Symptoms

A migraine is a throbbing, intense headache that is usually one sided. It tends to develop slowly over the course of a few hours and may be associated with other symptoms, notably a dislike of bright lights (photophobia), nausea and sometimes vomiting. Movement or physical activity aggravates the pain. The headaches, which can be disabling, can last up to 72 hours. It can affect people of all ages. During an attack, the blood vessels in the brain dilate and then draw together with stimulation of nerve endings near the affected blood vessels. These changes to the blood vessels are probably what cause the pain.

Migraine with aura and without aura

Migraine headache is subdivided into two different types: Migraine with aura (or classic migraine) and migraine without aura (or common migraine). Only 20% of people with migraine have auras. These are neurological symptoms that appear 10 to 30 minutes before a classic migraine attack. This event is most commonly a brief period of abnormal vision, such as seeing spots, zigzag lines, flashing lights or unusual colours. They may temporarily lose vision. Less common auras include weakness in an arm or leg, funny feelings (tingling, pins and needles) in an arm or leg, and trouble speaking or understanding other's speech. Auras typically last less than one hour and completely resolve.

The pain of a classic migraine headache may be described as intense, throbbing, or pounding and is felt in the forehead, temple, ear, jaw, or around the eye. Classic migraine starts on one side of the head but may eventually spread to the other side. An attack lasts 1 to 2 pain-wracked days.

Common migraine--a term that reflects the disorder's greater occurrence in the general population--is not preceded by an aura. But some people experience a variety of vague symptoms beforehand, including mental fuzziness, mood changes, fatigue, and unusual retention of fluids. During the headache phase of a common migraine, a person may have diarrhoea and increased urination, as well as nausea and vomiting. 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 people, however, experience migraines at predictable times-near the days of menstruation or every Saturday morning after a stressful week of work.