A patient of Jack Rozental, MD, clinical practice director, Neurology , Northwestern Memorial, used this graphic image to describe a migraine headache. Although there is no cure, there are a variety of treatments. Many who never have experienced a migraine headache tend to minimize the level of discomfort associated with these vascular storms, says Dr. Rozental, adding that most sufferers do not exaggerate their pain. Migraines affect approximately six out of every 100 people. Migraine headache pain originates not in the brain, but rather in the blood vessels that feed the brain and the meninges, the membranes that cover the brain, causing the surrounding nerves to become irritated.
Migraines often affect only one side of the head.
Among the adjectives chosen to describe them are pounding, throbbing and even exploding. Migraine headaches may be genetic, and women suffer from them twice as often as men. The tendency toward migraines often develops by early adolescence and tends to subside after age 50. Suspect food additives that may trigger migraines include monosodium glutamate and aspartame, an artificial sweetener. Migraines are divided into those with, and those without, aura.