Twelve percent of people in the United States will experience migraines in their lifetimes. Despite being so common, people tend to know very little about the condition.<\/p>\n
Rather than confusing it for a bad headache or unnecessarily living with the pain, read on for information from our experts, who will help you better spot, prevent and treat the pain.<\/p>\n
Migraines differ from your standard tension headache in many ways. Migraines:<\/p>\n
There are two primary types of migraines: with<\/strong> and without<\/strong> aura<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Migraines without<\/strong> aura<\/strong> are characterized as having at least five “attacks” in a month that last four to 72 hours each and include at least two of these symptoms: unilateral pain, pulsating, moderate to severe pain, or pain aggravated by physical activity. These migraines also include at least one of the following: nausea\/vomiting or sensitivity to light\/noise, explains Jennifer Rock, ARNP<\/a>, with\u00a0MultiCare Neuroscience Institute.<\/a><\/p>\n A diagnosis of migraine with aura<\/strong> requires only two “attacks” in a month with at least one fully reversible aura symptom, she says. Migraines with aura account for only about one-third of all migraines.<\/p>\n An aura is a temporary neurological disturbance, such as a visual, sensory or speech-related symptom, that occurs about an hour before a migraine. Visual auras are the most common and are often described as flashing lights, stars or squiggly lines. Most auras last between five to 60 minutes.<\/p>\n Migraines (with or without aura) become chronic when you experience 15 or more headache days in a month, for three consecutive months, with at least eight of those episodes meeting migraine criteria.<\/p>\n “It’s important to track all headaches and migraines if you notice them becoming a consistent problem,” Rock says. “Every level is important to note for treatment \u2026 and because you should know that any kind of headache is not ‘normal.'”<\/p>\n The easy answer to who can experience a migraine: anyone.<\/p>\n All ages, genders and backgrounds carry the risk, but certain genetic factors and lifestyle and environmental triggers can heighten your likelihood.<\/p>\n Migraines are, however, more common among women, Rock says. Many girls will experience migraines in relation to big hormonal shifts, like starting their menstrual cycle as teens or in the days leading up to their period each month. Taking birth control or going through postpartum hormonal shifts may also increase your risk.<\/p>\n On the flip side, many women who have experienced migraines see improvements as their hormones settle during pregnancy and menopause, she explains.<\/p>\n Men are more likely to experience their first migraines after puberty or in their early 20s.<\/p>\n “Headaches is one of the top referral reasons we see in pediatric neurology, and many end up with a migraine diagnosis,” explains Michelle Kerr, MD<\/a>, MultiCare Mary Bridge Children’s Neurology<\/a>. “They’re also very common in the teenage population \u2026 often because of how stressed they are.”<\/p>\n Migraines have a strong genetic component, meaning that the child of a parent with migraine history is up to 50 percent more likely to develop migraines themselves, she adds.<\/p>\n While genetics can’t be controlled, many lifestyle and environmental triggers can be. Triggers will vary person to person, so it may take some work to understand what yours are, Dr. Kerr says.<\/p>\n One of the hardest things to manage is that anything could be your trigger, Rock adds. Common triggers include:<\/p>\n Your first step to preventing migraines is identifying potential triggers. A headache journal is a helpful tool for this, where you can track occurrence dates, severity, length and what you did or ate prior.<\/p>\n Tracking will be especially important for children who may not be able to fully articulate how they’re feeling or why. Dr. Kerr recommends parents pay attention to their child’s behavior, such as whether they’re still playing like usual or if they just want to lie down or cuddle. Try asking leading questions like, “Can you point to where it hurts?”<\/p>\n Your primary care provider or pediatrician may also prescribe what’s commonly referred to as “rescue medicine,” which is meant to diminish the severity or length of a migraine once it\u2019s hit. But it isn’t a daily option or prevention method.<\/p>\n “First and foremost, we focus on lifestyle factors,” Dr. Kerr says. “If you’re doing all these lifestyle things well and still having four or more migraines a month that are severe and not responding to rescue medicines, we would then explore other options.”<\/p>\n Some of those beneficial lifestyle habits include:<\/p>\n Further treatment will differ between children and adults. Adolescents may be advised to explore vitamin\/supplement options like magnesium or riboflavin, prescription medications or period suppression, Dr. Kerr explains.<\/p>\n The most common adult treatment options include:<\/p>\n “I use Botox a lot for migraine patients \u2026 I see good results with it,” Rock explains. “It’s the one treatment that often surprises people, but people are coming around to it, and many times, people who know someone who have used it are way more open.”<\/p>\n Botox is FDA approved as a chronic migraine treatment and is administered as a series of 31 injections across the forehead, neck, head and shoulders every 12 weeks, according to Rock. It’s used to help relax the nerves and muscles in these areas, which are most related to headaches.<\/p>\n The primary downsides to Botox are that it\u2019s temporary and it isn’t an option during pregnancy, she adds.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, most cases of migraines, whether acute or chronic, likely won’t be completely stopped. But you don’t have to live in constant pain.<\/p>\n “We may not be able to fully stop them, but we can get you to a manageable place,” Rock says. “We have to be realistic. The goal is to see 50 percent improvement, never 100 percent.”<\/p>\n How that improvement looks will be unique to each person. Everyone has a different pain tolerance \u2014 what one person works through may be debilitating to someone else.<\/p>\n “I always ask on a pain scale, but I also ask about what they feel is a bad migraine versus a headache where they can function is,” Rock adds. “I only want them to relate it to themselves. \u2026 The biggest thing I stress is that having headaches and migraines isn’t normal and you should talk about it.”<\/p>\n Don’t live with the pain. Schedule an appointment with your primary care provider or pediatrician.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Twelve percent of people in the United States will experience migraines in their lifetimes. Despite being so common, people tend to know very little about the condition. Rather than confusing it for a bad headache or unnecessarily living with the pain, read on for information from our experts, who will help you better spot, prevent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":115,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[127,99,107],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-healthy-living","category-primary-care","category-stroke-neuro"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGenetics & triggers: Learning the causes of migraines<\/h2>\n
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Best practices for preventing & managing migraine pain<\/h2>\n
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Pain is personal, but you don’t have to live with it<\/h2>\n