Migraine vs Headache – How to Get Rid of a Migraine
You can have someone giving you a headache, or you can have something becoming a headache. But you won’t have someone giving you a migraine because they’re impossible to deal with. That’s another level of intensity and pain in the head, and for a lot of people migraine symptoms are intolerable. Migraine with aura can be even worse, so it’s perfectly natural that we don’t diminish the suffering of people who get migraines by suggesting that someone or something can be a migraine. Cambia is a migraine headache treatment medication that will reduce the severity of them.
Estimates are that around 10 to 12 of every 100 people in North America get migraine headaches and migraines are classified as a neurological disease. There are two brain hemispheres, and what is interesting about migraine headaches is they only set up in one or the other. There are biological explanations for why that is, but we won’t get into all that here. Suffice to say that this is one of the main differences between a headache and a migraine. A headache is milder pain that isn’t centered in any one area of the head, while migraines are more painful and based in one side of the head or other.
Migraine symptoms differ from what the simplicity of how a headache works and is like too, and there are different types of migraines. As it relates to the left-brain, right-brain hemisphere split, one of the worst and most debilitating types of migraines is hemiplegic migraine which is when you have temporary paralysis or extensive neurological dysfunction on one side of your body only. It is also possible to have a migraine headache without pain, one known as ‘silent migraine.’
Headaches are usually tension headaches, and the primary point there is that the pain is usually very temporary. If pain is unbearable, then an OTC painkiller like Tylenol or Aspirin usually provide fast relief. Migraine relief isn’t as simple, and that’s why prescription migraine treatment medications are often needed for people who are living with frequent migraines.
Act During Prodrome
Part of understanding migraine symptoms is knowing the signs that indicate an oncoming migraine, and then you also need to know the 4 different stages of a migraine. Cambia doesn’t prevent migraines; it reduces the severity and intensity of them. That’s why it’s important to take this medication when your oncoming migraine is in stage 1 – the prodrome stage. The other 3 stages are aura, headache, and postdrome stages and for people who get migraine with aura the bright lights and impaired vision make it even more disorienting to have intense head pain of this type.
It can take as long as 72 hours to go through all 4 stages, and another aspect of migraine symptoms that troubles people is often during the postdrome stage they are unable to concentrate and may have difficulty understanding things that otherwise would be no big thing at all. Vision changes or headaches for people who don’t have migraines may be a complication of mastoiditis, so it’s important to be clear on what is causing these types of symptoms if you believe they’re not related to migraine headaches.
More on Migraine Symptoms
Not all migraine symptoms are going to be strong or ones that will immediately indicate being unwell. Head pain, sensitivity to light, noise, odours, dizziness and blurred vision will be symptoms that will sound an alarm right away that you’re developing a migraine. But feeling tired, losing appetite, or having a tender scalp may not. As mentioned, it’s best to take migraine headache treatment medication during stage 1 – the prodrome stage – and so if you’re going to focus on any one set of migraine symptoms it should be on the ones for the 1st stage of a migraine headache:
- Problems concentrating
- Irritability and / or depression
- Unexplained fatigue or tiredness
- Sensitivity to sound and light
- Food cravings
- Difficulty with speaking or reading
- Excessive yawning and / or unexplained sleepiness
- Nausea or muscle stiffness
- Frequent urination
All of these go along with certain standard migraine symptoms (migraine with aura or without) like seeing your skin become pale (pallor), getting diarrhea, or running a fever suddenly.
Let’s wrap up by moving from migraine symptoms to migraine triggers. There are many different possible causes for a migraine headache and why you need migraine relief, and it could be that stress causes migraines or that the person has sensitivities to specific chemicals and preservatives in foods. Too much caffeine can cause migraines too, and for women migraines can be worse when they are in menstrual periods. Migraines are also worse for women in years between puberty and menopause. So that may be a good thing – for some women who get migraines they’ll be less intense after menopause.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The above information is intended to increase awareness of health information and does not suggest treatment or diagnosis. This information is not a substitute for individual medical attention and should not be construed to indicate that use of the drug is safe, appropriate, or effective for you. See your health care professional for medical advice and treatment.
