Natural Home Remedies for Migraines Headache at Headaches-Migraine-Relief.com

Most people think of a migraine as excruciating pain, but pain is actually the third step of a migraine episode. Before the pain, a majority of migraine sufferers experience the pre-headache phase and the aura phase.

If you have ever heard of the aura phase, you’ve probably wondered, “What does a migraine aura look like?”

Although many people speak only of the aura’s affect on the eyes, the aura is much more than that. Migraineurs (those who have migraines) and their physicians know that some or all of the following may be part of an aura.

* auditory hallucinations – you hear sounds that aren’t there
* confusion in thinking – things aren’t making sense
* decrease in your hearing ability
* difficult finding the words you want
* dizziness
* increased feel and touch – or reduced feel and touch
* olfactory hallucinations – you smell odors that aren’t there
* partial paralysis
* sight loss – partial or blurry vision
* tingling or numbness of your face
* visual hallucinations – you see sights that aren’t there: flashing bright lights, wavy lines, spots, or zigzag lines

For now, however, we will look only at the last symptom in the list: visual hallucinations. What does a migraine aura look like in terms of its visual hallucinations?

Migraine Aura – Visual Hallucinations

The visual effects vary from person to person, although there are similarities. The changing activity of the nerves that coil around the blood vessels can produce partial loss of vision or intense colors and patterns.

1. For some people, the effects begin as a small dot in front of one or both eyes. The dot is a blind spot – a spot resembling the effect of accidentally looking toward a bare light bulb. Over a period of 30 to 60 minutes, the dot begins to grow. It flashes. Gradually, it changes shape, becoming an oval, a broken circle, or the shape of a V on its side. Off-center, the changing dot grows further and slowly moves to the peripheral vision. It creates repetitions of itself, chaining them together like linked circles, triangles, or other geometric patterns.

2. Other people describe a migraine aura as zigzag patterns in complimentary colors, such as red and green, yellow and blue. The colors look good together, and are pleasing to watch as long as the migraine pain has not begun. These people may also feel that they are looking through smoke or smog. At times, it seems their eyes are shaded by a mini-blind with a crescent shape.

3. Artistically minded migraineurs are likely to say that migraine aura looks like op-art paintings. They describe psychedelic, neon borders around a primary zigzag design in black and white. In fact, more than one sufferer has observed that, were it not for the onset of excruciating pain, the visual phenomenon would be very entertaining – something you might pay to witness!

4. One German artist, Delia Malchert, undertook to represent her aura’s visual hallucinations in paintings. Her migraine aura look like scotoma: points in her visual field where vision is absent or reduced. They usually begin with a small spot near or at the centre of her vision. The spot grows gradually, darkening her vision and developing a jagged, zigzag rim of black and white. The rim emits quick flashes as it rotates rapidly around the darkening center. Before long, the scintillating and darkening increase to become a temporary visual disorder that is almost like legal blindness. At that point in the aura, the center part of what she sees is very blurry. To her, the hallucinations of a migraine aura are irritating and annoying rather than entertaining, even though they are not always followed by migraine pain. She does admit, though, that they can be aesthetically pleasing.

What does a migraine aura look like?

These phrases sum up some of the many visual perceptions migraine sufferers may experience.

* lightning bolts like jagged “Z” patterns – most common
* psychedelic patterns of bright colors
* sparkling zigzag lines that rotate
* random patterns of curved and straight lines
* spider webs in front of the eyes
* lattice work, grids, or mini-blinds in front of the eyes
* a spiraling tunnel
* kaleidoscopes of changing colors and patterns
* objects seeming to be larger, smaller, nearer, or farther away
* objects seeming to be tilted
* double vision – seeing two of everything
* stationary objects appearing to move

Migraine aura sufferers agree that whatever the visual effects, they cannot be escaped. Closing the eyes or trying to look around the effects does not help.

You can get more information about migraine auras at http://www.migrainereliefblog.com. Dedicated to helping both those who suffer migraines as well as those who support them, Migraine Relief Blog offers information and practical help on migraines and their treatment.

Millions of people find themselves regularly suffering from migraine headaches, which often have easily recognizable symptoms. Most regular sufferers can identify a migraine quickly after the onset of symptoms, which last anywhere from several hours to several days. Available treatment options should be attempted as soon as symptoms appear, in order to shorten the length of the headache. This will help prevent the headache from interfering with your work and home life. It could also deter any atypical migraine symptoms from occurring. As science and medicine progress, more and more treatment options are becoming available for regular sufferers of migraine headaches.

In most people who experience migraine headaches, they are a problem that reoccurs. For whatever reason, certain people are much more prone to attacks of migraines and will have the symptoms on multiple occasions. While there are common migraine symptoms, some sufferers also experience atypical migraine symptoms. People who have regular migraines can frequently identify symptoms that precede the headache itself. Some classic examples are pain around the eye area, nausea, or sensitivity to sound. There might be a throbbing pain in the forehead or near one temple.

Treatment Options for Atypical Migraine Symptoms

In the past, people who were suffering from regular migraine headaches had few options but to sleep or take over the counter pain medications. These severe headaches could last for 24 hours or more. They would interfere with a person’s responsibilities at work and home, leaving them unable to concentrate. However, medical research has begun to provide more solutions for these powerful headaches. There are also simple techniques that can be done without medication. For example, applying ice to the locations where pain is occurring will help reduce the inflammation. Steady breathing exercises and other relaxation techniques can be used effectively to reduce the intensity or even the number of attacks. Traditional Eastern practices such as acupuncture have solutions for migraines as well.

Many brands of pain medication now offer over the counter options that are specific to migraine headaches and the symptoms that accompany the pain. These pills can provide a fast solution to the infrequent migraine sufferer. However, for people who experience migraines on a regular basis or have atypical migraine symptoms, it is important to speak to a doctor about alternative solutions. There are prescription painkillers and anti-inflammatory medications available, as well as drugs that can help reduce the frequency of migraines. Your general care physician should have knowledge of these treatments or be able to refer you to a specialist.

Migraine sufferers should take their medications when they first notice symptoms of a migraine headache. By taking the medication early, it will have time to help your body avoid the most intense pain and nausea and allow you to return to your day quickly. These treatment options are great solutions for people who are frustrated by frequent migraine headaches. Take control of your life by calling your doctor today. He or she will help you find a solution to migraine headaches.

There are a lot of reasons why you may be on a search for information about migraines.

You may for example suffer from migraine headaches yourself or someone you know and care about might be afflicted by migraines. You might have recently had a family member diagnosed as having migraines or might be a student doing a research paper about this all too common form of headache. Regardless of why you are looking into the topic of migraines there is plenty of information on the subject.

Migraine is a medical disorder called a neurological syndrome and its principle symptoms for most individuals are generally very painful headaches and nausea. This reasonably common condition is found less frequently in men than in women.

A migraine headache produces a pain that is usually felt on just one side of the head and is by and large said to be throbbing or pulsating in nature. The headache will generally last anything from 4 hours to 72 hours and may be moderate to severe in intensity. There may also be other accompanying symptoms such as vomiting or sensitivity to sound or light.

There is another aspect of migraines and that is the presence of an “aura” in at least thirty percent of individuals suffering from migraines. The aura happens prior to the onset of the migraine and might include such things as the appearance of bright lights, zigzag lines or distorted shapes in various different colors and sizes that appear in the normal line of vision. Your field of vision might also reduce and can appear like tunnel vision or possibly a curtain-like effect often over one eye or dark spots that slowly spread.

You may also experience auditory changes such as hearing voices or environmental sounds such as buzzing. You may also experience weird smells or possible feelings of numbness or tingling to one side of the face or arms and legs. You may experience a sense of being separated from your own body or a feeling like your arms and legs are moving independently from your body. You may feel anxiety or fear alongside the aura or an unsteadiness or weakness. On occasions individuals experiencing an aura are unable to understand or comprehend words being spoken to them and can become exceedingly tired and sweat profusely or feel warmth throughout the body.

As well as talking about migraines with or without an aura there are several other ways of describing migraines.

Familial hemiplegic migraines for instance are those which are caused by ion channel mutations. Individuals suffering from this type of migraine as a rule experience limb weakness on one side of the body with visual, sensory or speech problems.

Another type of migraine is the abdominal migraine in which children have many of the symptoms of migraines with the exception of the head pain. Typical symptoms such as nausea, abdominal pain and vomiting may last from 1 to 72 hours.

Lastly, menstrual and acephalgic migraines are two other reasonably common forms of migraine. An acephalgic migraine is one in which an individual as a rule experiences an aura but does not experience a headache. Menstrual migraines have two characteristics and are either menstrual related migraines (MRM) or pure menstrual migraines (PMM). The menstrual related migraine is moderate to severe in pain intensity and occurs around the time of the monthly period and at other times too. The pure menstrual migraine appears only around the time of the woman’s monthly period.