Migraine: Definition and Symptoms

Introduction

Migraine is one of the most common forms of headache. It is usually described as an intense, throbbing pain that tends to arise slowly in the front or on one side of the head.

migraine attack, the area where the pain is localized can change position and progressively increase in intensity. Later, the pain is associated with a sensation of severe pulsation, which ends up involving the frontal region (forehead and temples) .

Migraine occurs with recurrent attacks, which occur with a very variable frequency: from a few episodes in a year to 2-3 fits per week. The migraine attack can last a few hours or, in more serious cases, a few days. Some people also have other symptoms, such as nausea and sensitivity to light. This form of primary headache is more common in women, can affect all age groups, and appears to recognize a family predisposition. Although migraine can seriously affect quality of life, fortunately, effective treatments and methods are available for it. management of the disorder, which can prevent and limit discomfort.

Migraine with and without Aura

Migraine describes a group of headaches united by localized pain in the head, which is characterized by:

One-sidedness: pain tends to affect only one side of the head, but bilateral cases are not lacking.
Intense throbbing pain, such as to reduce or prevent normal daily activity.
Tendency to worsen with movement (unlike tension headache which benefits from it).

There are several subtypes of migraine, but the two most common forms are "migraine without" aura and "migraine with aura".

The aura defines a set of reversible neurological symptoms characterized by a scintillating oscotoma, a visual disturbance preceding a migraine attack, most likely due to a cortical wave of depression. Migraine with aura therefore presents itself with warning signs, which gradually precede (by 10 - 30 minutes) or accompany the actual headache attack. The most common manifestations associated with the aura are completely reversible visual symptoms: small glare (similar to those found after staring at a light source for a long time), geometrically shaped sparkling flashes, loss of vision in a "limited area of the" eye, darkening and clouding of the visual field. Occasionally, during the attack of headache with aura, symptoms such as reversible speech disturbances (understood as difficulty speaking), stiffness in the neck or shoulders, tingling sensation and numbness may also appear or difficulty in moving one extremity.

In a particular form - called migraine aura without headache and also known as silent migraine - the typical symptoms of the aura arise but the subsequent onset of the migraine crisis is missing.

Symptoms

For further information: Migraine Symptoms

Migraine is a complex disorder characterized by great clinical variability and secondary to various triggering factors.
The migraine attack is defined by the presence of at least two of the following characteristics:

Unilateral (sometimes bilateral) localization;
Button quality;
Medium or strong intensity;
Aggravated by routine physical activities (or limiting these performance).

The conditions commonly associated with migraines are:

Nausea: it can be felt in association with a general malaise condition and can be followed by vomiting;
Increased sensitivity: You may experience photophobia (sensitivity to light), phonophobia (sensitivity to sound) and / or osmophobia (sensitivity to odors). For this reason, many migraine sufferers prefer to rest in a dark, quiet room.

Other symptoms can also occur during a migraine attack. These include:

Decreased level of concentration;
Sweating;
Chills and paleness;
Abdominal pain (which may be associated with diarrhea)
Frequent need to urinate.

Sometimes, migraine attacks are anticipated by a series of symptoms that occur regularly before each crisis; these disorders in medical terms are called prodromal symptoms: tiredness, drowsiness, irritability and a tendency to change mood. Not all patients experience these symptoms when a migraine attack occurs and, usually, they do not occur all at once: the attacks occur with extremely variable frequency, duration and intensity from person to person. Symptoms accompanying migraines tend to disappear spontaneously as the headache resolves, and can last from 4 hours to 72 hours if not treated or managed successfully. When migraine without aura occurs for at least 15 days per month, for a period of at least 3 months, is defined as chronic.

Symptoms of the Aura

As seen above, about one third of people with migraines have reversible neurological symptoms that appear before the migraine occurs. Aura symptoms usually begin 15 minutes to one hour before the onset of the migraine. head. These include:

Reversible vision problems: you can see flickering lights, black and white or colored lines, zigzag patterns scattered on the sides of the visual field, blurry figures or blind spots. Vision disturbances often identify with a scintillating scotoma, that is, a "partial alteration of the visual field, which can interfere with a person's ability to read or drive;"
Sensory symptoms: hypoesthesia (decreased sensitivity and relative response to a certain stimulus), stiffness or a tingling sensation such as pins and needles on the neck, shoulders or limbs;
Coordination problems: the patient suffering from a migraine attack with aura may feel disoriented or experience a lack of balance;
Difficulty speaking (reversible);
Loss of consciousness: only in very rare cases.