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. 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. It is a debilitating condition that leaves its victims feeling weakened and exhausted even when the pain has subsided.

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. 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. 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.

Hereditary links are often associated with migraine and occurrences may happen among members of a family; too date however, no definitive, confirmed hereditary cause has so far been found. There seems to be a common connection amongst sufferers where blood vessels and nerve endings near the brain, swell. Science cannot as yet explain why this condition is more likely to affect women than men but women have a three times greater chance of having the condition than men; 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. A number of different warning signs have been exhibited as shown below:

*Nausea *Enlarged blind spots *Sense of smell and taste is affected *Problems speaking

Other symptoms exist but these appear to be the most common. However, the condition that's most common is a migraine without aura where the pain increases in one area of the head; this condition can escalate and is made worse by any movement, loud noises and bright lights which can cause the person to vomit.

The current belief is that the blood vessels close to the brain might contract, increasing pressure which may cause the migraine with aura experience. This narrowing of vessels then leads to an expansion and this pressure change may be the reason for the headache; whatever the cause, sufferers all agree that an attack stops them from doing anything in their daily lives until it has receded. A sufferer could have one or more triggers to each attack; the most common complaints are highlighted below:

*Weather *Particular foodstuffs *Altitude *Certain beverages i.e. coffee *Strong bright lights *Lack of sleep or food *Work related stress

Monitoring and recording the triggers in a diary can help avoid future attacks so it is something that all sufferers must learn to carry out.