Migraine

migraine - www.healthnote25.com

Migraine is a chronic disorder characterized by mild to very severe headaches that are often associated with symptoms of the autonomic nervous system. The word migraine comes from the Greek ἡμικρανία (hemikrania), ie "pain on one side of the head", from ἡμι- (hemi-), "half", and κρανίον (cranion), "skull".

The sign is a unilateral headache (on only half of the head), throbbing, and lasts for 2 to 72 hours. The accompanying symptoms include nausea, vomiting, photophobia (increasingly sensitive to light), phonophobia (increasingly sensitive to sound) and increasingly severe pain when performing physical activity. About one-third of migraine headaches experience an aura: a kind of visual, sensory, speech, or motion impairment that signs that the headache will soon appear.

Migraine is believed to occur as a result of a mixture of various environmental and genetic factors. Approximately two-thirds of cases occur in people who are already married. Hormonal levels rise and fall can also affect: migraine is slightly more common in adolescent men than women before puberty, but in adults, about two to three times more occur in women than men. Migraine trends usually decrease during pregnancy.

 The exact mechanism of migraine is unknown. However, there is a belief that the disease is caused by neurovascular disorders. The underlying main theory is the relationship with increased cerebral cortex stimulation and abnormal control of nerve cells of pain within the trigeminal nucleus of the brain stem.

The recommended basic management is with simple analgesics such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen for headaches, antiemetics for nausea, and avoiding the trigger for migraine. Special agents such as triptans or ergotamine may be applicable when simple analgesics are ineffective. More than 10% of the population around the world has been exposed to migraines at some point throughout their lives.