Migraine

Migraine is more than just a bad headache. Doctors call it migraine, if you have a headache that lasts 4 to 72 hours with at least 2 of the following symptoms:

• Pain on one side of your head
• Throbbing pain
• Pain that gets worse when you move
• Pain that is bad enough to stop you working properly or makes you go to bed

In addition, for it to be a migraine, you also need to experience one or more of these:

• Feeling or being sick, or having an upset stomach
• Being very sensitive to light (photophobia)
• Being very sensitive to sounds (phonophobia).

Migraine is caused by excessive release of chemicals that carry messages in the brain (neurotransmitters). These make blood vessels in the brain get wider and become inflamed. This gives you the throbbing headache, and can upset other nerves that make you feel or be sick.

Migraine is more common in women than men; about one in five women and fewer than 1 in 10 men have migraine. Some attacks are triggered by hunger, lack of sleep, certain foods, such as chocolate, stress, bright lights or loud noises.

Treating Migraine

Migraine can be treated in a lot of different ways, depending on how bad it is and how often attacks happen. People who know what foods or activities trigger their attacks can try to avoid them, and reduce their chances of having a migraine.

Drug treatments for migraine include painkillers, such as Aspirin™ and paracetamol, on their own or combined with other painkillers.

Other drugs, called ergots and triptans, relieve the throbbing headache, sickness and other symptoms by making blood vessels in the brain narrower.

People who get a lot of migraines can take drugs every day to prevent attacks. These include drugs that are used to lower blood pressure, and those used to treat depression and epilepsy. Research is continuing to look for more effective treatments for migraine.