Migraines With Auras

Posts Tagged ‘migraines with auras’

Top 10 Headache Symptoms that Point to Migraines

Wednesday, June 1st, 2011

Do you know the difference between migraine headaches and common headache symptoms? If you experience head pain often, it’s important to know if you are suffering from chronic migraines, which may warrant a trip to the emergency room.

Tension headaches

Tension headaches are the most common, and they are caused by constricted muscles in the shoulders, neck and head; neck pain often accompanies a tension headache.

Migraines

Migraines, however, are a neurological disorder, and are caused by engorgement of the blood vessels. There is a high correlation between stroke, heart attack and chronic migraine patients. Migraine Sufferer to World: It’s not just a Headache, People!

If you experience any of these migraine symptoms with your headaches, please visit a neurologist immediately:

1) Head pain: Migraine head pain can occur on either side of the head, or on both sides at once, and the severity can alternate between moderate and excruciating. Pain duration can last anywhere from 4 to 72 hours. 7 Headache Categories:Which Type of Headache do you Have?

2) Throbbing or palpitating: Migraineurs often describe their symptoms as intense, pulsating waves of pain; this is caused dilated blood vessels, which allow unrestricted blood flow to the brain, creating the characteristic throbbing sensation. Migraine Pop Quiz: How Well do you Understand your Headaches?

3) Stomach upset: Migraine patients often complain of severe stomach problems during a migraine attack. Nausea, abdominal cramps, vomiting and diarrhea are all common migraine headache symptoms.

4) Alternating between hot and cold: Hot and cold flashes occur as a result of poor circulation. Patients may have cold feet at times.

5) Light sensitivity: A particularly debilitating side effect of chronic migraines is the intense pain caused by bright lights, stark white surfaces and contrasting patterns of black and white. For this reason, severe migraine headache patients require a very dark room in order to recuperate from an attack. Migraines Caused by Eye Strain? Tinted Glasses can Help

6) Interference with daily life: Regular activities that most people take for granted can become practically impossible for people who get frequent migraines. Driving to work, shopping for groceries, celebrating a birthday party- all these things get put on hold when a migraine threatens to storm. Migraine Pain, Portrayed through Art and Poetry

7) Fatigue: Stress, chronic pain, inactivity, feelings of depression- all these combine to create mental exhaustion. Is Gluten Sensitivity Giving You a Headache?

8) Auras: Auras are a phenomenon which herald an advancing migraine. Symptoms of migraine auras are flashing, darting light hallucinations, blind spots, blurred vision, nausea and dizziness. Auras can occur before the headache, or arrive at the same time. Migraines with Aura may Signal Birth Defect in Heart

9) Fever: It’s not usual for a fever to accompany a migraine, but it is not unlikely, either.

10) Feebleness: After several years, chronic migraines can leave one feeling frail, disconsolate and weary. Unless an effective migraine treatment is sought out, long-term migraine relief is not possible.

Get help for your migraines. Below is a list of valuable information about migraine medications, coping mechanisms and support groups:

10 Clues your should Include in your Headache Diary Today

Top 20 Websites for Migraine Headache Patients

Top 4 Headache Treatments

Sources:

http://www.mybrainpain.com/migraines-headaches-numbers/top-10-symptoms-of-migraines.html

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=55043

Tags: causes migraines, cluster migraines, dizziness, fatigue, head pain, headache symptoms, heart attack, light sensitivity, migraine headache symptoms, migraine headaches, migraine relief, migraine symptoms, migraine treatment, migraines medications, migraines with auras, migraineurs, nausea, neck pain, neurological, neurologist, occular migraines, sinus headaches, stress, stroke, tension headaches
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Migraines Caused by Eye Strain? Tinted Glasses can Help

Sunday, May 29th, 2011

Migraine patients who wear tinted glasses made exclusively to prevent migraines can find relief from headache pain caused by light sensitivity and sharp striped images, according to a US News report.

Vertical lines and bright lights

One of the most debilitating symptoms of migraines is the ultra-sensitivity to light and patterns that comes along with the condition. Chronic migraines are a neurological disease which affect millions of Americans; typical migraine symptoms are pounding headaches, nausea,”auras,” blind spots and symptoms which mimic stroke. Some headache triggers you can easily bypass: chocolate, wine, gluten, stress (to an extent), lack of sleep, but others can be nearly impossible to avoid. (Good read: Migraine Sufferer to World: It’s not just a Headache, People!)

Do you shudder at the thought of walking into a crowded, brightly lit supermarket? Does reading a striped bar code give you an instant headache? If so, you might benefit from a pair of custom migraine glasses.

Colored corrective glasses is nothing new

Tinted lenses were first used to treat dyslexia. Later, researchers discovered that the corrective glasses could also be used to help headache patients who suffer “migraines with aura.” In a WebMD article, Jie Huang, PhD explains that chronic migraine patients ”are highly susceptible to stressful visual stimuli,” and that the prescription colored lenses help by toning down activity in the brain’s visual cortex.

(Read about how tinted goggles help NBA player Dwyane Wade battle his migraines on the court.)

Migraine treatment glasses put to the test

Dr. Huang tested the effects of tinted glasses on migraine patients.
Included in the research were 11 chronic migraine sufferers, and 11 non-migraine patients.
Research assistants developed “precision ophthalmic tints (POTs),” for each volunteer, along with a pair of gray-lensed glasses and non-precision colored glasses as control samples.
All 22 participants agreed to go through an MRI machine and be exposed to various striped patterns which were known to trigger migraine headaches.
Migraine patients reported that wearing tinted glasses minimized their discomfort by 40%, but that the precision lenses were most effective at reducing eye strain and preventing migraines, by 70%.
Many chronic migraine headache sufferers are in the habit of wearing sunglasses to relieve migraine eye strain and ward off headaches. However, this research proves that wearing POTs can be even more effective at providing migraine relief than just wearing drugstore variety lenses.
Besides geometric patterns, other visual stimuli which could trigger migraines include reading, watching television, using the internet and playing video games.
Robert Daroff, MD, former president of the American Headache Society and professor at the Case Western University School of Medicine, warns that not all migraineurs should look to the prescription glasses as a cure for their headaches, stating that only a minority of migraine headaches are caused primarily from visual stimuli.