Migraine Headache Health Article

Definition

A migraine headache is the most common type of vascular headache. The pain of a migraine headache is often described as an intense pulsing or throbbing pain in one area of the head. There are several different types of migraines.

A classic migraine starts on one side of the head but can eventually spread to the other side. An attack lasts 1 to 2 days.

Common migraine is a term that reflects the disorder's greater occurrence in the general population. Common migraine pain can last 3 or 4 days.

Both classic and common migraine can strike as often as several times a week or as rarely as once every few years. Both types can occur at any time. Some persons, however, experience migraines at predictable times (eg, near the days of menstruation, every Saturday morning after a stressful week of work).

In addition to classic and common, migraine headache can take several other forms. One other form is known as hemiplegic migraine. Persons with hemiplegic migraines have temporary paralysis, or hemiplegia, on one side of the body.

Another form of migraine is known as ophthalmoplegic migraine. This type is characterized by pain around the eye.

Basilar artery migraine involves a disturbance of a major brain artery at the base of the brain. This type of migraine occurs primarily in adolescent and young adult women, and it is often associated with the menstrual cycle.

Benign exertional headache is brought on by running, lifting, coughing, sneezing, or bending. The headache begins at the onset of activity, and pain rarely lasts more than several minutes.

Status migrainosus is a rare and severe type of migraine that can last 72 hours or longer. The pain and nausea are so intense that persons who have this type of headache must be hospitalized. The use of certain drugs can trigger status migrainosus. Neurologists report that many of their status migrainosus patients were depressed and anxious before they experienced headache attacks.

Finally, patients with headache-free migraine do not experience head pain. Headache specialists have suggested that unexplained pain in a particular part of the body, fever, and dizziness could also be possible types of headache-free migraine.

Scope

Migraine headaches usually affect persons between the ages of 15 and 55 years old. More women than men are affected. Migraine headaches usually decrease in frequency and severity with age. Both sexes can develop migraine during infancy, but most often the disorder begins when the patient is between the ages of 5 and 35 years.