Experiencing severe pain as if your head is going to explode, some of us have already lived or are still facing such a terrible nightmare called migraine. Today, migraines have become a recurrent problem for everyone and we are all looking for ways to get rid of it. However, the origins of migraine still remain a mystery. Migraine in its broadest sense refers to series of attacks (headaches) that occur at irregular intervals. It is estimated that women (1 in 4 women) are more prone to get migraines than men (1 in 12 men). Migraines are likely to be developed in early childhood or in the early stages of adulthood. Besides, the frequency of migraine attack differs from one person to another. Some people may experience a migraine attack every week, while may not hear from it for several months or even years.

Migraine attack is often divided into 2 main categories that is migraine with aura or without aura. Migraine without aura is the most common type of migraine. Such a headache usually affects one side of the brain and sometimes it even spreads to other parts. Such a pain can be moderate and can get severe with the movement of the head. Besides, such an attack also brings with it other symptoms such as nausea, blurred vision, stuffy nose etc…On the other hand; migraine with aura just has the same effects and symptoms like migraine without the aura. The only difference is that, migraine with aura comes with a warning signal before the headache starts. Such signals normally take the form of numbness that usually begins in the hand and can travel up till the tongue, temporary loss of vision, objects start to rotate etc.. Additionally, it has been observed that a migraine attack has 4 main phases namely, the warning phase (in situation of depression & stress) – you know that a migraine is going to follow, the aura phase (can occur/can also not occur), the head pain stage and finally the resolution phase - where the attack fades away.

But what really causes migraine or how it occurs still remain a very debatable issue. Some scientists have put forward various theories to explain its occurrence. For instance, for some migraine is the result of the expansion and contraction of the blood vessels in the brain. While others believe that due to some chemical reactions in the brain, wrong signals are being sent out, thus causing such a pain. Some people have even argued that the problem of migraine is heredity. Additionally, there are other factors that can initiate such attacks. For example, your daily diet can cause migraines (excessive dieting, irregular meals, food with lots of addictive etc…), environmental factors can also produce severe headaches (noise pollution, heat, strong smell etc...), psychological factors (depression, excessive stress etc..) can also be the root cause of migraines, certain medicines intake do also generate such attacks.

Migraine attacks cannot be prevented but its effects can be lessened considerably. Today, there exists various products on the market that can reduce or prevent such migraine attacks. Certain remedies such as pain killers have already proven their effectiveness. Please note that excessive consumption of pain killers can cause addictions, affect badly your health and can cost you a lot in the long run. Home remedies are also becoming extremely popular and they are often more favored than pain killers. Additionally certain devices such as the Cefaly can also help in the treatment and prevention of migraines. If even those remedies do not work against your migraines, then it is highly advisable that you visit a doctor as soon as possible. Prevention is better than cure and by staying away from migraine triggers can also help in reducing your headaches/ migraines attacks.