A migraine is a form of very painful and long lasting head pain, quite unlike a normal headache which can start in people in their formative years. For many who suffer severe attacks, bed rest is the only option but normally with medication, the pain starts to subside within four hours or so. These attacks also leave the suffer feeling exhausted and might take them a while to recover fully.

Some sufferers only experience only one attack per year whereas for someone who is liable to frequent attacks, this in the range of one or two every month. 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; strangely, very few individuals suffer with this condition after they reach fifty years old.

It is quite common for members of the same family group to suffer with migraine attacks; whilst genetic factors may be involved, this link has yet to be proved. It is believed that victims have a certain susceptibility in their brains that allows the blood vessels and nerves to become inflamed. 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; only one in twelve men will experience an attack in their lives.

Some sufferers have a strange feeling anything up to 30 minutes before an attack; called a migraine with aura and may say they feel they have an attack coming. The warning signs may include:

*Nausea *Blinking or zigzagging lights *Sense of smell and taste is affected *Lack of sensation in the person's tongue

Other symptoms exist but these appear to common with most people. Migraine without aura however, is the most prevalent type and may take place only in one area of the head; this also includes nausea which can be aggravated by movement, noise and light which is the reason most sufferers lie quietly on a bed in a darkened room.

Science is still trying to discover the reason for migraines and why some people are more susceptible to the condition than others although one theory has suggested that contracted blood vessels in the brain may be the cause. 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. The range of possible triggers that create an attack is huge; the most common are listed below:

*Bad weather *Particular foodstuffs *Traveling in a plane *Drinks *Bright lights *Insomnia *Personal or work pressures

It is therefore a good idea for the victim to see if there is a pattern to the attacks which could then make it easier to avoid them.