Migraine differs from general headaches as it only affects one side of the head and involves intense pain along with symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and photophobia, lasting from a few hours to days. Everyone is at risk for migraine, but the condition often affects females, especially those aged 10 to 45. This blog will share the 6 major causes of migraine to help you effectively prevent the condition by avoiding potential factors and triggers.

3 types of migraine

Migraine is a kind of neurological disease and can be divided into various types. The 3 most common ones are:

Migraine with aura: It is also called classical migraine. 1/4 of patients develop visual or sensational symptoms before the onset of migraine, such as seeing black spots and wavy lines, feeling tingling or numbness in one side of the body, slurred speech, etc. These symptoms often last 10 to 30 minutes.

Migraine without aura: The patient will suffer from pulsating and throbbing pain on one side of the head which worsens with physical activities, along with symptoms such as sensitivity to noise and light, nausea and vomiting. These are common symptoms of migraine without aura.

Chronic migraine: The patient suffers from migraine for more than 15 days a month with fluctuating severity of symptoms. This can be mistaken as tension headache or sinus headache (related to the nasal cavity and sinus). Taking painkillers may aggravate the symptoms.

6 major causes of migraine

Stress

Repeated stressful events can overwhelm our physiological system and make it slow to respond to our stress, leading to uneasiness and anxiety. It may even activate the body’s inflammatory response and produce a large amount of cytokines, causing migraine.

Diet

Some ingredients can cause migraine, including tyramine in aged cheese and red wine, nitrates in processed meat such as sausages and hot dogs, alcohol and caffeinated drinks. Some people allergic to the flavour enhancer monosodium glutamate may also suffer from migraine.

Environment

Changes in the temperature, humidity and air pressure may trigger migraine. For example, many people suffer from the condition when winter approaches.

Sensory stimulation

Strong light and blinding sunlight, loud noises and abnormal odour (e.g., perfume, paint thinner, second-hand smoke) can trigger migraine.

Hormone

Altering oestrogen levels trigger migraine in women. Many women experience migraine before or during their periods, pregnancy and perimenopause.

Sleep

Inadequate or excessive sleep and jet lag can trigger migraine.

How can we treat migraine?

Mild migraine will alleviate in a few hours after its onset. Patients should rest in a quiet and dark room, and take painkillers such as paracetamol, aspirin or ibuprofen. Combination drugs with buclizine can reduce nausea and vomiting.

Patients should take painkillers for migraine within 40 minutes after the onset of pain or right after the presence of aura, the earlier the better. Medications become less effective when taken during intense pain.