Disclaimer: Human Health is not recommending any specific medical treatment for any particular symptom, nor providing any other medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor regarding any medical concern.

What is a migraine?

A migraine is a severe headache, and people who experience migraines often experience other symptoms apart from head pain as part of the syndrome.

Migraines affect up to 15% of people, more commonly in females than males, and most often affects people in their 30s. Migraines can be debilitating, and they are considered a major cause of disability worldwide.

There are many different types of migraine, some more common than others. Lets take a deeper look at a few types in this post.

Migraine with aura

‘Aura’ refers to additional symptoms people experience before or during a migraine episode, which occurs in about 25% of people.

Types of migraine with aura:

• Migraine with typical aura: People experiencing a typical aura may see visual disturbances such as shapes, flashes, or bright lines. They may experience burning or painful sensations, hear sounds or music that isn’t there, or perform involuntary movements like jerking or twitching. A typical aura may also lead to symptoms including loss of hearing, loss of vision, loss of sensation, or difficulty moving part of the body.
• Migraine with brainstem aura: Related to the dysfunction of a part of the brain called the brainstem. Symptoms may include double vision, ringing in the ears, difficulty with muscle movements and speech, hearing loss, and changes in consciousness.
• Hemiplegic migraine: The major symptom associated with hemiplegic migraine, other than head pain, is an aura of muscle weakness, usually experienced on one side of the body. Hemiplegic migraines can also run in families.
• Retinal migraine: Usually characterized by experiencing a ‘blind spot’ or partial loss of vision in one eye, as well as headache.

Migraine without aura

Some types of migraine aren’t necessarily associated with aura. These migraines are usually described as occurring on one side of the head, often made worse with physical activity, and the pain may feel like a pulse in nature.

During these migraines, people often experience nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and/or sound.

Menstrual migraine

Some people who have menstrual periods may experience menstrual migraines, which are migraines that happen around 2 days before and up to 3 days after the start of a period.

Probable migraine

When migraines are experienced as a result of another underlying health condition, they are called probable migraines.

Chronic migraine

Migraines can be diagnosed as chronic when they occur on at least 15 days each month for 3 or more months.

Acephalgic migraine

It is possible to experience aura without a headache. It is a less common migraine type, and is also known as a ‘visual’ or ‘silent’ migraine.

Do you experience the symptoms of migraine?

If you are or think you may be experiencing migraines, keeping a record of your episodes and any treatments you may be taking can be challenging. Using a health tracker might save you from trying to remember all that information under pressure during an appointment, and help give your clinician an accurate picture of your experiences, so that you can make more informed decisions about your care together.

Human Health is a free health tracking app that makes it easy to track the impact of your symptoms, and keeps a record of your treatments, as well as providing you with reminders about when they’re due. The app can provide you with key insights about how your symptoms are changing over time.

Click here to download Human Health.

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We hope you found this article helpful. If you know someone who could benefit from learning about the types of migraine, please share this article with them. We’d love for our resources to reach those who need them.

Resources

1. National Institutes of Health. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Health Information: Migraine. Available at: https://www.ninds.nih.gov/health-information/disorders/migraine
2. UpToDate. Pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, and diagnosis of migraine in adults. Available at: https://www.uptodate.com/contents/pathophysiology-clinical-manifestations-and-diagnosis-of-migraine-in-adults
3. International Headache Society. The International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd Edition. Migraine. Available at: https://ichd-3.org/1-migraine/

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