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 A headache that is severe, persistent and accompanied by a range of symptoms is known as a migraine. It can be a debilitating ailment that leads to serious disruption of daily activities. It occurs on one side of the head. Migraines are painful headaches accompanied by vomiting and nausea.

Migraines are paroxysmal ailments. Migraines occur due to the widening of arteries in the scalp in combination with a release of chemicals, which leads to inflammation and pain. Sensory disturbances and headaches are the prime symptoms of migraines. Usually, the factors that trigger a migraine are hormonal changes in women, lack of sleep, disorders of digestion, exposure to light, liver disorders, stress, anxiety, lack of food, etc.  Migraines with nose bleeds occur rarely.

Epistaxis is the medical term of nosebleed. Nosebleeds are common. They occur due to the loss of blood from the tissue lining the nose. An irritation or dryness of the lining of the nose causes nose bleeding. It can also be caused by trauma like forceful nose blowing, nose picking, any impact to nose, etc. Low humidity, sinusitis, cold, allergies, and dry environment may also lead to bleeding from the nose.

In rare cases, migraines with nose bleeds occur due to a sudden increase in blood pressure because of the acute pain associated with migraine. Nasal congestion due to the widening of capillaries within the nose may also lead to nosebleeds.

A stiff neck, dizziness, weakness, and confused thinking are common symptoms of migraine. Even though some of these symptoms may occur with other headaches like headache caused by sinusitis, tension, light sensitivity, and vomiting are some of the typical migraine symptoms. Usually, an aura like an arc of flashing lights will be the first signal of a migraine. The migraine aura starts as a small dot and expands in about 30 minutes.

Depending on the symptoms, migraines are categorized as migraine with aura and migraine without aura. Visual disturbances are typical symptoms of migraines with aura. Numbness and tingling of the lips and fingers in one hand are other symptoms. Usually, the aura lasts no longer than an hour and is followed by a migraine headache. Migraine without aura is also known as common migraine and accompanied by common symptoms without an aura.

Migraine symptoms include:

• Pulsating pain on one side of the head
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Extreme sensitivity to light and sound
• Loss of appetite
• Short period of depression or irritability
• Numbness in legs or arms

Low blood sugar, excessive intake of certain drugs, allergy infections are some of the causes of migraines. In women, menstrual migraine is common and usually comes to an end after menopause. The diagnosis of migraine involves complete evaluation of medical history like symptoms, neurological examinations, and eye examinations.

Even though headaches are usually associated with migraine, migraines can occur without a headache, and this is known as silent migraine. Caffeine, alcohol, stress, and lack of sleep are some of the causes of silent migraines.

Migraines can be dealt with two types of approaches: preventing the attack and relieving the symptoms during a migraine attack. Medications and lifestyle and behavioral changes help to prevent a migraine attack. Relaxation training, cognitive behavior therapy, and regular exercise help to prevent stress-related migraines.

The ideal way of dealing with a migraine is avoiding triggers. In order to access the factors that trigger migraine, keep a migraine log to record timings, symptoms, foods that are consumed before the migraine. This helps to become familiar with the triggers that increase migraines and aids in making necessary lifestyle changes to lower the occurrence of migraine headache.

Dietary considerations, eating meals at scheduled times, maintaining ideal weight, and adequate hydration help to prevent migraine attack.

References:

1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3398094
2. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/migraine/migraine.htm

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