A migraine is a complaint that is quite often suffered by other family members, all of which have probably been experiencing them from a young age. Most suffers will go to bed as the headache (usually on one side) takes hold and which could last a matter of a few hours but if left without attention, could last for days. It is a debilitating condition that leaves its victims feeling weakened and exhausted even when the pain has subsided.

The frequency of attacks is not consistent with one person having one or perhaps two attacks in a month to another who may only have one a year. Many of the symptoms experienced by sufferers are closely connected to other everyday illnesses. Most migraine attacks occur between the ages of 10 to 40 years old although why this is no-one really knows; although it is unusual for the condition to afflict anyone over the age of fifty.

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; even though there may be a link, so far it has eluded medical science. It is believed that victims have a certain susceptibility in their brains that allows the blood vessels and nerves to become inflamed. With this condition, women do not fare as well as men with a ratio of 3 to 1 suffering from the condition regularly; one in every 4 women will be a victim of it, whilst only 1 in 12 men will suffer with it at some point in their life.

Another symptom that is not consistent is those people that know when they are going to have an attack anything up to 30 minutes before it happens; this sensation is called migraine with aura owing to the type of feeling they experience. There are many warning indicators of the attack:

*Sickness *Problems with vision *Strange sounds or smell *Problems with speech

these are the most commonly experienced symptoms. Migraine sufferers who do not have any warning are said to have attack without aura but still suffer extreme pain; this progressively builds up to full excruciating intensity which is aggravated by continuous motion, light or noise often causing nausea and vomiting.

The exact reason for having migraine is not clear and yet to be discovered but one assumption is that the blood vessels in areas of the brain become narrower which may be the explanation for the aura. Some suggest that it is the rapid expansion after this narrowing that causes the awful headaches; however, all suffers say the attack knocks them out and they are unable to carry out even the most simple of daily tasks. As there are so many situations that could trigger an attack, only a few are listed here:

*Bad weather *Certain foods *Traveling in a plane *Certain groups of drink *Strong intense sunlight *Poor sleep patterns *Stress caused by personal problems

Only by carefully documenting everything that was going on prior to the attack can the victim hope to find out what starts the attacks off.