The Real Deal

How do you know that the pain being felt in the head is truly the result of a migraine attack or just the result of a stressful day? A migraine headache is caused by an enlargement of blood vessels that creates a series of chemicals to be released and attack arteries in the brain. Once the chemicals have been released to wreak their havoc, the enlarging of the arteries begins to send painful symptoms that only magnifies until the arteries have stopped expanding or migraine relief has been found. Migraine headaches are a neurological concern that often develops on a reoccurring basis.

Symptoms of a migraine headache can vary from moderate to intense and can affect people differently, however, listed below are the more common symptoms associated with and described by migraine headache sufferers.

• An intense throbbing, pounding feeling typically located on one side of the forehead
  • Pain can also generate in the back of   the head
  • Pain can formulate right above one  eye
• The pain is often described as unilateral meaning the pain is typically felt or experienced on one side of the head.
  • Reports have shown that about one  third of most migraine headaches are described as being felt on both  sides of the head also referred to as bilateral.
  • The pain felt from the migraine on  one side of the head can alternate to the other side of the head during  the next migraine attack. If you frequent migraine attacks on the same  side of the head please speak with your doctor immediately this could imply something more serious is occurring.
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Paleness
• Coldness in the hands and feet
• Sensitivity to light and sound

Headaches And Migraines Two Separate Things

Migraine headaches are often spurred by daily activities that though seem small and insignificant can actually increase the onset of a migraine such as walking upstairs for example. Migraine headaches often start revealing signs several hours and even days before attacking in full force.

• A headache attacks quickly and with no  warning where as a migrainehas preemptive warning signs:

• Sleepiness is often explained away by an overactive brain, bed discomfort and a million other reasons but drowsiness is a sign that a migraine might be in the near future.
• Sudden irritability or changes in mood. Irritability can often be chalked away as not having had a good night’s rest, be cautious of overlooking unexplained irritability.
• Fatigue
• Bouts of depression
• Obsessive yawning
• Cravings for foods high in sugar of lathered in salt

• Migraines can last up to three days      headaches a few hours.
• A headache though bothersome does not      typically result in a loss of productivity and the inability to function.
• Headaches feel more like a pulsing      feeling inside your head; migraines on the other hand tend to be felt only      on one side of the head.
• A bout of irritability might occur      with a headache but typically resides after some over the counter medicine      has been taken, sadly those suffering with a migraine do not bounce back      as quickly.
• Feelings of nausea, dizziness,      sensitivity to light and sound are all characters of a migraine and will      not be present with a headache.

Most headaches are often short lived with no cause for concern there are times when a headache causes severe tension in the facial muscles putting a strain on the neck, shoulders eyes these headaches are called tension headaches and can be treated with over the counter medication. Some forty million people suffer with headaches throughout a given year making headaches a very common complaint, the concern is not that a headache has occurred but the frequency of the headache as well as the length in which the headache last. If frequent headaches (not migraines) occur and last longer than a few hours, medical attention might be needed in order to insure that the pain being felt is truly a headache and not something more.

Migraines are treatable but not curable therefore the migraine sufferer must find a migraine treatment that he or she feels comfortable using for an extended period of time.

Tags: headaches, migraine attacks, migraine treatment, Migraines, side effects, symptoms, treating migraines, vascular headachce