Migraine Headache Symptoms And Their Treatment
More than 28 million Americans suffer from migraine headaches, with females getting migraines more often than males. Migraines can be debilitating, and medical science has not made much progress in their treatment.
Migraine Headache Symptoms
Migraine headache sufferers know all to well the telltale symptoms of a migraine headache coming on. Sometimes it starts with a vision disturbance: blurred vision, or a blind spot that enlarges, or an impression of sparking lights flashing across the field of vision.
Next, the patient's stomach starts to get upset. Migraine sufferers may experience diarrhea, vomiting, dizziness, and nausea. These migraine headache symptoms can be debilitating, and most migraine sufferers are unable to keep working, driving, reading, or watching TV when they feel migraine headache symptoms coming on.
Because they are so debilitating, migraine headache symptoms sap a person's productivity. The economic damages caused by migraine headache symptoms are uncertain, but curing migraines would allow migraine sufferers to complete their work on days when they would otherwise have to go home because of migraine headache symptoms.
Patients may notice pallor of the skin because of changes in blood circulation during a migraine headache. Often the patient's hands and feet are cold - noticeably colder than other body parts. .
Treatment For Migraine Headache Symptoms
Many migraine headache patients can speed relief by placing an icepack on the throbbing areas of the head. Relaxation and biofeedback exercises can help keep the pain at bay, and some sufferers report getting relief from pain by undergoing acupuncture treatments.
Another way to prevent the onset of migraine headache symptoms is to live a healthy lifestyle. Behavior that may trigger migraines includes cigarette smoking or other tobacco use; eating sharp cheeses, nuts, and lunch meats; and drinking wine. Patients who show a tendency to develop migraine headache symptoms should drink plenty of water throughout the day, avoid fatigue and stressful situations, and be sure to get enough sleep. Moderate exercise - at least our times a week - can also reduce the risk of migraine headaches.
Unfortunately, once a migraine gets started, the symptoms are hard to control. Most migraine sufferers can only retreat to a quiet room and lie quiet and still with their eyes closed until the symptoms begin to subside. Migraines can last anywhere from half a day to 3 days.
Migraine headaches sap the productivity of millions of Americans every year. More research is necessary to discover treatment that will relieve migraine headache symptoms.
