Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsTypesSymptomsStagesRisk FactorsTriggersDiagnosisMigraines in WomenTreatmentPreventionWhen to Seek CareNext in Migraine GuideSymptoms of a Migraine
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Types
Symptoms
Stages
Risk Factors
Triggers
Diagnosis
Migraines in Women
Treatment
Prevention
When to Seek Care
Next in Migraine Guide
Migraineis a complex brain condition that affects more than 1 billion people each year worldwide.Besides a severe headache, migraine attacks cause other symptoms like nausea, light sensitivity, and temporary visual changes. Despite the variable and disabling nature of migraine attacks, numerous treatment andpreventive optionsare available.
This article will review essential facts about migraine, including symptoms, triggers, diagnosis, and treatment. It will also provide insight into seeking migraine care.
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Types of Migraine
Migraine is classified as either amigraine without auraor amigraine with aura.Anaurais a series of reversible neurological symptoms, most commonly visual, like seeing various patterns or flashes of light.
How Common Is Aura?Around 15% to 30% of people with migraines experience an aura.
How Common Is Aura?
Around 15% to 30% of people with migraines experience an aura.
Migraines with aura are further categorized into subtypes depending on the specific symptoms of the aura. These subtypes include:
Other types of migraines include:
Migraine Types: Symptoms, Risk, Factors, and Treatments
Migraine
What Are the Symptoms of a Migraine?
Migraine attacks cause intensely throbbing or pounding pain on one or both sides of the head. Any movement commonly aggravates the pain, which can be severe enough to make you miss school or work.
Symptoms that commonly accompany a migraine headacheinclude:
Migraine Self-Care: Diet, Avoiding Triggers, and More
Stages of a Migraine
Migraine attacks occur in four distinct stages or phases, although not everyone with migraine cycles through all four. These are:
Migraine Risk Factors
Several factors may make a person vulnerable to developing migraines.
One significant risk factor ishaving a family history of migraine. If one or both of your parents have migraine, there is a 50% to 75% chance that you will too.
Female sex (due to fluctuatingestrogenlevels) and age are additional migraine risk factors. Migraines can develop at any age, but they are most common before age 45.
(Note that when research or health authorities are cited, the terms for sex or gender from the source are used.)
Specific lifestyle factors are linked to an increased risk for migraine. They include caffeine misuse, smoking, and physical inactivity.
Various health conditions may also influence migraine development, although the connection is likely complex. Examples of such conditions include:
Causes and Risk Factors of Headaches
What Triggers Migraines?
Common triggers of migraineinclude:
Diagnosing Migraine
Diagnosing migrainerequires a healthcare provider to take a medical history and conduct aneurological exam.
Imaging tests are unnecessary unless there is something abnormal on the neurological exam, migraine symptoms are atypical, or other causes need to be ruled out based on the person’s medical history (e.g., they have cancer or a weakened immune system).
Two standard brain imaging tests arecomputed tomography (CT) scanandmagnetic resonance imaging (MRI). They can help detect alternative diagnoses, such asstroke, brain bleeds, tumors, or blood vessel abnormalities.
Females experience migraines at about twice the rate of males, mainly due to thelink between the sex hormone estrogen and migraine attacks.
Higher estrogen levels generally prevent migraines, whereas lower or fluctuating estrogen levels can trigger them. This concept is why migraine-prone females may experience a migraine just before menstruating when estrogen levels reach their lowest point.
Estrogen changes during pregnancy,perimenopause, andmenopausemay also trigger (or protect against) migraines, depending on the estrogen level.
How to Find Migraine Relief
There are severaltreatment options for migraine. Keep in mind what works well for one person may or may not work well for another.
Medication
You can alleviate mild to moderate migraine headaches with an over-the-counter (OTC)nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)like Aleve (naproxen sodium) or Advil and Motrin (ibuprofen).
NSAIDs reduce the body’s production ofprostaglandins(chemicals that cause inflammation and pain). NSAIDs are associated with possible health risks, such asulcersand an increasedrisk of heart attackor stroke.
Talk With Your Healthcare ProviderAlways talk with your healthcare provider before taking any medication, including OTC drugs, to ensure it’s safe and suitable for you.
Talk With Your Healthcare Provider
Always talk with your healthcare provider before taking any medication, including OTC drugs, to ensure it’s safe and suitable for you.
More severe or persistent migraine headaches may be treated withtriptanssuch as mitrex (sumatriptan) orMaxalt (rizatriptan), or a combination triptan/NSAID, like Treximet (sumatriptan/naproxen).
Triptans are prescription medications targetingserotonindocking sites in the brain. Serotonin is a chemical messenger relaying communication between nerve cells. Triptans are available in several formulations, including pills, tablets that dissolve on your tongue, nasal sprays, and injections.
Besides triptans, other prescription drugs used to treat migraine include Reyvow (lasmiditan) orNurtec ODT (rimegepant).
Medications for Treating Migraine Headaches
Home Remedies
Napping in a quiet, dark room and drinking water may help relieve migraine headaches. A gentle scalp massage can also be soothing.
In addition, research suggests that placing a cold compress on the neck at the onset of a migraine attack can reduce pain.
15 Alternative and Home Migraine Treatments
Keeping a Migraine Journal
Ajournal or diaryis often considered paramount to migraine management. Whether handwritten in a notebook or recorded electronically through a computer or app on your phone, a journal can help track your migraine symptoms, patterns, and triggers.
It can also help you and your provider determine which medication is most helpful for relieving or reducing migraine attacks.
How to Prevent Migraine
Migraine prevention often involves a combination of lifestyle interventions, trigger avoidance, and various medication or complementary therapies.
Lifestyle
Lifestyle habits that can help prevent migraines include:
Top 10 Ways to Avoid or Reduce Headache and Migraine Pain
If you are experiencing four or more migraines per month or your migraines are lasting longer than 12 hours, your healthcare provider may prescribe a preventive drug.
A migraine preventive medication aims to reduce the number and severity of your migraine attacks and improve your daily functioning and quality of life.
Several oral medications were developed to treat other health conditions—high blood pressure, seizure, and depression—but were later found to help prevent migraine attacks.
These drugs must be taken daily to work and have unique side effect profiles and effectiveness levels. They include:
Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) blockersare the newest preventive migraine drugs. They are monoclonal antibodies that block the effects of CGRP, a protein involved in migraine pain transmission.
Approved CGRP blockers for migraine prevention include:
Other Therapies
Specific complementary therapies, notablyacupunctureand yoga,may also help improve migraine control. However, more studies are needed.
Magnesium supplementsare another migraine preventive option, especially if you want to avoid possible side effects or you are considering pregnancy and want to avoid other medications.Discuss these with your healthcare provider.
Consult Your Healthcare Provider
When to Seek Care for Migraine
Most migraines are not problematic. However, it’s essential to seek care if you suspect you are experiencing a migraine for the first time or if your migraine attacks prevent you from engaging in activities at home, work, or school.
Other indications for seeking care are if the pattern of your migraine headaches is changing, such as becoming more severe or occurring more often.
You should also be evaluated for migraine (or any headache) during or after pregnancy, or if you are being treated for cancer or any conditions associated with a weakened immune system, such ashuman immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
Seek Emergency Medical Attention
Go to your nearest emergency room if your migraine:
When Should You Worry About a Headache?
17 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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American Migraine Foundation.The timeline of a migraine attack.
American Migraine Foundation.The genetics of migraine.
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Gazerani P.Migraine and diet.Nutrients. 2020;12(6):1658. doi:10.3390/nu12061658
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Food & Drug Administration.New drug class employs novel mechanism for migraine treatment and prevention.
Zhao L, Chen J, Li Y, et al.The long-term effect of acupuncture for migraine prophylaxis: a randomized clinical trial.JAMA Intern Med. 2017;177(4):508-515. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.9378
Kumar A, Bhatia R, Sharma G, et al.Effect of yoga as add-on therapy in migraine (CONTAIN): a randomized clinical trial.Neurology. 2020;94(21):e2203-e2212. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000009473
American Migraine Foundation.Magnesium and migraine.
Kumar R.Therapeutic use of botulinum toxin in pain treatment.Neuronal Signal. 2018;2(3):NS20180058. doi:10.1042/NS20180058
Phu Do T, Remmers A, Schytz HW et al.Red and orange flags for secondary headaches in clinical practice: SNNOOP10 list.Neurology.2019;92(3):134-144. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000006697
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