Most people with migraines do not know there are different phases of a migraine. Believe it or not there are four phases on a migraine attack:
• Prodrome
• Aura
• Headache
• Postdrome
Prodrome
Migraine with aura and migraine without aura each have a premonitory phase, or prodrome, which may precede the headache phase by up to 24 hours. During this phase, the following features may occur:
• Irritability
• Elation or sadness
• Social withdrawal
• Increased or decreased appetite
• Food craving or anorexia
• Water retention
• Sleep disturbances
These premonitions are often more pronounced in migraine without aura than in migraine with aura.
Aura
An aura is a focal cerebral dysfunction that immediately precedes or coincides with headache onset. The aura may occur without headache or may be more disturbing than the headache. The aura usually precedes the headache by less than 30 minutes and lasts for 5-20 minutes. Motor auras tend to last longer than other forms of aura.
Visual auras (which are often reported as moving or changing shapes) are the most common form in children. They may consist of any of the following:
• Blurred vision
• Fortification spectra (zigzag lines)
• Scotomata (field defects)
• Scintillations
• Black dots
• Kaleidoscopic patterns of various colors
• Micropsia (distortion of size)
• Metamorphopsia (“Alice in Wonderland” syndrome)
Nonvisual auras include the following:
• Attention loss
• Confusion
• Amnesia
• Agitation
• Aphasia
• Ataxia
• Dizziness
• Vertigo
• Paresthesia
• Hemiparesis
Aura symptoms vary widely within and between attacks. Patients who eventually develop migraine with aura present at a younger age than do patients who experience migraine without aura.
Headache
The actual headache phase of the migraine attack is usually shorter in the pediatric population than in adults; pediatric headaches can last 30 minutes to 48 hours but are usually less than 4 hours. Some young patients report headaches lasting 10-20 minutes. Childhood migraine headaches are often less severe than adult migraine headaches.
During the headache phase, a person with a migraine may experience any of a range of associated symptoms, as follows:
• Cold extremities
• Nausea
• Anorexia
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Increased urination
• Constipation
• Dizziness
• Chills
• Excessive sweating
• Ataxia
• Numbness
• Photophobia
• Phonophobia
• Memory loss
• Confusion
Postdrome
After the headache phase, the patient may feel either elated and energized or, more typically, exhausted and lethargic. This stage of migraine may last from hours to days.
Tags: aura, Chronic migraine, headache, migraien headache, migraine, migraine headaches, migraine phases, migraine relief, Migraine Support Formula, migraine symptoms, migraine treatment, Migraines, postdrome, prodrome
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