It affects men and women equally, although they are more prone. Headaches, whether they are migraines or tension headaches, are one of the most common problems in today’s society. Poor diet, stress or the hectic pace of life that we lead are symptoms of the 21st century and cause some of the most common migraines. In Mexico, for example, 11 out of every 100 people between the ages of 11 and 46 suffer from this ailment and, in Spain, headaches affect more than three and a half million of the adult population.
What is migraine?
Migraines are intense headaches that can incapacitate the person who suffers them, and can even lead to other types of mental illnesses such as depression or anxiety, in addition to damaging self-esteem, family relationships, work or of couple. It usually affects both sides of the brain (right, left, or even front) and, in many cases, it can be accompanied by vomiting, nausea, or negative reactions to light (photophobia) or sound (phonophobia).
Its origin is not entirely defined, but one of the most common points is the excessive use of medications. Faced with a headache, the majority of the population reacts by self-medicating and few go to the doctor to obtain a more accurate diagnosis. Another factor is hereditary. Ask your mother, your father or your grandparents if they have had or have some kind of migraine and, perhaps there, you will find the reason for your headaches.
The different types of migraines that exist
Not all migraines are the same or present in the same way. By learning to identify this type of headache, you will be able to reduce their discomfort and treat them better. Let’s start!
Migraine without aura
It is the most common of pains and usually accounts for 80% of all migraines. The pain usually occurs unilaterally in the temple or forehead, but gradually spreads throughout the brain. The patient may feel uncomfortable and have vomiting, nausea and rejection of any type of outside light, and it is best to rest in a completely dark place until it passes.
This type of headache usually lasts between 4 and 72 hours and manifests itself in different ways if the person suffering from it is a child, in this case it will be bilateral, or an adolescent or adult, where the pain is more unilateral. Only when five or more episodes like those described above have been suffered can one speak of migraine without aura, otherwise it will be a probable migraine. It can also happen that it is repeated continuously, then it would go to another stage that we would call chronic migraine.
With aura
At first, migraine headaches with aura are very frightening to the person experiencing them for the first time and to those around them when they begin to develop because their symptoms – loss of speech, tingling in the body, numbness in the muscles, difficulty in walking or alteration of the field of vision with the presence of zig zag glare- can be confused with a cerebral infarction or stroke.
Before the headache “bursts,” the aura will present up to two days in advance and last for about 60 minutes. In this case, the headache can last between 8 and 12 hours.
Familial hemiplegic migraine
It is a rare variant of migraine with aura and is manifested by a person’s weakness when it comes to moving, speaking and feeling, something that can last for days and even weeks. Other symptoms that accompany familial hemiplegic migraine include fever, disorientation, coma, seizures, and confusion. In the worst case, episodes of epilepsy and intellectual deficit can occur.
Currently, patients with this type of discomfort -in most cases it is usually due to a genetic and hereditary factor- are undergoing preventive treatment based on antiepileptics and their prognosis seems quite promising and hopeful.
From the brainstem
It was formerly known as basilar migraine and is included in the classification with aura. Its origin is in the brainstem. This type of headaches tends to occur more in women than in men. The most common symptoms are vision disturbances, bilateral vision loss, changes in the functions of the nervous system (ataxia), verbal problems when expressing oneself (dysarthria), vertigo, loud ringing in the ear (tinnitus) or loud headache in the neck.
Retinal migraine
It is one that affects, above all, the field of vision of one eye. This characteristic is what differentiates it from migraine with classic aura, where vision disturbance occurs in both eyes. It occurs before the migraine attack and usually lasts about an hour or less. What is known as positive phenomena (small flashes in the eye area) or negative phenomena (those that can create momentary blindness) are generated. Other of the most common symptoms of retinal migraine are severe headache, vomiting and nausea.
The discomfort caused by changes in the field of vision cannot be treated with any type of medication, but the subsequent headache that will occur can be treated. In turn, it is always advisable to undergo a review by the oculist, to rule out any other type of disease in the retina.
Sporadic hemiplegic
Here the genetic factor stands out and, to this day, its possible causes continue to be investigated. To date it has been discovered that they usually appear in childhood or adolescence, and that they are due to a poor diet, stress or tension. Your discomfort does not last long (a few hours or a couple of days). Although a brief intense pain can occur, patients recover quickly from this discomfort and only in small cases can a certain degree of intellectual disability or nystagmus, involuntary and repetitive movement of the eyes, develop.
Without headache
What would you think if we told you that there is a type of migraine that does not hurt? It is known as typical migraine without headache. In it, only some type of alteration occurs in the eyes, but without any type of pain being manifested. Only in some cases, it can be generated, but it will be mild.
Chronicle
It is the strongest of all because its discomfort can last between 15 days and a month, even incapacitating the person for life. Luckily, it affects only 2% of the world’s population. There are some factors that influence its appearance and that the patient can modify, such as the abuse of analgesics, the intake of certain foods or untreated depression. There are other reasons for chronic migraines that cannot be controlled, such as being a woman or having relatives who also have or have had chronic migraines. There are cases, the least, in which a chronic migraine can be transformed into a sporadic one, and vice versa.
Probable migraine
And for those headaches that occur without an aura or with an aura, there is this classification. They do not meet 100%, for example, the symptoms of a retinal migraine but neither do those of a familial hemiplegic migraine.
Remember that the most important thing in these cases is to go to your family doctor so that he can issue an adequate and precise diagnosis and recommend the most accurate treatment.