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What Is the Meaning of Migraine?

Some people may not know the difference between a headache, sinus pressure and a migraine. Migraines affect a different part of the brain, and not everyone who has ever had a headache will ever experience a migraine, or the pain, auras and debilitating results that accompany it.

  1. Meaning/Definition

    • According to medicinenet.com, a migraine is a vascular headache, which means blood vessels and the temporal artery enlarge. The temporal artery lies outside of the skull, just under the skin of your temple. When this artery enlarges, it stretches nerves that coil around it. These nerves are then forced to release chemicals and cause inflammation, pain and further swelling of the artery. Pain is magnified when the artery continues to expand.

    Symptoms

    • Migraines attack the nervous system, which responds to pain. The increased activity during a migraine causes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, blurred vision, cold hands and feet, and light sensitivity, which accompany the throbbing pain on the side or front of the head. The extra-sensitive activity also stops the stomach from emptying properly, so any oral medications are not absorbed right away. This is why so many pain killers are ineffective during a migraine attack.

    Auras

    • According to medicinenet.com, migraines are preceded or accompanied by an aura 20 percent of the time. Auras are bright, zigzagged lines that harbor the center of your vision and usually work their way outward. This is known as the scotoma, or blind spot. At times, some older migraine sufferers may experience the aura without the migraine. A smaller amount of migraine sufferers will experience an aura that feels like a pins-and-needles sensation in one hand, arm, or around the nose and mouth.

    Prevention/Medication

    • Migraine sufferers can avoid frequent attacks by making some day-to-day adjustments. Managing stress, getting a full night's sleep, monitoring overly strenuous activities and taking prophylactics can reduce migraine triggers. If these are ineffective, your doctor can give you a prescription to help relieve the pain and symptoms of a migraine. For mild migraines, over-the-counter drugs such as Aleve and Tylenol may help reduce inflammation and direct head pain.

    Expert Insight

    • Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Michael Roizen are frequent guests on The Oprah Winfrey Show and have answered inquiries about natural migraine treatments. Dr. Oz says the blood surge during a migraine is similar when some people eat very cold food, like ice cream, and suffer from a "brain freeze." Dr. Roizen says sometimes headaches that seem like migraines are actually caused by certain foods. "Eliminate all wheat, barley and rye at one time, eliminate all pepper and all salt at one time," Dr. Roizen says. He states that it may actually be the salt and pepper balance that is associated with overcoming headaches.

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