Migraine Headache Symptoms

Migraine triggers are biological or psychological factors that will cause the onset of a migraine. For prevention of migraines and to understand the symptoms of migraines it often helps to understand the migraine triggers. Migraine triggers include alcohol, stress, weather changes, bright lights, menstrual cycle, strong smells, caffeine, lack of sleep, and fatigue.

Alcohol as we all know affects individuals differently. Alcohol enters the blood stream of individuals causing effects such as light headedness, vision problems, lack of hand- eye coordination, vomiting, and sometimes sensitivity to light. Migraine triggers such as alcohol work because the symptoms drinking alcohol can induce are similar to the migraine symptoms at varying stages of the migraine. A migraine sufferer can have vision problems, light and noise sensitivity, nausea, vomiting, and muscle weakness. The pain from a migraine is usually caused by the blood vessels expanding. Alcohol can expand the blood vessels.

Weather changes or changes in the barometric pressure are also migraine triggers. These migraine triggers are related to pressure. When a storm forms the barometric pressure increases. Snow storms, rain storms, or just a cloudy day can cause a pressure increase. This pressure increase will trigger the migraine symptoms to form in the patient. The pressure on the head will start the throbbing pain, sensitivity to light and noise, and can cause tiredness in the person.

Bright lights such as the sun, a room with a hundred watt bulb or other types of lights are also migraine triggers. The eyes soak in the light, which can cause a reaction in the head during the aura phase. It can also begin the aura phase of a migraine.

Menstrual cycles are migraine triggers. The hormones released by the body for the menstrual cycle can cause too much change in the body. Often women are hungry before a period, they are more sensitive to alcohol, they experience nausea, and other symptoms that have been related to migraines. This means that the migraine triggers like the menstrual cycle affect the blood vessels or the blood stream with hormones triggering the onset of the headache. Migraine triggers such as lack of sleep and fatigue are also part of the menstrual cycle, which is another reason why menstrual cycles are migraine triggers. The brain needs a proper rest from thinking and helping the body to function, without the sleep a body needs a headache will usually form. Those who are prone to migraine headaches tend to experience them more often due to the lack of proper rest.

Stress is also a migraine trigger. Migraine triggers related to psychological effects can be some of the worst headaches. Stress usually affects the shoulder muscles and neck because the tension brought on by the stress causes a tightening in the area. This restricts the blood flow, which as we know is the cause of migraines. Stress migraine triggers are often related to a point in life where financial difficulties, a person’s job, or home life become too much for the person to handle at that moment. To learn more about migraine triggers you may wish to read migraine information.