What are the symptoms of migraines?

Written by Zhang Hui
Neurology
Updated on September 02, 2024
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The main symptoms of migraines include the patient experiencing photophobia and phonophobia, meaning a sensitivity to light and sound respectively. These stimuli can significantly worsen the headache. Patients often prefer to rest or sleep in a quiet environment. The second major symptom is a pronounced pulsating headache on one side, where the patient can feel a palpable throbbing of the blood vessels. Additionally, patients may also experience significant nausea and vomiting. Some migraine sufferers may have visual disturbances, such as seeing flashes of light or observing moving water-like visuals. At times, migraine patients may also experience episodes of vertigo, referred to as cluster migraines. Therefore, it is evident that migraine symptoms are quite common and need to be recognized and treated accordingly.

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Written by Zhang Hui
Neurology
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What are the symptoms of migraines?

The main symptoms of migraines include the patient experiencing photophobia and phonophobia, meaning a sensitivity to light and sound respectively. These stimuli can significantly worsen the headache. Patients often prefer to rest or sleep in a quiet environment. The second major symptom is a pronounced pulsating headache on one side, where the patient can feel a palpable throbbing of the blood vessels. Additionally, patients may also experience significant nausea and vomiting. Some migraine sufferers may have visual disturbances, such as seeing flashes of light or observing moving water-like visuals. At times, migraine patients may also experience episodes of vertigo, referred to as cluster migraines. Therefore, it is evident that migraine symptoms are quite common and need to be recognized and treated accordingly.

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Written by Liu Yan Hao
Neurology
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Can you drink alcohol with a migraine?

Patients with migraines can appropriately drink some white liquor or beer, which is generally not a problem, but they must not drink red wine. This is because red wine and dairy products, such as cheese, can induce migraine attacks. Additionally, pickled foods like pickled vegetables contain nitrites, which can also trigger migraine attacks; therefore, it is best to avoid pickled foods as much as possible. Typically, before a migraine attack, there is a precursor symptom where vision changes occur. After these precursor symptoms disappear, migraine symptoms emerge. During a migraine attack, oral pain relievers can be taken for symptomatic treatment. Some patients may find relief on their own a few hours after not taking medicine. Symptoms may recur, so it is generally advised to identify and avoid these triggers to prevent migraine attacks.

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Written by Feng Ying Shuai
Traditional Chinese Medicine
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Which area is moxibustion applied for migraines?

Migraines can be relieved through moxibustion by targeting specific acupoints to alleviate headache symptoms. Firstly, local acupoints can be selected; for migraines, you can use the Ah-Shi points, and also massage points such as the temples, Si Zhu Kong, Jiao Sun, Shuai Gu, and Feng Chi. Additionally, based on differential diagnosis, distant acupoints may be chosen. For instance, if the migraine is caused by external pathogens, add Feng Chi and Feng Fu points. If caused by phlegm and turbidity disturbances, add Feng Long and Zu San Li to clear phlegm and reduce turbidity. For migraines due to deficiency of qi and blood, add Qi Hai, Xue Hai, and Zu San Li to nourish yin and replenish qi, with the aim of treating deficiencies and alleviating pain.

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Written by Zhang Hui
Neurology
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The causes of migraine

Migraine is a very common type of headache in neurology, and the causes of migraines mainly include the following aspects. The first aspect, it may be caused by the dysfunction of vasoconstriction and dilation. Constriction of the blood vessels inside the skull leads to the precursor of migraine, and then dilation leads to the onset of the headache. The second reason to consider is that migraines may be caused by the cortical spreading depression. The third reason, it may also be due to trigeminal ganglion lesions causing migraine attacks, the specific mechanism of which is actually not very clear. The occurrence of a migraine also has some triggers, for example, consuming cheese, pickled products, chocolate, and wine can all potentially trigger migraines, which should be avoided.

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Written by Feng Ying Shuai
Traditional Chinese Medicine
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Can migraines be massaged?

For some primary migraines clinically, we can alleviate clinical symptoms, reduce the intensity of pain, and decrease the frequency of pain through massage, which has certain clinical effects. How do we perform the massage? Generally, we select some massage areas according to the patient's clinical symptoms and characteristics, and also choose some acupoints based on differentiation. For example, for forehead pain, we usually start by selecting local acupoints, including Jingming, Sizhukong, Yangbai, and Touwei acupoints, then massage Baihui and Tongtian acupoints. For distant points, we choose to massage acupoints such as Houxi and others to alleviate the clinical symptoms of migraines.