Managing Migraines

A migraine headache is very painful type of headache which affects women more frequently than men. People who suffer from migraines have defined a migraine headache as a throbbing or pulsating pain in one area of the head. A typical migraine pain may last from 4 to 72 hours. Migraine headaches are often accompanied by nausea and vomiting and a heightened sensitivity to bright lights (photophobia) and noise (hyperacusis).

A migraine headache is defined as a form of vascular headache. Migraine headache is caused by a combination of vasodilatation (enlargement of blood vessels) and the release of chemicals from nerve fibers that coil around the blood vessels. During a migraine attack, the temporal artery enlarges. (The temporal artery is an artery that lies on the outside of the skull just under the skin of the temple.) Because of the enlargement of the temporal artery, the nerves that coil around the artery stretch causing the nerves to release chemicals. The chemicals cause inflammation, pain, and further enlargement of the artery which in turn raises the intensity of a migraine pain.