A migraine is a specific type of headache that usually occurs as a throbbing pain in the forehead or temples and is often one-sided.  It can also include feelings of nausea, depression and sensitivity to ‘flashing lights’ or other visual disturbance known as ‘auras’.  They can be rather debilitating, causing sufferers disruptive sleep or work, and afterwards feeling tired and weak.  Those suffering from migraines will often prefer to rest in a darkened room.  Attacks often reoccur and curiously their severity reduces with age.  Typically, the intense pain only lasts a few hours, but can continue in some cases for several days.

About three quarters of those who suffer from migraines are women, particularly school-aged children. They are also associated with women’s menstruation period.  Migraines can be classified into two types: those with and those without auras. They can be set off by a variety of triggers, from tiredness to stress, hormonal changes and foods, such as alcohol, chocolate, peanuts and avocados.

Why migraines happen has been argued for over a century, but is as yet unknown, although a family history is fairly common.  There are two main camps: those who believe that migraines are related to epileptic seizures, which start in the nervous tissue of the brain, and those who believe that headache pain is caused by blood vessels in the head when they dilate or contract.  In most cases, there is probably more than one factor involved to cause the migraine.

Conventional treatment of acute migraines has been revolutionized by the triptan family of drugs, although other medications have been used.  Triptan has been very successful in eradicating the symptoms, imitating the action of serotonin on blood vessels, causing them to contract, but unfortunately it doesn’t work for everyone for reasons that are unclear.

Some natural treatments include taking butterbur root, music therapy, feverfew and magnesium.  Acupuncture and yoga are also highly recommended as a defense against migraines.