Where in the head is a migraine?

Answer 1

A migraine headache is a neurological disorder and a specific primary headache classification. There are 4 stages to a migraine attack:

1. Prodrome
2. Aura
3. Pain/headache
4. Resolution/Postdrome

A migraine attack may contain any one or more of these stages.

Pain is usually one-sided and throbbing and can range from mild to incapacitating, lasting hours to days. A Migraine lasting over 3 days is called status migrainousus and is considered an emergency.

The pain of migraine is only part of an attack however, as migraines actually herald a whole host of changes to the entire body.

There are two main types of migraine acknowledged by the International Headache Society, but there are many sub-categories which may be used to help identify the patient's particular symptoms. The two main types are: migraine without aura (used to be called common migraine), and migraine with aura (used to be called classic migraine).

Other types of migraine diagnoses a patient may receive are:

• Retinal migraine (migraine with aura in one eye)
• Hemiplegic migraine (a type of migraine with aura)
• Migraine with brainstem aura (used to be called basilar artery migraine)
• Acephalgic migraine (migraine without pain)
• Transformed migraine (migraine that had an episodic pattern, now with chronic pattern)
• Chronic migraine (migraine and headache 15 days or more per month)
• Vestibular migraine (migraine with vertigo)
• Abdominal migraine
• Complicated migraine (migraine with aura and stroke-like symptoms)

Migraines are usually triggered by environmental and other factors that change the homeostasis of the body/brain of the patient. Triggers often include:

• red wine
• MSG, Aspartame, nitrites and other food additives
• weather
• caffeine
• menstruation
• dehydration
• changes in sleep pattern
• changes in normal eating pattern
• medications
• physical exertion
• bright lights
• strong smells
• loud noise

Answer 2

Migraines begin as a spreading cortical depression. This is a wave of lowered activity that crosses over the entire cerebral cortex. This spreading darkness is what can alter mood during the prodrome phase, stimulate the visual cortex to cause an aura, and trigger the chemical changes that cause the dilation of blood vessels in the brain, causing intense pain.

The location of the pain of a migraine attack is purely individual. Some people develop migraines only on one side. Some people end up experiencing pain on both. For some people that one-sided pain is located in the temple, for others it seems it is sitting on the eyeball, or coming down from the top of the head into the middle. There are people who experience occipital migraines, such as those who have Basilar Artery Migraines, where the pain begins, and sometimes remains, in the base of the skull. Migraines are also caused due to a kind of Jaw dis-function. It is medically termed as Temporomandibular Jaw (TMJ) problem. This can be cured by rearranging the jaw position if it is misaligned. Migraine could also cause due to misalignment in vertebrate. Please consult a physician in either cases to get a clear understanding of the problem.

Answer 3

A Migraine is a genetic, neurological disease/disorder in which headache frequently, although not always, is a component. Migraine is not a headache.

A headache is a non-specific symptom of pain in the region of the head. There are over 300 different headache disorders, both primary and secondary.

Answer 4

Generally speaking, the widening of blood vessels in the head (brain). So your next question should be, "What makes the brain's blood vessels enlarge?"

Answer 5

The top part. xD