Often found as something a whole family may suffer from, migraines will often start when a person is very young. Normally lasting for a couple of hours or more when medication is administered, most are normally felt just on one side of the head but can affect someone for many days if they haven't taken anything to ease the pain. Most sufferers will confirm just how tiring an attack is even once it has passed.

Some people are more fortunate than others and may only have a couple of attacks per year whilst others have one or more every month. Certain symptoms are common for many sufferers including a problem with bright lights, sometimes even dull light, in addition to flu like chills and lightheadedness. What isn't understood is why migraines can start at an age as early as ten but normally stop before someone reaches the age of forty; strangely, very few individuals suffer with this condition after they reach fifty years old.

Whilst family groups are known to share attacks, so far there has been a problem finding a genetic trait that links certain family members to migraines; however, science has not yet proved that there is a genetic factor at work. Sufferers may acquire sensitivity to a medical condition that brings about inflammation in the blood vessels and nerves near the brain, resulting to pain. Another area that still isn't fully understood is why these headaches are more prevalent in women with approximately three times as many women suffering than men; who are only likely to have an eight percent chance of ever suffering with the problem.

Migraine with aura is a symptom where some sufferers are able to predict an attack up to half an hour before it happens. The warning signs may include:

*Queasiness *Blinking or zigzagging lights *Strange sounds or smell *Lack of sensation in the person's tongue

Whilst there are many more symptoms, the list above contains those which are most prevalent. Some of these indications are symptoms felt by those who have the most common variant of the condition, migraines without aura; many early indications felt by those who have a warning are symptoms felt by those who have no warning but their condition can be made worse if they are in constant motion.

Whilst the exact reason why some people suffer with migraine still eludes medical science, the theory that the narrowing of blood vessels to the brain is the closest they have come to discovering a migraines cause. It might be that it is the expansion of the blood vessels afterwards that causes the headache; it can actually incapacitate the victim so they cannot perform even routine tasks. A sufferer could have one or more triggers to each attack; the most common complaints are highlighted below:

*Adverse weather *Particular foodstuffs *Altitude *Particular drinks *Powerful bright lighting *Insomnia *Work related stress

It is for a person to keep a check to see if they have a pattern by which they can avoid situations that could lead to an attack.