Migraine Causes

Migraine causes

        Migraine causes are not clearly understood. The migraine begins with a spam or a partial closing of the arteries that are leading to the main side of the brain. The spam is decreasing the blood supply to a part of the brain, and this causes the aura which means lights, haze, zigzag lines, that some persons experience. Then the arteries become too relaxed, and this increases the blood flow and causes pain. Dopamine and serotonin are found to play an important role in migraine.

        These chemicals are usually found in the brain, but they cause blood vessels to act in a not normal way if they are present in abnormal amounts or if the blood vessels are unusually sensitive to them.

        People may have different factors that can cause a migraine such as:

• Smoking has been identified as a factor that can cause a migraine for many persons.
• Some certain foods like chocolate, aged cheese, nuts, alcohol and monosodium glutamate, may be factors that cause migraine.
• The stress and the tension are also triggers. Persons usually experience migraines during times of increased emotional and physical stress.
• Contraceptives or birth control pills are a very common factor in causing a migraine. The women, especially may experience a migraine at the end of the pilule cycle because the estrogen component of the pill is interrupted. This is also called an estrogen withdrawal headache.

        Migraines may occur frequently in people with some particular disease like: epilepsy, familial dyslipoproteinemias, hereditary herrmohagic telangiectasia, tourette syndrome, hereditary essential tremor, hereditary cerebral amyloid angiopathy, strokes, depression and anxiety.

        Headache is the only feature of migraine and is sometimes entirely absent. Some people experience certain symptoms 24 hours before the headache. The symptoms include: irritability, depression or hyperexcitability. The migraine with aura has usually some early visual symptoms which include: flashes of light, zigzag lines or migrating scotoma which means patches of blurred or absent vision. The migraine headache is usually throbbing and pulsing. The migraine it is usually unilateral meaning that affects one side, but the part affected may change.

        Nausea, vomiting, photophobia, phonophobia, irritability and malaise are common. The headaches can last between 6 and 24 hours. The persons who suffer of migraine usually prefer to stay in a quiet and dark room.

        Here are some other factors that can cause a migraine such as: head injury, physical exertion, fatigue, drugs, histamine, reserpine, hydralazine, ranitidine and stress. It is important to avoid the migraine causes. First you should identify the migraine causes and then try to avoid them. You can quite often take a pain killer as soon as you notice the first symptoms and then the often accompanying aura.

        Here are some ways that can help you identify the migraine causes and prevent or at least help you manage your migraine.

• Keep a diary for two weeks to identify the factors that cause a migraine.
• Try to avoid any food that can bring on an attack such as: red wine, aged cheese and chocolate.
• Eat regularly. If you skip a meal, this can result in a migraine attack.
• Try to not change the sleep pattern. If you pass your regular hours of sleep it may result in a migraine attack.
• Try to not stress yourself by finding relaxation methods.