Migraines strike some people about two or three times a year and others as frequently as twice a week or more. They appear to have a genetic link. According to the American Council for Headache Education, up to 90 percent of people with migraine have a family history of the condition. While migraines usually appear in young adulthood, children aren't immune. In children, pain sometimes occurs on both sides of the head.
Associated symptoms can include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
Even normal physical activity tends to intensify the pain of migraine. Only 8 percent of migraine sufferers report that the headaches don't significantly interfere with their ability to function, says Fred Sheftell, M.D., the founder and director of the New England Center for Headache. But you still have to pay the bills. You can be in an incredible amount of pain and put on a happy face, and then when people leave the room, you literally fall on the floor. Davis didn't win the Super Bowl with a migraine, he points out, but rather was lucky enough to have a relatively mild migraine that responded to early treatment and allowed him to play to his potential.