Understand the intricacies of the disease and win the war against migraines | ArticlesBase.com

What is Migraine?

Migraines are a severe, painful headache that gradually develops from a mild headache to a throbbing momentum. It is often preceded or accompanied by sensory upheavals like flashes of light, blind spots, tingling in the arms and legs, nausea, vomiting and increased sensitivity to light and sound. The piercing pain that migraines bring on can sometimes last for a few hours or even days.

Migraine generally result from the combined affects of the enlargement of the blood vessels and the release of chemicals from nerve fibers. During the headache, the temporal artery enlarges causing the release of chemicals. These combined effects not only cause further enlargement of the artery but also cause pain and inflammation.

This further aggravates feelings of nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. Moreover, this typical response adds to a delay in emptying of the stomach into the small intestines, taking its toll on food absorption, decreasing blood circulation which leads to cold hands and feet, and an increased sensitivity to light and sound.

Who are affected by migraine?

Anybody can suffer from migraines, including children, adolescents, or grown - up men and women. However, studies have revealed that this condition is nearly four times more evident in women.

It has also been found that many people who suffer with migraine headaches also have a family history of migraines. However, this is an assumption as no exact hereditary mechanisms have yet been detected. The assumption is based on suffers having a family history of migraines. It has been assumed that people who get migraines have an inherited abnormality wherein the blood vessels are not consistently regulated.

Migraine symptoms in children

Most adults who still suffer from migraine headache probably got their first headache as a child. Some research on this issue reveals that almost 5% of the people suffer from at least one migraine attack before the age of 15; in fact children as young as five years are known to suffer from migraine headaches. This means that migraines in children seem to be much more common than earlier believed.

Children, more often than not, do react differently to migraine - their symptoms and ways of coping may look quite unfamiliar to an adult. Some of the more noticeable symptoms include a change in temperament (unusual temper or sadness), nausea, and headache (especially on one side of the head) which can either be on one side of the head or on both sides. Children are more likely to have a headache on both sides of the head. Some may even experience an aura and be sensitive to light. In addition, it has been noted that children who get car sick may also be predisposed to migraine.

Nutritional supplement for the relief of migraine

Trying nutritional supplements for headaches is a good idea. Neither do these supplements cost a fortune nor do they cause any unpleasant side-effects, like prescription drugs. On the contrary, these supplements may actually do some real good. However, the only issue with alternative treatments is that in most cases immediate migraine relief is almost impossible; however, in the long-term this goal can be achieved.

Therefore, taking supplements of vitamins B6 and B12, as well as folic acid, magnesium, coenzyme Q10 and riboflavin on a daily basis may reduce the frequency, severity and disability of migraines. Daily vitamin supplements, in fact, were found to produce a two-fold reduction in migraine disability.

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