Most people are not aware that migraines can actually be hereditary and start when a person is still quite young. Normally lasting for a couple of hours or more when medication is administered, most are normally felt just on one side of the head but can affect someone for many days if they haven’t taken anything to ease the pain. Almost all sufferers will complain of exhaustion and a feeling of weakness that takes some time to pass.
Some sufferers only experience only one attack per year whereas for someone who is liable to frequent attacks, this in the range of one or two every month. Some symptoms seem to be consistent with most victims; those of a feeling like those associated with cold or influenza and a problem with bright lights. Migraine can affect people from as young as ten and up to the age of forty; strangely, very few individuals suffer with this condition after they reach fifty years old.

It is quite common for members of the same family group to suffer with migraine attacks; whilst genetic factors may be involved, this link has yet to be proved. There is a condition that causes an inflammation of blood vessels in the brain and it is possible that people who suffer have sensitivity in this area. Science cannot as yet explain why this condition is more likely to affect women than men but women have a three times greater chance of having the condition than men; who are only likely to have an eight percent chance of ever suffering with the problem.

Another symptom that is not consistent is those people that know when they are going to have an attack anything up to 30 minutes before it happens; this sensation is called migraine with aura owing to the type of feeling they experience. The signs for this attack seem to affect the senses and can include:

• Sickness
• Blinking or zigzagging lights
• Reduction in the sensations of taste
• Difficulty with verbal skills

other symptoms exist but these appear to be the most common. Some of these indications are symptoms felt by those who have the most common variant of the condition, migraines without aura; many early indications felt by those who have a warning are symptoms felt by those who have no warning but their condition can be made worse if they are in constant motion.

Whilst the exact reason why some people suffer with migraine still eludes medical science, the theory that the narrowing of blood vessels to the brain is the closest they have come to discovering a migraines cause. This narrowing of vessels then leads to an expansion and this pressure change may be the reason for the headache; those who are afflicted say the headache is often so intense that it impedes with regular routinely daily activity and may even keep them awake. As there are so many situations that could trigger an attack, only a few are listed here:

• Poor weather conditions
• Food belonging to certain groups
• High altitude
• Drinks containing caffeine
• Strong intense sunlight
• Not enough sleep
• Anxiety

It is for a person to keep a check to see if they have a pattern by which they can avoid situations that could lead to an attack.