Yorkshire Eye Hospital

Migraines

Migraine is a common neurological condition occurring in at least 15-20% of the population and in upto 50% of women.

Classical migraine usually starts with visual symptoms (often zig-zag lines, coloured lights or flashes of light expanding to one side of your vision over 10-30 minutes), followed by a single-sided pounding headache. The headache is usually associated with nausea, vomiting, and light sensitivity.

What causes migraine?
While it is not clear exactly how a migraine works, it is believed that the basic cause of migraine is an abnormality in the neurotransmitter serotonin, an important chemical used by your brain cells. During a migraine attack, changes in serotonin affect blood vessels in your brain, often causing the vessels to constrict.

Certain foods may trigger a migraine attack including aged cheese, nitrates (often found in cured meats and processed foods), chocolate, red wine and monosodium glutamate (a flavour enhancer frequently found in some foods). Caffeine, aspartame (artificial sweetener) and alcohol may also trigger migraines. Hormonal changes are frequently associated with migraine.

What are the symptoms?
Pounding pain on one side of your head (or steady pain on both sides of the head).
Sensitivity to light and sound.
Nausea, vomiting.
Visual symptoms (usually in both eyes but often to one side) with some of the following characteristics:

How is it treated?
Treatment usually first involves avoiding factors known to precipitate a migraine attack, such as foods, environmental triggers such as perfume and medication such as birth control pills. Aspirin and Ibuprofen etc may reduce the severity of an attack and are more effective if taken with some caffeine.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How could I be having a migraine when I do not have a headache?
While headache is the most common symptom, visual symptoms and even neurological dysfunction may occur without a headache. The important features are the frequent repetitive nature of the events and most importantly the transient nature with no evidence of residual dysfunction.

Do I have to take these medications?
No. The medications are designed to either relieve symptoms during an attack or decrease the frequency of attacks. If the symptoms are not bad, the episodes occur infrequently, or they respond to ‘over-the-counter’ pain medications it is not necessary to take anything.