Migraine headaches
Migraine is a type of blood vessel headache with several identifying marks. It throbs, is usually on one side of the head and recurs in similar circumstances-such as, every Sunday. Known as a sick headache, it is accompanied usually by nausea and vomiting, occasionally by blurring, wavering lines in the vision, difficulty in speech and on rare occasions by sensations of coldness and numbness in the upper extremities. Migraine is usually seen in intelligent, ambitious people and more often in women than in men. It is frequently seen after fifty years of age but usually begins many years earlier.
Fig. 3. Migraine headache is concerned primarily with a temporary stretching or enlargement of a brain artery. Deeply involved with emotional and psychic factors, migraine is a very widespread disease.
About four out of five patients with migraine have either parents, brothers or sisters with this same difficulty, showing its hereditary link. Effective drugs are now available for the prevention and treatment of migraine.
High blood pressure headaches
The headache of high blood pressure is thought to be due to blood vessel dilation and constriction. It is usually a dull ache in the back of the head and most often goes away by noontime.
Most people with high blood pressure complain eventually of headaches, and sometimes headache is the first sign that the blood pressure may be abnormal.