Migraine Concept Essay

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College Writing 1 24 October 2012 Migraines “A severe, chronic disease characterized by recurrent paroxysmal headaches often in association with a number of autonomic nervous system symptoms.” (www.medicalnewstoday.com.) For those of us who aren't fluent in medical jargon, this definition is better known as a migraine. Suffering from a migraine is a painful, agonizing experience but what is actually happening inside the brain when a migraine is present? What causes a migraine to occur and what can be done to prevent them? Will there ever be a cure? Questions such as these have been asked by many migraine sufferers for numerous years, myself included. When a migraine is present, sufferers are very likely to experience most, if not all, of the following: a pulsing/throbbing pain, increased pain during physical activity, nausea/vomiting, increases sensitivity to light and sound, body aches, restlessness, cold hands and feet, fever, and brief hot and cold sweats. First, let's contrast a common headache from a migraine. An everyday headache is mostly a tension headache do to stress or flu/ill-like symptoms caused by muscle tightness. The pain is usually a consistent ache across the entire forehead that can be cured by a simple over the counter medication. But a migraine is much more complex. “The pain from a migraine is caused by vasodilation in the cranial blood vessels.” (www.medicalnewstoday.com.) ,meaning that the blood vessels expand and slow down electrical activity in the brain. During a migraine an artery located on the skull, right under the skin of the temple, enlarges which is why many sufferers very often experience a migraine on only one side of the head. And unlike a common headache, over the counter medication can actually make the migraine worse. “What happens during a migraine attack is actually very different than what is happening

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