Migraines - Much More Than A Pain In The Neck

About one out of every four households in the United States has a migraine sufferer. And if you ask any one of the twenty-nine and a half million Americans who get migraines how the headache makes them feel, they'll undoubtedly tell you that a migraine and its associated pain and symptoms is a lot more than just a bad headache.

Migraine headaches are characterized by a throbbing pain that's usually located on one side of the sufferer's head. It's often accompanied by a feeling of nausea. And, to make a bad situation worse, when a person gets a migraine attack they also become sensitive to sound and light.

Although the severity, symptoms, and incidence varies from one person to the next, this combination of debilitating pain and the associated symptoms are often enough to stop most people from being able to perform even the simplest of their daily activities.

A migraine attack usually lasts anywhere from 4 to 72 hours. Migraine headaches tend to follow a three phase pattern: the pre-headache, the headache, and the post-headache.

Pre-headaches and post-headaches are associated with fatigue, mood swings, and muscle tenderness. These symptoms tend to last from several hours to several days.

Approximately one out of every three migraine sufferers experiences an "aura." When that happens they might see shimmering lights, zigzag lines, light flashes or blind spots. They also may feel a tingling sensation in their face and arm before the headache and other symptoms occur.

Most auras last for less than one hour and are typically gone before the headache actually begins. People who experience auras find that they may not experience them with every migraine attack.

Although both men and women suffer from migraine headaches approximately three times as many women as men get this type of a headache. Whatever their gender, migraines are most prevalent amongst people who are between twenty and forty-five years of age.

Migraines seem to be hereditary and often begin in childhood. If even a distant relative has suffered from migraines there's a 20% chance that her or his offspring will also be prone to migraine attacks. If both parents get migraines then there's a 75% chance that their children will also get them. And, if one parent gets this type of headache the odds are 50-50 that their children will also be afflicted.

Some people attempt to treat a migraine by taking over-the-counter medications when they should actually be under the care of a health care professional.

One of the problems with trying to alleviate the pain of any headache with medications such as acetaminophen is that there is the potential to inadvertently take too large a dosage. If that happens there is the possibility of liver failure and death.

If you or someone you love has suffered from an overdose of acetaminophen then you may want to consult a law firm that specializes in this area of the law.


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