Are you
suffering from severe headaches? Using
balms or drinking a cup of tea isn’t coming of
any help? Is the pain so severe that you fail to do your daily activities? Well,
there are chances that you are having a
migraine attack!
Relax,
there is nothing to panic. Migraine headaches have become increasingly common and it is not just you, who is suffering
from this extreme pain. There are many like you; even children! Your pain can be managed. But before that is done, you need to see a doctor. It is only a
doctor, who will be able to diagnose your condition and identify if your
headache type is migraine or not. In case
it is, you need to identify the migrainecauses, so that you can eliminate them completely and get relief.
The mechanism of migraine pain:
Migraine
headache has no particular cause behind
it. Science cannot tell what exactly causes this extreme, severe, throbbing and
pulsating sensation in the brain. But, genes and environmental factors are
largely responsible for this and there is
no denying this fact.
However,
one thing that can clearly be said is that migraine
is associated with the brain-stream and
how it interacts with the trigeminal nerves. The trigeminal nerves are a major
pathway for the brain to manage the pain in the brain. There are chemicals in
the brain that keep the pain sensation low. One such chemical is serotonin.
Research
studies have shown certain specific migraine causes, when serotonin levels drop significantly. The
pain causing chemicals such as neuropeptides are
released in the brain and as they
travel through the meninges, the pain is felt.
Some of the major causes:
Some of
the major and possible migraine causes
can be –
- Irregularity of the blood vessels in the brain
- Disorder of the central nervous system
- Abnormality and imbalance of brain chemicals
- Genetic predisposition
Major triggers of migraine:
Now that
the possible migraine causes are identified, it is also important for you to
know about the migraine triggers. There are certain factors that trigger the
pain in the head. These can vary from person to person, but here are a few
factors that are universal and common for most people. These include –
- Foods and drinks:
Aged
cheese, salty or processed foods, preservatives
etc. foods and even MSG can trigger the pain in the head. Not just the foods,
but also alcohol can trigger this pain.
- Hormonal changes in
women:
This is a reason, why more women suffer
from migraine than women. Women, during their
pregnancy, menopause and even before or during their menstruation get these
attacks more frequently.
- Sensory stimuli:
One of
the very common signs of migraine is that
the pain increases with light, sound and smell sensation. When you encounter
strong light or smell or hear loud noises and sounds, it is likely that the
pain will increase.
There
are many other factors like sleep pattern changes, changes in atmospheric pressure etc. that vary from person to person.
What migraine
causes and triggers have been instrumental for you can be noted down in a
migraine diary. You can download the diary from here http://www.mewithoutmigraine.com/migraine-diary/.
See a doctor and he will guide you properly.
