Headaches that take a turn for the worst, leading to nausea and extreme pain may be classified under migraine headaches. It is a problem that affects more than 12% of the American population. A migraine headache can affect anyone from 15 to 55 years, can be hereditary or caused due to multiple reasons. While some people may be able to identify the trigger, that too sometimes, others have it occur suddenly, with no clear reason and hence, making it difficult to avoid.
Symptoms of a migraine headache
A migraine headache may start of a normal headache but may lead up to severe debilitating headache causing loss of vision, nausea, difficulty in speaking and a tingling sensation in arms and legs. When an actual migraine ‘attack’ happens, however, it does get much worse. The symptoms during this phase include dizziness or fainting, pain on the side of the head, arms and legs, vomiting and throbbing pain in the head. This is the most acute phase and should be dealt with carefully. After this, while a headache may subside, the person might still be a little dizzy and suffer from some mood swings.
Treating migraine pains
As of now, migraine cannot be cured. But it can be dealt with carefully and managed to ease the pain or help provide some relief during the attack. Patients suffering from nausea are given anti-nausea drugs to help. The treatment is defined by the symptoms and frequency of the migraine pain. It could vary from medication to hormonal therapy to counselling, and in recent time, we are seeing quite a few a migraine clinical trial happening aimed to address the problem. Simple home remedies, like massaging the head and temples, placing a cold cloth over the head may help provide relief in the initial phases and might even avoid the full-blown attack.