You're Having a Migraine or Headache? How to Tell the Difference

Migraine is a complicated illness that causes throbbing and pulsating headaches that may be painful from moderate to severe. According to current data, more than one billion people globally experience migraines. It is crucial to develop knowledge of it, especially the migraine causes and signs, significance and approaches to their treatment for both the patients and the doctors.

What Is Migraine?

A migraine is not just an ordinary headache but is a severe pain, usually throbbing, occurring on one or both sides of the head and is frequently associated with other incapacitating features. It reveals that the pain experienced by the patient is moderate to severe and throbbing in nature, which makes it difficult to engage in any activity.

Migraine symptoms do not only include a headache but might also include photophobia, phonophobia, hyperosmia, nausea, and vomiting. Migraines are known to be accompanied by aura, and these may include vision problems, numbness and tingling in affected parts.

Types of Migraines

• Migraine with aura: This is characterised by the presence of any non-painful symptoms that precede the headache, such as visual changes or even neurological symptoms. 
• Migraine without aura: They involve head pain that happens without any warning signs.
• Menstrual migraine: Such migraine is a result of hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle.
• Hemiplegic migraine: Depicts a migraine accompanied by neurological signs and symptoms that resemble those of a stroke.
• Vestibular migraine: Independent of vertigo and dizziness.
• Abdominal migraine: This type of migraine develops in children and includes abdominal pain.

The most common are migraines with aura (classical) and migraines without aura (common). Approximately one-fourth of aspiring migraine patients get the aura signs before the onset of the migraine headache.

Difference Between Headache and Migraine

Headache and migraine are often used interchangeably, but they are actually two different types of conditions that may overlap. While migraine is a type of severe, recurring headache, it has distinct qualities that set it apart from a typical headache:

• Migraines are commonly one-sided and are severe, while tension headaches are bilateral and are usually mild.
• Migraine pain is stabbing, and it has been described to be pulsative, while headache pain is more of a steady ache.
• Migraine pain is usually described as moderate to severe, whereas headaches can be mild or moderate on the severity scale.
• Migraine sufferers become sensitive to light, noise and odour, different from headaches.
• This is because migraines lead to nausea and vomiting, which is not a common condition associated with general headaches.

It is crucial to distinguish headaches from migraines by their clinical characteristics in order to provide appropriate management.

Causes of Migraine Headaches

The exact causes of migraines are still being researched, but they likely involve both genetic and environmental factors. Some of the common migraine causes are:

• Genetics: If one has been identified to have some family history, they have higher chances. They may be due to specific gene mutations.
• Brain chemicals: Serotonin is affected in the process; nerves and blood vessels are involved.
• Neural structures: brainstem pain pathways might be overactive, thus leading to migraines.
• Blood vessels: Alteration in the size and form of the vessel is enough to start the whole thing.

Hence, migraines can be defined as a neurovascular condition with many subtle pathways that may result in the manifestation of migraine headache symptoms.

What Triggers a Migraine?

Migraine causative factors are components that ignite the chain reaction that leads to the development of a full-blown migraine. Common migraine triggers are not general for all subjects and can differ from one person to another. Common ones include:

• Stress
• Sexual hormonal changes –Oestrogen level decreases during the menstruation period.
• Sleep issues – both excessive sleep and sleep deprivation
• Dehydration and irregular meal intake, with the body depending mostly on the supplements that are fed directly to the body by the machines.
• Sensory inputs – Visual (light), Auditory (noise), Olfactory (stench)
• Weather changes
• Alcohol, caffeine and nicotine (if any of the individuals has these problems, then they cannot consume coffee)
• Wisconsin cheese, deli meats, and other similar products contain compounds like histidine, tyrosine, and phenylalanine.

It is also important to note that there may be factors that only apply to an individual, and by recording their headache experiences, they can be prevented or dealt with.

Signs and Symptoms of Migraine Headaches

As much as migraines are classified as a headache disorder, they are not your ordinary headaches, as some unique features and signs characterise them. So, it is necessary to state that a list of neurological, gastrointestinal and autonomic signs accompanies migraines. The most common ones are:

• Hypersensitivity to sound – Commonly unilateral and ranges from moderate to severe head pain.
• Dizziness
• Blurred vision
• Sensitised to light, sound and smell
• Fatigue: This stress occurs before and after the attacks.
• Aura - Colours, touch, taste, and language problems

It is also important to realise that the definition of migraine headache symptoms and the degree of these can be different both in different migraineurs and in the course of attacks. All the symptoms that could be related to the condition must be recorded for any diagnosis to be made.

Diagnostic Test for Migraine

It is important to note that migraines are not diagnosable by an MRI, a CT scan or a blood test for migraine headache. Diagnosis involves:

• Medical history: Extent of the problem, the number of times the attacks have occurred, the manifestations and the history of the prevalence of the condition in the family.
• Headache diary: Recording experiences of headaches, factors that cause it and the measures taken to treat it.
• Physical assessment: Examination of the nervous system and ophthalmoscopic examination for fundus examination and examination of vision, balance and coordination.
• Excluding secondary causes: If needed with a CT or MRI scan.

Thus, for conditions presented with similar signs like infections, stroke and tumours, a test for migraine headache can be done solely based on signs and symptoms when other differential diagnoses have been excluded in accordance with IHS criteria.

Conclusion

Migraine disorder has a considerable effect on the general well-being of the patient and hinders the undertaking of activities of daily living. A patient must recognise the potential symptoms and receive an accurate diagnosis to manage the disorder properly. Diet changes, common migraine triggers, medication and other measures can reduce the symptoms of this condition.

Author Bio

The author has been a specialist in practice for over a decade, with a special focus on migraine and headache patients. The expert focuses on creating individual treatment plans that address all the symptoms a patient and his condition may have.

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