Headache and Migraines -

Headaches are unpleasant pains in your head that can cause pressure and aching. The pain can range from mild to severe, and they usually occur on both sides of your head. Some specific areas where headaches can occur include the forehead, temples, and back of the neck.

These headaches are intense or severe and often have other symptoms in addition to head pain.

Symptoms -
Symptoms associated with a migraine headache include:

nausea
pain behind one eye or ear
pain in the temples
seeing spots or flashing lights
sensitivity to light and/or sound
temporary vision loss
vomiting

A migraine can cause severe throbbing pain or a pulsing sensation, usually on just one side of the head. It's often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound. Migraine attacks can cause significant pain for hours to days and can be so severe that the pain is disabling. Warning symptoms known as aura may occur before or with the headache. These can include flashes of light, blind spots, or tingling on one side of the face or in your arm or leg. Medications can help prevent some migraines and make them less painful. Talk to your doctor about different migraine treatment options if you can't find relief. The right medicines, combined with self-help remedies and lifestyle changes, may help.

Symptoms -

Migraines often begin in childhood, adolescence or early adulthood. Migraines may progress through four stages: prodrome, aura, headache and post-drome, though you may not experience all stages.

Prodrome -

One or two days before a migraine, you may notice subtle changes that warn of an upcoming migraine, including:
Constipation
Mood changes, from depression to euphoria
Food cravings
Neck stiffness
Increased thirst and urination
Frequent yawning

Aura -

Aura may occur before or during migraines. Most people experience migraines without aura. Auras are symptoms of the nervous system. They are usually visual disturbances, such as flashes of light or wavy, zigzag vision. Sometimes auras can also be touching sensations (sensory), movement (motor) or speech (verbal) disturbances. Your muscles may get weak, or you may feel as though someone is touching you.

Each of these symptoms usually begins gradually, builds up over several minutes and lasts for 20 to 60 minutes. Examples of migraine aura include:
Visual phenomena, such as seeing various shapes, bright spots or flashes of light
Vision loss
Pins and needles sensations in an arm or leg
Weakness or numbness in the face or one side of the body
Difficulty speaking
Hearing noises or music
Uncontrollable jerking or other movements
Sometimes, a migraine with aura may be associated with limb weakness (hemiplegic migraine).

Attack -

A migraine usually lasts from four to 72 hours if untreated. The frequency with which headaches occur varies from person to person. Migraines may be rare, or strike several times a month. During a migraine, you may experience:
Pain on one side or both sides of your head
Pain that feels throbbing or pulsing
to light, sounds, and sometimes smells and touch
Nausea and vomiting
Blurred vision
Lightheadedness, sometimes followed by fainting
Post-drome
The final phase, known as post-drome, occurs after a migraine attack. You may feel drained and washed out, while some people feel elated. For about 24 hours, you may also experience:
Confusion
Moodiness
Dizziness
Weakness
Sensitivity to light and sound

Causes -

Though migraine causes aren't understood, genetics and environmental factors appear to play a role.
Migraines may be caused by changes in the brainstem and its interactions with the trigeminal nerve, a major pain pathway.
Imbalances in brain chemicals — including serotonin, which helps regulate pain in your nervous system — also may be involved. Researchers are still studying the role of serotonin in migraines.
Serotonin levels drop during migraine attacks. This may cause your trigeminal nerve to release substances called neuropeptides, which travel to your brain's outer covering (meninges).
The result is migraine pain. Other neurotransmitters play a role in the pain of migraine, including calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP).

Migraine triggers -

A number of factors may trigger migraines, including:
Hormonal changes in women. Fluctuations in estrogen seem to trigger headaches in many women. Women with a history of migraines often report headaches immediately before or during their periods, when they have a major drop in estrogen.
Others have an increased tendency to develop migraines during pregnancy or menopause.
Hormonal medications, such as oral contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy, also may worsen migraines. Some women, however, find their migraines occur less often when taking these medications.
Foods. Aged cheeses, salty foods and processed foods may trigger migraines. Skipping meals or fasting also can trigger attacks. Food additives. The sweetener aspartame and the preservative monosodium glutamate (MSG), found in many foods, may trigger migraines. Drinks. Alcohol, especially wine, and highly caffeinated beverages may trigger migraines. Stress. Stress at work or home can cause migraines. Sensory stimuli. Bright lights and sun glare can induce migraines, as can loud sounds. Strong smells — including perfume, paint thinner, secondhand smoke and others — can trigger migraines in some people. Changes in wake-sleep pattern. Missing sleep or getting too much sleep may trigger migraines in some people, as can jet lag. Physical factors. Intense physical exertion, including sexual activity, may provoke migraines. Changes in the environment. A change of weather or barometric pressure can prompt a migraine. Medications. Oral contraceptives and vasodilators, such as nitroglycerin, can aggravate migraines.

Risk factors -

Several factors make you more prone to having migraines, including:
Family history. If you have a family member with migraines, then you have a good chance of developing them too. Age. Migraines can begin at any age, though the first often occurs during adolescence. Migraines tend to peak during your 30s, and gradually become less severe and less frequent in the following decades. Sex. Women are three times more likely to have migraines. Headaches tend to affect boys more than girls during childhood, but by the time of puberty and beyond, more girls are affected. Hormonal changes. If you are a woman who has migraines, you may find that your headaches begin just before or shortly after onset of menstruation. They may also change during pregnancy or menopause. Migraines generally improve after menopause. Some women report that migraine attacks begin during pregnancy, or their attacks worsen. For many, the attacks improved or didn't occur during later stages in the pregnancy. Migraines often return during the postpartum period.