The Day will surely come: January 2008

MIGRAINE

A migraine can be disabling — with symptoms so severe, all you can think about is finding a dark, quiet place to lie down. Up to 17% of women and 6% of men have experienced a migraine

Signs and symptoms:

-Moderate to severe pain, which may be confined to one side of the head or may affect both sides
-Head pain with a pulsating or throbbing quality
-Pain that worsens with physical activity
-Pain that interferes with your regular activities
-Nausea with or without vomiting
-Sensitivity to light and sound

When left untreated, a migraine typically lasts from four to 72 hours, but the frequency with which headaches occur varies from person to person. You may have migraines several times a month or just once or twice a year.

Not all migraines are the same. Most people experience migraines without auras, which were previously called common migraines. Some, however, have migraines with auras, which were previously called classic migraines. If you're in the second group, you'll likely have an aura about 15 to 30 minutes before your headache begins. Auras may continue after your headache starts or even occur after your headache begins. When you're experiencing an aura, you may:

-See sparkling flashes of light
-Perceive dazzling zigzag lines in your field of vision
-Experience slowly spreading blind spots in your vision
-Feel tingling, pins and needles sensations in one arm or leg
-Rarely, experience weakness or language and speech problems

Whether or not you have auras, you may have one or more sensations of premonition (prodrome) several hours or a day or so before your headache actually strikes, including:
-Feelings of elation or intense energy
-Cravings for sweets
-Thirst
-Drowsiness
-Irritability or depression

Causes:

Although much about headaches still isn't understood, some researchers think migraines may be caused by functional changes in the trigeminal nerve system, a major pain pathway in your nervous system, and by imbalances in brain chemicals, including serotonin, which plays a regulatory role for pain messages going through this pathway.
During a headache, serotonin levels drop. Researchers believe this causes the trigeminal nerve to release substances called neuropeptides, which travel to your brain's outer covering (meninges). There they cause blood vessels to become dilated and inflamed. The result is headache pain.

Migraine triggers:

-Hormonal changes. Although the exact relationship between hormones and headaches isn't clear, fluctuations in estrogen seem to trigger headaches in many women with known migraines. -Hormonal medications, such as contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy, also may worsen migraines.
-Foods. Certain foods appear to trigger headaches in some people. Skipping meals or fasting also can trigger migraines.

-Stress. A hard week at work followed by relaxation may lead to a weekend migraine. Stress at work or home also can instigate migraines.
-Sensory stimuli. Bright lights and sun glare can produce head pain. So can unusual smells — including pleasant scents, such as perfume and flowers, and unpleasant odors, such as paint thinner and secondhand smoke.

-Changes in wake-sleep pattern. Either missing sleep or getting too much sleep may serve as a trigger for migraine attacks in some individuals.

-Physical factors.
-Changes in the environment. A change of weather, season, altitude level, barometric pressure or time zone can prompt a migraine.

-Medications. Certain medications can aggravate migraines

* migraine- ddx for headaches. Start having this kind of headache last week. Causes?? erm, most probably the lights..