that cause migraine attacks. There are a lot. Some affected individuals take note of these triggers in order for them to avoid attacks. Until now migraine is still an amazing condition that human beings need to learn more of.
