As human beings, one problem certain to afflict each individual at some time in their life is the experience of a headache. It so common, even among children that toddlers learning to speak often describe other ailment in reference to it, such as saying they have a headache in their stomach. But for most it is thankfully a mere annoyance that goes away in time without treatment; not so for those who experience the pain and discomfort of migraine nausea.
It remains unclear why people get such severe forms of the ailment, and even milder forms are not understood. The notion that blood vessels within the brain were causal has long been the target of research, but newer findings lean towards a neurological affect. People who experience them are able to identify certain exposures, to foods, environments or activities that seem to trigger them, but these are not thought to actual be the cause.
That we have surmised so little is not due to a lack of attention, researchers have been documenting their search for centuries. The most recent literature regarding this malady discuss four distinct time periods involved in the course of what are called classic episodes. Some fifteen percent of sufferers have this type, the rest have what is known as a common form, and it has only three steps in its process.
In a number of conditions, this one included, there are a cluster of feelings and experiences that a patient will have before the onset of the condition. These seem to be individual specific, and range from feelings of euphoria to sluggishness, and many feel an intense desire for spicy food. Those who have the discipline and fortune to identify the precursors have the greatest success in avoiding the onset.
Within those who suffer, there are two types, with approximately one sixth of affected population experiencing an additional step in the event known as an aura. During this step, the person experiences hallucinations of light, like loosed lightening in random patterns and exploding in front of them. The people who experience this are know to suffer from the classic form, those without have the common form.
The next phase is the actual trauma itself, replete with throbbing and stabbing that can be worsened by movement, light and sound. Individuals typically feel all this pain in only one hemisphere of the brain at a time. Confounding research, the site of the experience can shift form one side to the other with each occurrence.
The final syndrome piece consists of the postdrome, the after effect, which also vary by individual, but are usually marked either by an emotional high, or just a feeling of severe fatigue. For those who only experience regular headaches it is difficult to even imagine that this could take up to 24 hours to pass through.
Despite the focus by physicians and pharmacologists, the cause eludes us. Treatment regimens require the patient to identify what happens before the actual pain begins, and avoid them. Unfortunately that is often impossible, so victims turn to herbal treatments with anecdotal success, but nothing proving a way to relieve the migraine nausea that is so problematic.
It remains unclear why people get such severe forms of the ailment, and even milder forms are not understood. The notion that blood vessels within the brain were causal has long been the target of research, but newer findings lean towards a neurological affect. People who experience them are able to identify certain exposures, to foods, environments or activities that seem to trigger them, but these are not thought to actual be the cause.
That we have surmised so little is not due to a lack of attention, researchers have been documenting their search for centuries. The most recent literature regarding this malady discuss four distinct time periods involved in the course of what are called classic episodes. Some fifteen percent of sufferers have this type, the rest have what is known as a common form, and it has only three steps in its process.
In a number of conditions, this one included, there are a cluster of feelings and experiences that a patient will have before the onset of the condition. These seem to be individual specific, and range from feelings of euphoria to sluggishness, and many feel an intense desire for spicy food. Those who have the discipline and fortune to identify the precursors have the greatest success in avoiding the onset.
Within those who suffer, there are two types, with approximately one sixth of affected population experiencing an additional step in the event known as an aura. During this step, the person experiences hallucinations of light, like loosed lightening in random patterns and exploding in front of them. The people who experience this are know to suffer from the classic form, those without have the common form.
The next phase is the actual trauma itself, replete with throbbing and stabbing that can be worsened by movement, light and sound. Individuals typically feel all this pain in only one hemisphere of the brain at a time. Confounding research, the site of the experience can shift form one side to the other with each occurrence.
The final syndrome piece consists of the postdrome, the after effect, which also vary by individual, but are usually marked either by an emotional high, or just a feeling of severe fatigue. For those who only experience regular headaches it is difficult to even imagine that this could take up to 24 hours to pass through.
Despite the focus by physicians and pharmacologists, the cause eludes us. Treatment regimens require the patient to identify what happens before the actual pain begins, and avoid them. Unfortunately that is often impossible, so victims turn to herbal treatments with anecdotal success, but nothing proving a way to relieve the migraine nausea that is so problematic.
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