

The symptoms of migraine vary from one person to the next but if you relate to one or more of the statements below, your headaches could be migraine.
Migraine can be classified as episodic or chronic depending on the frequency of the attacks. People with episodic migraine have 14 or fewer monthly headache days, whereas those with chronic migraine experience more than 15 headache days per month, for three months or longer.
There are four distinct phases of a migraine attack: prodrome, aura, headache, and postdrome. The prodrome and aura phases are warning signs to take preventive medication before the headache begins.
Migraine tends to run in families. It can also happen after a concussion or head injury. Researchers believe that fluctuations in chemical compounds and hormones, such as serotonin and estrogen, affect the brain in a way that causes pain in migraine sufferers. Serotonin is a chemical necessary for communication between nerve cells. It can cause narrowing of blood vessels throughout the body, including the brain. While serotonin is thought to contribute to migraine in both sexes, changing estrogen levels only affect women. Women of childbearing age experience estrogen fluctuations as part of their menstrual cycle and are three times more likely to suffer from migraine than men. In fact, many girls experience their first migraine along with their first period.
People who get migraines sometimes notice possible triggers for an attack, such as:
Some migraine sufferers can’t pinpoint any specific triggers. However, it’s worth keeping a migraine diary, as recommended by the American Headache Society, to see if any patterns emerge.
There are two primary types of migraine treatment: acute, which you use during an attack to relieve pain and stop the migraine from progressing, and preventive, which aims to reduce the frequency, duration, and intensity of the attacks.
Not all recurring headaches are migraines. If you are prone to headaches, it could be due to one of these types:
Whether it’s a migraine or another type, talk to your doctor about headaches that occur with increased frequency or intensity. If you experience sudden onset of a severe headache, it may be something serious and you should call 911.
This article first appeared in the June 2025 edition of the HealthPerks newsletter.
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