Types of Migraines

Migraine is a terrible and throbbing headache that can persist for hours and even days. The causes of migraine are many, like hormonal changes, stress, foods (usually unhealthy processed foods) and drinks consumed, change in weather conditions, change in sleep pattern, physical exertion and medications. The pain arises due to the abnormal enlargement of the blood vessels. This enlargement stretches the nerve, which coils the blood vessel. The blood vessel that is affected, is the temporal artery. This artery is located outside the skull near the temple. The stretched nerves affect the sympathetic nervous system, which is primarily responsible for digestive secretions, contraction of blood vessels and increase in heart rate. As the sympathetic nervous system also controls the pain in the body, increased headache in a migraine attack is directly responsible for the other symptoms like nausea, diarrhea and vomiting.

There are two different types of migraines based on the aura. Migraines with an aura have initial symptoms like light flashing in front of eyes or blind spots. The migraines that are not preceded with these symptoms of an aura, are called migraines without aura. In fact, there are different types of migraines classified according to the causes and symptoms of migraine. Given below are the various types of migraines.

Abdominal Migraines
Abdominal migraines are observed in children and is accompanied with severe abdominal pain. This type of migraine is observed in children from the age group of five to nine. The common symptoms of all the migraines like nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are also observed in this type of migraine. Children suffering from abdominal migraines may have the migraine with an aura or without an aura. Abdominal pain is experienced near the navel. It is observed that most of the children with abdominal migraines are more likely to develop migraines with or without an aura, when they grow up. The abdominal migraines are treated with medications that are to be taken regularly to prevent the migraines from occurring.

Basilar Migraine
The basilar migraine is one of the painful types of migraines, which causes severe pain at the back of the head. The basilar migraine is observed in young adults and is accompanied with vertigo. Vertigo is a disorder in which there is difficulty in walking, as there is a sensation that the room or surroundings are spinning. This type of migraine is a migraine with aura. The symptoms are blurred vision, loss of balance, difficulty to speak, unconsciousness and tingling sensation in the body. The basilar migraine is usually observed in people with a family history of migraine.

Classic Migraine
The classic migraine is headache, observed with an aura. The symptoms of the classic migraine are flashing lights seen in front of the eyes, nausea, weakness, eye pain and it is usually one-sided pain. One-sided pain means that severe pain is experienced only on one side of the head. Common migraines without aura and basilar migraines are usually diagnosed as classic migraines. Usually, analgesics are used to treat the severe headaches due to the classic migraine.

Menstrual Migraines
The menstrual migraines are experienced before or after the menstrual periods of women. This type of migraine is due to the hormonal changes in the body. The oral contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy medications may increase the occurrence of the menstrual migraines or even intensify the headache.

Ophthalmoplegic Migraines
The ophthalmoplegic migraines cause severe pain in the eyes and there are different types of ophthalmoplegic migraines viz. silent migraines, ocular migraines, ophthalmic migraines and sometimes, the basilar migraines are also classified as the ophthalmoplegic migraine when there is intense pain in the eyes.

These are some of the types of migraines. It is advisable to consult a doctor if you get frequent headaches to diagnose whether you are suffering from one of the types of migraines or not. There are many home remedies for migraine. However, consulting a doctor is recommended.