Migraine Symptoms – When to Take Migraine Headache Symptoms Seriously

It is often hard to distinguish between migraine headaches and other types, especially tension headaches and sinus headaches. Symptoms can differ from person to person and can overlap other types of headaches. Migraine headaches usually make their first appearance in adolescence or young adulthood, with three times as many females suffering from migraine symptoms as males.

Migraine attacks are typically characterized by moderate to severe pounding or throbbing on one side of the head, but they can occasionally occur bilaterally. The head pain can be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, photophobia (increased sensitivity to light), drowsiness, cravings for sweet or salty foods, feelings of euphoria or intense energy, thirst, irritability, and visual disturbances. In addition, the pulsating or throbbing pain usually worsens during exercise or strenuous activity.

The majority of migraine headache sufferers have symptoms that occur from several hours to several days before the actual headache appears. These include depression, lack of energy, sleepiness, loss of appetite, or mood changes. Migraine attacks can often be predicted due to these preliminary migraine symptoms, and therefore can be prevented. By knowing when a migraine is developing it is often possible to eliminate the major onslaught before it actually happens. Using certain types of relaxation techniques and stress management practices can often relieve the disorder before it occurs.

Most migraine sufferers begin experiencing their first migraine headaches as teenagers or young adults. These headaches will continue manifesting themselves intermittently, varying in frequency, duration, and intensity, until the approximate age of 50. This is about the age that migraines will usually disappear.

Aura is a term that is usually given to temporary visual disturbances that accompany migraine pain. The term is “migraine with aura.” These visual sensations are most commonly flashes of bright light, which can be either white or colored light, or zigzag patterns of bright light. Approximately one quarter of all acute or chronic migraines are accompanied with auras. Most of the time auras occur before the headache appears, but can sometimes happen during or after the headache. Because migraine with aura is often characterized by visual or light-sensitivity problems, acute or chronic migraine symptoms can usually be reduced by lying down in a quiet dark room.

Auras are not always visual abnormalities; they can occasionally manifest themselves as neurological disorders such as speech difficulties, muscle coordination problems, and balance or equilibrium challenges.

There are many other signs and symptoms of migraine and these include numbness and tingling in the arms or legs, losing facial color, cold hands or feet, and diarrhea. Intermittent migraines often develop into chronic episodes of migraine. To be considered chronic, the headaches must be present 50% of the time or more.

Some disease symptoms can be mistaken for migraine related disturbances, while in reality, be signs of more serious medical problems. These can include headaches accompanied by fever, stiff neck, mental confusion, weakness in an extremity, rashes, seizures, or difficulty speaking intelligently. You should see a doctor or go to an emergency hospital immediately if you have any of these symptoms, as they can be signs of serious health conditions.

There are other circumstances that should warrant a trip to the doctor or emergency room which include, but are not limited to, a headache caused by a fall or other injury, new headache pain past the age of 50, and headache pain that occurs on the same side every time. Most migraine headaches will switch sides from time to time, but if they always occur on the same side it could signify a more serious problem.