MIGRAINES 101

WHAT ARE MIGRAINES?
Migraine headaches are not new. In fact they have been around for centuries. It is interesting to know that archeologists have uncovered skulls with holes in them that were “cut” into them. These scientists surmise that a form of prehistoric surgery was practiced possibly to relieve migraines, seizures and mental disorders. The holes in the skulls showed new growth of bone all around the edges of the holes, thus proving the patient lived, after the surgery was performed, long enough to build new bone. This practice was called trephination. Well, a lot has happened since then in modern medicine and even though migraine headaches haven’t changed, they still are a pain in the head.

The classification of a migraine is usually described as a throbbing or pulsating headache affecting the back of the head or on one side of the head. Sometimes it seems to come from behind the eyes. In any case your head feels like it wants to explode. This headache lasts anywhere from 4 to 72 hours and reoccurs often. That would drive me crazy! So much pain! How can anyone endure that for so long? Sadly to say, millions of people all over the world suffer these annoying headaches. People of all ages get them but the most are experienced from the ages of 15 to 55. More women get them too, and probably because of the hormonal fluctuations at puberty, pregnancy and then menopause, which actually shows the pain easing up with the onset of menopause.

Sometimes with a migraine a phenomenon occurs. People who have experienced this often thought they were hallucinating or seeing things. About 30 minutes before the onset of a migraine, the person will have vision problems. Bright light with prism-like color rays emanating from a fixed spot, wavy or squiggly lines that could be horizontal or vertical, dots or blank areas like the field of vision was cut in half and double or blurred vision are all symptoms of what is called an “aura”. The aura is thought of as a warning sign of an imminent migraine, and when the headache does make its presence known the aura soon fades away. If you didn’t know what was transpiring you could be thinking you’re on some kind of trip. Some auras don’t have any pain with them and are called a silent aura.

WHAT CAUSES MIGRAINES
Migraines are mysterious in many ways. When you get over one, most people will try to find out what caused it in the first place. Because of this factor a lot of sufferers keep a journal wherever they go and try to pinpoint just what they did, what they ate and how the environment was approximately before their headache occurred. You would be surprised of all the things that could trigger a migraine. I know I was quite taken when a friend and I attended a drama and had a wandering strobe light flashing on and off of us. After a while my friend told me she was on the verge of having a migraine. Wow! Just from the light show! Needless to say, she closed her eyes and when the light show was over she then enjoyed the rest of the drama. Similar effects of sunlight through the leaves on trees or reflections of light off of glass can trigger migraines as well. These are simple things that most of us take for granted. The same could be said for sound. Loud noises like screaming children, yelling, or sudden explosive sounds like firecrackers, car backfires, gunfire and even balloons popping could bring on a migraine headache.
Sound and light may be the most common causes but having a family history, genetically speaking, of migraines would definitely increase the chances of having these painful headaches.

Have you ever eaten a food that suddenly makes you sick? Well, apparently the same goes for migraines. With the increased amount of GMO (genetically modified organism) in our food supply it’s a wonder we aren’t dead yet. Migraines have been linked to food preservatives, additives and a raft of chemicals that are added to our foods without another thought. What can I say? Watch what you eat.
A few other things that bring on migraines are the lack of sleep, skipping meals, strange odors, weather changes, altitude changes experienced in airplanes, intense physical activity or exertion and the ever popular stress.

Now if you are one of the many sufferers of migraines I can only offer some encouragement in finding relief for the pain first and then seek out ways to prevent the possible onset of a migraine by studying yourself and getting in a support group of some kind to listen to others that might shed some light into varieties of treatment or ways of coping with this disorder. Let’s face it, there is no quick fix or cures for migraines and one way to deal with it is acquiring education all about it.

Tags: aura, cause of migraines, enlarged blood vessels, genetics, Hormonal, menstration, migraine, migraine triggers, stress, Weather