MIGRAINE

The most common type of vascular headache is migraine

This is, as a rule, a blinding headache, usually combined with flashing lights and vomiting. They can also occur in other parts of the body. Chronic sufferers often find it difficult to hold down a job because of the unpredictable nature of migraine; they can come on at any time and sometimes last for several days.

Frequently, sufferers have pain to just one side of the head

This is sometimes referred to a neuralgic migraine. Interestingly, three quarters of adult migraine patients are female but pre-puberty migraine affects approximately equal numbers of boys and girls. This could be due to hormones.

Some attacks will last for several days and can often be set off due to some kind of food intolerance, for example chocolate, cheese, fruit, alcohol have all been known to trigger an attack. Some triggers are hormonal; around menstruation for example.

During an attack, the blood vessels in the brain dilate and then draw together with stimulation of nerve endings near the affected blood vessels. These changes to the blood vessels are probably what cause the pain of migraine.

Cognitive hypnotherapy may help you to you to reduce the pain of migraine through learning techniques to reduce stress and minimise pain.