A migraine is a headache that often affects one side of the head and can be extremely painful, throbbing, or pulsating. It frequently comes with high sensitivity to light and sound as well as nausea and vomiting. The pain from a migraine attack can be so intense that it interferes with your regular activities and can persist for hours or even days. Workouts, lights, loud noises, or strong smells will probably make your migraine worse. A migraine is a primary headache, which means it isn't caused by another illness. Around 1 in 5 women and 1 in 15 men suffer from migraines, making it a common health problem. Early adulthood is typically when they start. Typically, migraines run in families. Up to four out of every five migraine sufferers have a family history of the condition. A child has a 50% probability of developing migraines if one parent has a history of them. The risk increases to 75% if both parents have a history of migraines. Once more, up to 80% of migraine sufferers have a first-degree relative who also has the condition.
Migraine symptoms depend on the stage; migraine has four stages but not everyone with a migraine experience all stages.
Prodrome (pre-headache) stage: the initial stage can last a few hours or days. It might not occur every time, so you might or might not experience it. Symptoms may include:
Fatigue
Food craving
Bloating
Constipation or diarrhea
Severe thirst
Mood changes
Increased urination
Sensitivity to sound and light
Aura stage: Auras can happen before or during migraines for certain people. Auras are temporary nervous system symptoms. Most of them are visual, but they can also involve other disruptions. Each symptom often starts out mildly, intensifies over a few minutes, and lasts for up to 60 minutes. Symptoms may include:
Seeing black dots, wavy lines, various shapes, or flashes of light
Temporary vision loss
Pins and needles sensations in an arm or leg
Weakness or numbness in the face or one side of the body
Difficulty speaking
Have a heavy feeling in your arms and legs
Have ringing in the ears
Changes in smell, or taste
Attack stage: while severe migraines can last up to three days, the average migraine headache lasts about four hours. In some people, a month usually includes two to four headaches. While some only experience them once or twice a year, some people experience migraine headaches every few days. Symptoms may include:
Pain usually on one side of your head
Sensitivity to light, sound, and sometimes smell and touch
Nausea and vomiting
Abdominal pain
Feeling tired
Post-drome stage: this stage may last up to 1 day after the headache. Symptoms may include:
Fatigue
Depression
Inability to concentrate or understand things
If you experience any of these symptoms, visit a General Practitioner (General Practice doctor), who might refer you to a Neurologist (Brain and Nerves doctor), for proper diagnosis and treatment.
The exact cause of migraine is unknown. However, it is possible that a particular trigger, determined by your genes, increases your risk of developing migraines.
Migraine triggers may include:
Female hormonal changes as many women seem to experience headaches when their estrogen levels fluctuate, such as before or during menstrual periods, during pregnancy, or throughout menopause. Also, hormonal medications may worsen the migraine.
Emotional triggers like stress, anxiety, depression, excitement
Delayed or missing meal
Caffeine: taking too much caffeine or caffeine withdrawal may cause migraine
Getting too much sleep or missing sleep
Intense physical activity
A change of weather
Some types of food and food additives
Smoking
Exposure to perfumes or smoke
Daily use of painkillers
Your general practitioner may perform a physical examination during your initial visit and assess your eyesight, coordination, reflexes, and sensations; these will assist in eliminating some additional potential underlying causes of your problems.
If you have headaches, your doctor may ask about your headaches if they:
On one side of your head
Cause pulsating pain that interferes with daily activities
Made worse by movement or exercise
Cause nausea or vomiting
Come with sensitivity to light and noise
It may be helpful to keep a record of your migraine attacks for a few weeks to aid in the diagnosis. It may include the date and time, symptoms, duration of the attack, and medicines you use.
You may be referred to a neurologist for further assessment.
Pain killers (acetaminophen, aspirin, caffeine, ibuprofen)
Medication to balance the brain chemicals (almotriptan, eletriptan, sumatriptan, rizatriptan, zolmitriptan, ergotamine)
Medication to reduce nausea, sensitivity to light, and pain (lasmiditan)
Medication to prevent migraine headache in case of severe cases (atogepant, eptinezumab, erenumab, fremanezumab, galcanezumab)
You can prevent migraine headaches by:
Identifying and avoiding the triggers
Managing stress by meditation techniques like yoga
Maintaining a regular schedule for eating
Drinking a lot of fluids
Regular moderate exercising with healthy weight
Getting enough sleep
Taking your medicines as prescribed
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