Migraines often start in a persons teen years and are very painful headaches nothing like a usual headache that will go after taking a couple of pain killers. These very intense headaches can disable a person for days at a time if they do not take medication but three to four hours is the norm when treatment is given. These attacks also leave the suffer feeling exhausted and might take them a while to recover fully.

Medical science still hasn't discovered why there can be such long periods without a headache for some people and not others. Some symptoms seem to be consistent with most victims; those of a feeling like those associated with cold or influenza and a problem with bright lights. Most migraine attacks occur between the ages of 10 to 40 years old although why this is no-one really knows; however, by the time someone reaches fifty, attacks almost never occur.

It is not uncommon for a number of family members to share a migraine headache problem and hereditary links are believed to exist; if there is a genetic reason for the attacks, medical science has not yet found this link. 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; only one in twelve men will experience an attack in their lives.

A number of people have a warning when they are about to have an attack which is called migraine with aura which can be anywhere between ten minutes to half an hour before the actual attack. A number of different warning signs have been exhibited as shown below:

*Nausea is very common *Blinking or zigzagging lights *Loss in the sensation of taste *Problems with speech
These are the most commonly experienced symptoms. The most common type of this condition is known as migraine without aura; these victims have no warning, but the symptoms can also be intensified if they move to much.

Some medical experts believe it is the contracting blood vessels that are responsible for the migraine with aura effect. If the blood vessels then expand suddenly, this may cause the intense headache; 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:

*Weather *Certain food groups *Being at great height *Certain beverages i.e. coffee *Strong bright lights *Lack of sleep or food *Stress

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.