A migraine is an intense headache; most people classify the difference between a migraine and a regular headache when there are nausea and extreme sensitivity to sound and light. A person experiencing a migraine will typically feel pain on one side of the head, and it feels like it’s pulsing.
Sometimes people don’t even realize they’re experiencing a migraine because it can act like another ailment like runny nose, nasal congestion, tension headache, or sinus headache. The best way to understand if you’re experiencing migraines is to keep a record of your headaches: the frequency, the severity, patterns of appearance, etc.
Types of Migraines
Migraine with Aura
According to Health Harvard, an aura is characterized by experiencing “strange visual disturbances (zigzagging lines, flashing lights, and, occasionally, temporary vision loss) [and a] numbness and tingling affecting one side of the lips, tongue, face, and the hand on the same side.”
Usually, someone who experiences migraines with an aura will have these sensations a few minutes before the actual migraine. They can last anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes. Once the person experiences the aura, they know that the migraine is inevitable, and even with preventative migraine treatment like headache medication; it’s not enough to reduce the severity of the oncoming migraine.
Migraine without Aura
While a person experiencing a migraine without aura doesn’t have the warning signs, they do have the typical light and sound sensitivity accompanied by nausea. The symptoms of the migraine itself are similar to most other migraines in which the person affected still has pain on one side of the head, and pain is made worse by movement.
Chronic Migraine
A migraine is considered to be chronic if you experience more than 15 a month. The severity of the migraines can vary, and sometimes the person doesn’t even realize it’s a migraine. Another way to tell if it’s a chronic migraine is if you’re taking headache medications more than 10-15 days a month. Using headache medication as a migraine treatment is ineffective and counter-intuitive because headache medication can actually cause more headaches.
If you would like more information about migraines, contact our office today.