Migraine Headache Causes

No one is exactly sure what causes migraine headaches. Some experts believe they are caused by a combination of the expansion of blood vessels in the head and the release of certain chemicals, which causes inflammation and pain. There are chemicals normally found in the brain which can cause blood vessels to act abnormally if they are present in abnormal amounts or if the blood vessels are unusually sensitive to them. The chemicals dopamine and serotonin are among those involved in migraine. Various triggers are thought to cause migraine in certain people prone to developing them. Different people may have different triggers though stress, tension, alcohol, not eating on time, even certain foods can all be contributing factors.

Being Alert To Migraine Headache Causes and Symptoms

Migraine headaches may crop up with or without a warning and the symptoms differ. Common migraine headache symptoms are usually throbbing or pulsating headache on one side of your head. Moderate to severe headache intensity. Worsening of your headache with routine physical activity. You may have nausea, vomiting, or both. You may have sensitivity to light and noise, and sometimes even smells.

A lot of doctors believe that people commonly mistake a migraine headache for a sinus headache or other types of headache. This could be because migraine headache causes can be very similar to what most people think causes sinus headaches.

Some people will see an aura, which usually begins within 30 minutes before the headache starts. Most people do not have an aura before they get a migraine headache. If you do you may see wavy lines, spots, flashing lights. You may have a numbness or a pins-and-needles sensation in their hands, arms, or face during the aura. This is similar to an arm falling asleep.

One of the migraine headache causes people commonly mistake for sinus headache is the weather. The change in air pressure causes many people to have migraine headaches, some people are so sensitive to this change that even high humidity can change cause migraine headaches.

Migraine Headache Causes In Relation To Food Sensitivities

Food sensitivities can also cause migraine headaches. Common foods are dairy products, artificial sweeteners, chocolate, alcohol, processed meat products (lunch meat, hot dogs), caffeine, and most fatty foods. Find Allergy Help-Food Allergies

To determine if your migraine headache is food related there are simple tests that can help to make this clear. A doctor may suggest omitting the suspect food from the person’s diet for a set amount of time or keeping a food and headache diary, recording what foods the person eats and which of those days headaches occur to try to establish a pattern.

Environmental Factors As A Migraine Headache Contributor

Some migraine headache causes are from a person’s surroundings such as bright lights, strong smells or rhythmic motion. There are many external migraine headache causes which people cannot always avoid, these people may be able to take some precautions such as wearing sun glasses or taking an over the counter motion sickness medication if the nausea leads to headaches when traveling.

Physical Causes

A disruption in a person’s normal sleeping pattern can also be one of a migraine headache’s causes, every person’s body requires a unique amount of sleep, for most people that is between six and nine hours each night. When a person has trouble sleeping it can affect their whole next day by plaguing them with severe head pain, nausea, and sensitivity to light or sound.

This can also be true if a person is getting too much sleep either all at once or by napping throughout the day. Most people thrive on sleeping for a set amount of time each day waking and sleeping at the same times, for some migraine headache sufferers regulating their sleeping pattern could reduce their occurrence of headaches immensely.

Mental Stress As A Migraine Headache Cause

Stress is a common cause of migraine headaches. Many people have anxiety from situations in the work place, at home, with family, and many other situations which lead to severe headaches. For Less Stress.com/Simple Stress Relief

Depression has also been linked as a possible migraine headache cause; when people suffer from depression they tend to use extra stimulants such as coffee or nicotine to compensate for their moods which can also cause migraine headaches. Some people also tend to consume alcohol when they are depressed to cope with their feelings. An excess of alcohol is also a known cause of migraine headaches.

There are many more migraine headache causes, if you think you may be suffering from migraine headaches, you should consult your doctor. No one should suffer with migraine pain because there are so many medications that can help, some with very rare and mild side effects which can help relieve the migraine headache pain and make it last less than an hour instead of hours or days which are common to so many sufferers.