• Moderate to severe pain (often described as pounding, throbbing pain) that can affect whole head, or can shift from one side of the head to the other
• Sensitivity to light, noise or odors
• Fatigue
• Dizziness
• Fever (sometimes)
• Bright flashing dots or lights
• Blurred vision
• Nausea or vomiting, stomach upset, abdominal pain
• Loss of appetite
• Sensations of being very warm or cold
• Paleness

The main symptom of a migraine is a throbbing headache on one side of your head. You may also feel sick to your stomach and vomit. Activity, light, noise, or odors may make the migraine worse. The pain may move from one side of your head to the other, or you may feel it on both sides at the same time. Different people have different symptoms.

Migraine Headache Symptoms

Everyone can experience different and unique symptoms with a migraine headache. The typical symptoms are sensitivity to light, sensitivity to sound, nausea and an absolutely throbbing headache that feels like someone has a vice on your forehead. After a really bad migraine, you can feel like you’re walking around with a hangover for up to three days.

What all the treatments for migraine headaches have in common is that they all change the chemistry of the brain, whether that treatment is a medication, or a daily exercise program, or avoiding certain foods. The medications fall generally into two categories: episodic medications, taken only at the time of the headache, and preventative medications that are taken daily. The type of treatment you should use depends on the severity and the frequency of your migraines.

The majority of headaches are no big deal. Some causes of headaches are stress, migraine, eye strain, dehydration, low blood sugar, and the common cold. Much rarer are headaches due to life-threatening conditions such as meningitis, encephalitis, cerebral aneurysms, extremely high blood pressure, and brain tumors.
Most headaches among women are caused by ever-fluctuating estrogen during menstrual years. This can occur prior to, or even during midcycle menstruation.

Headache treatment and relief is usually possible with just over-the-counter headache medicine like aspirin, acetaminophen (tylenol), or ibuprofen(motrin), although some specific forms of headaches (e.g., migraines) may demand other, more suitable treatment. It may be possible to relate the occurrence of a headache to other particular triggers (such as stress or particular foods), which can then be avoided.