If you suffer form very painful headaches and have done so since you were young, the chances are you may suffer from migraines which are often experienced by other members of a family group. Sometimes they will last for many days but usually for a few hours but can be so painful that the victim has to go to bed. Most sufferers will confirm just how tiring an attack is even once it has passed.

There doesn't seem to be any regularity to the attacks either as one individual might have a number each month whilst another sufferer will only have an attack once a year. Many of the symptoms experienced by sufferers are closely connected to other everyday illnesses. Migraine can affect people from as young as ten and up to the age of forty; although it is unusual for the condition to afflict anyone over the age of fifty.

Hereditary links are often associated with migraine and occurrences may happen among members of a family; if there is a genetic reason for the attacks, medical science has not yet found this link. One area that does seem to have a connection is the medical condition where the blood vessels in the head can become swollen. 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.

Some people with the complaint are able to sense when an attack is imminent; this is called migraine with aura. There are many indications this may happen which will vary between sufferers which can be one or more of the following:

*Queasiness *Blinking or zigzagging lights *Reduction in the sensations of taste *Lack of sensation in the person's tongue

There are many more symptoms, the list above contains those which are most prevalent. The most common type of this condition is known as migraine 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.

At the moment the theory that blood vessels leading to the brain become narrower and affect the nerves is the closest science has come to discovering the cause of migraines. Some suggest that it is the rapid expansion after this narrowing that causes the awful headaches; whatever the cause, sufferers all agree that an attack stops them from doing anything in their daily lives until it has receded. There are many possible triggers for an attack some of which are shown below:

*Adverse weather *Certain food groups *Being at great height *Certain beverages i.e. coffee *Strong intense sunlight *Not enough sleep *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.