What Are The Causes Of Migraine Headaches?

It may be that there is no single cause for migraine headaches. While migraines are defined as vascular headaches, there are several classes of migraine headache, brought on by a variety of triggers and displaying very distinct symptoms, severities, and durations. In addition, many migraine sufferers have a family history of migraine, suggesting that the illness may be, at least for some, inherited.

The migraine aura is a phenomenon that sometimes precedes a migraine and although most often manifested visually, can also be auditory or displayed in feelings of dizziness, vertigo, or tingling in the face or extremities. On first look, the two major classes of migraine headache would seem to be all inclusive, migraine with aura and migraine without aura. However there are five less common classes of migraines, basilar artery migraine, carotidynia, ophthalmoplegic migraine, status migraine, and headache-free migraine— each with distinctive symptoms and each presenting different causes for migraine headaches.

In addition to the classes of migraines, there are also many different triggers for this vascular headache that vary from individual to individual, thus making the task of defining a single cause for migraine headaches nearly insurmountable. In some respects, pinpointing headache triggers is more important than the class or the cause for migraine headaches. Through defining triggers, the migraine sufferer is able to better control them and in some instances, eliminate them, thus effectively preventing migraine attacks.

Triggers for migraines can be grouped into several divisions.

Physical – ex: lack of sleep, over-exertion, hunger, toothache, sinus pain

Psychological – ex: shock, depression, anxiety, stress, excitement

Environmental – ex: smells, noises, bright or glaring lights, weather related

Foods – chocolate, caffeine, MSG, alcohol, artificial sweeteners

Migraines affect over 28 million people each year, and while no definitive cause for migraine headaches is accepted by all experts, most agree that the migraine headache is treatable through defining its class and then targeting and eliminating headache triggers.