Youth & Teen Problems

If you suffer form very painful headaches and have done so since you were young, the chances are you may suffer from migraines which are often experienced by other members of a family group. Left untreated, an attack can force the person to have bed rest but normally the intense pain starts to subside within a few hours. Almost all sufferers will complain of exhaustion and a feeling of weakness that takes some time to pass.

Medical science still hasn’t discovered why there can be such long periods without a headache for some people and not others. A number of the symptoms associated with this condition resemble those seen in people with other common complaints. Migraine is most prevalent in people between the ages of ten to forty years old; although it is unusual for the condition to afflict anyone over the age of fifty.

Members of the same family are often cursed with migraine and there is believed to be a hereditary link; even though there may be a link, so far it has eluded medical science. There seems to be a common connection amongst sufferers where blood vessels and nerve endings near the brain, swell. More women suffer from attacks and they comprise 75 percent of reported cases; only about eight percent of men will have an attack in their lives so it is very much a condition that affects women.

One of the signs - migraine with aura, is characterized by an unusual sensation (aura) that is in occurrence 10 to 30 minutes prior to the head pain. A number of different warning signs have been exhibited as shown below:

* Queasiness
* Blinking or zigzagging lights
* Strange sounds or smell
* Problems with speech

this is only a short list as other symptoms are also experienced. Migraine sufferers who do not have any warning are said to have attack without aura but still suffer extreme pain; this also includes nausea which can be aggravated by movement, noise and light which is the reason most sufferers lie quietly on a bed in a darkened room.

At the moment the theory that blood vessels leading to the brain become narrower and affect the nerves is the closest science has come to discovering the cause of migraines. Some suggest that it is the rapid expansion after this narrowing that causes the awful headaches; whatever the cause, sufferers all agree that an attack stops them from doing anything in their daily lives until it has receded. There are many factors that can trigger an attack ranging from:

* Adverse weather
* Certain types of food
* Height
* Particular drinks
* Strong intense sunlight
* Insomnia
* Anxiety

It is therefore a good idea for the victim to see if there is a pattern to the attacks which could then make it easier to avoid them.