The symptoms of migraine headaches are directly related to these changes in the blood vessels. During the initial phase of blood vessel narrowing, decreased blood flow to the brain leads to malfunction in the area of greatest constriction. So, before any pain is felt, the typical migraine begins with some sort of warning symptom, called an aura. The most common aura is disturbance of vision, which may take the form of bright or colored zigzag lines, areas of cloudy vision, flashing lights, and so on. Other people have auras with such symptoms as slurred speech, dizziness, weakness or numbness of one side of the body, and other signs of neurological impairment.

The migraine headache pain begins when the previously narrowed blood vessels then open too wide. Normal brain function is restored by the return of blood flow, but stretching of the vessel walls, along with inflammation caused by chemical changes in the blood, stimulates pain-sensitive nerve endings in the vessel walls. At first the pain is localized on one side of the head, but it often spreads to the other side as the headache progresses. The pain is intense and throbbing in character. Accompanying the headache may be symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea, intolerance of light, dizziness, and sweating or chilliness.

This description of the migraine applies to the ìclassicî type, but other forms of migraine are not uncommon. Sometimes the headache begins without a prior aura. On the other hand, ìmigraine equivalentsî may occur; there may be the neurological disturbances (visual changes and so on) or vomiting typical of a migraine, though there is no headache.

The tendency to have migraines clearly runs in families and seems to be due, in part, to a genetic predisposition, They first occur before the person reaches the age of thirty, usually in the early-teen years. Migraines often start in childhood, particularly around the time of puberty. Even very young children can get migraines. Before the child is old enough to tell you about the headache, the first sign you may see in your two-to-four year old is recurrent vomiting. The child who gets headaches may well be saying something about a difficulty in her life that she finds hard to express openly. Do your best to identify stress your child faces, and work with her to find ways to resolve the conflict.

A migraine headache is most often triggered by psychological stress but, curiously, it is characteristic that the attack begins when the stress is relieved. High-pressure business people, for instance, may dread the ìrelaxingî weekends that bring on their headaches. Other stresses that frequently lead to migraines include going without food, sleeping too long, bright lights, and fluctuations in hormone levels (some women get migraines every month before the menstrual period or when they ovulate). Foods and drinks including nuts, chocolate, coffee, cheese, citrus, and alcohol may also trigger migraines, as do some drugs.

Another type of vascular headache is the ìcluster headache.î These are severe, one-sided headaches that occur in spells, most often during sleep. The pain is accompanied by redness and tearing of the eye, and the nostril drops on the painful side.

General Home Care
An untreated migraine lasts at least several hours, often a full day. Many migraine headaches are so severe, simple measures like rest or aspirin offer little or no help. Relaxation measures may bring some relief. Learning to warm the hands by increasing blood flow through biofeedback has been especially effective, probably because the circulatory system in general is affected. Suggesting to yourself that the hands are becoming warm and heavy is the best way for most people to achieve this without a biofeedback device. Dealing effectively with stress and avoiding the factors that you know lead to your headaches are critical for preventing migraines. Constitutional homeopathic treatment from a professional practitioner is the most helpful preventive approach for those whose headaches donít respond to simple home care measures or to self-care homeopathy.