Migraine Headache
- Migraine Headache Overview
- Migraine Headache Causes
- Migraine Headache Symptoms
- When to Seek Medical Care
- Exams and Tests
- Migraine Headache Treatment
- Self-Care at Home
- Medical Treatment
- Other Therapy
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Migraine - on WebMD
Migraine - on MedicineNet - Viewer Comments: Migraine Headache - Effective Treatments
Migraine Headache Overview
Migraine headaches are one of the most common problems seen in emergency departments and doctors' offices. Migraines are due to changes in the brain and surrounding blood vessels.
Migraine headaches typically last from 4-72 hours and vary in frequency from daily to fewer than 1 per year. Migraine affects about 15% of the population. Three times as many women as men have migraines. More than 80% of people with migraines (called migraineurs) have other members in the family who have them too.
- Different types of migraine headaches
- Common migraine accounts for 80% of migraines. There is no "aura" before a common migraine.
- People with classic migraines experience an aura before their headaches. Most often, an aura is a visual disturbance (outlines of lights or jagged light images). Classic migraines are usually much more severe than common migraines.
- Status migrainosus is a migraine that does not go away by itself.
- Common migraine accounts for 80% of migraines. There is no "aura" before a common migraine.
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Migraine Headache - Effective Treatments
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Migraine Headache
Migraine Headaches, Vision Effects »
Migraines and Vision Effects Overview
Migraine headache is one of the most common complaints in medicine today. Migraine headaches usually involve one side of the head. Various early symptoms may occur before a typical migraine episode. Other symptoms, together known as an aura, may also occur before a migraine headache, or they may begin when the headache starts. Recent studies show that 23 million Americans, approximately 18% of females and 6% of males, have at least 1 migraine headache a year. Migraine headaches are experienced by 64% of all females and 43% of all males who get severe headaches.
The American Migraine Study showed that more than 85% of women and 82% of men with severe migraines had headache-related disability. The estimated cost of lost productivity is $1-13 billion a year. Male migraineurs (persons who get migraines) required 3.8 bedrest days per year; female, 5.6 days.
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Another recent study showed that, among women, 20...
Read What Your Physician is Reading on eMedicine
Migraine Headache »
Migraines are severe, throbbing headaches frequently located in the temples or frontal head regions.

