Migraine
Migraine is a neurological disorder that causes recurring attacks of head pain and other nervous-system symptoms. It is more than a bad headache: attacks can involve nausea, light and sound sensitivity, visual aura, dizziness, fatigue, and disruption to daily life.
What migraine is
Migraine is a brain and nervous-system disorder that causes repeated attacks. The most familiar symptom is moderate to severe head pain, often throbbing or pulsing and often on one side, but migraine can also affect vision, balance, digestion, smell, mood, sleep, thinking, and sensory sensitivity.
More than a headache
Calling migraine just a headache misses much of the condition. During an attack, people may have nausea, vomiting, light sensitivity, sound sensitivity, smell sensitivity, neck pain, dizziness, fatigue, brain fog, or trouble with normal activity. Some people have migraine attacks with little or no head pain.
Phases of an attack
A migraine attack can move through phases, though not everyone has every phase. The prodrome may bring mood changes, food cravings, yawning, neck stiffness, or fatigue hours to days before pain. Aura may follow in some people. The headache phase can last hours to days. Postdrome can leave exhaustion, soreness, or fogginess after the main symptoms ease.
Migraine aura
Aura is a temporary neurological symptom that can happen before or during a migraine attack. Visual aura may include zigzag lines, shimmering lights, blind spots, or distorted vision. Aura can also involve numbness, tingling, speech difficulty, or other sensory changes. Aura symptoms usually develop gradually, which helps distinguish them from some emergencies, but new or unusual symptoms need medical attention.
Triggers and thresholds
Migraine triggers vary by person and do not always cause an attack. Sleep changes, skipped meals, dehydration, stress shifts, hormonal changes, alcohol, certain foods, weather changes, bright light, strong smells, and overexertion can contribute for some people. Many specialists describe migraine as a threshold problem: multiple factors may add up until an attack begins.
Diagnosis
Migraine is usually diagnosed from a person's history, symptom pattern, neurological exam, and exclusion of other causes when needed. Imaging or other tests may be used if symptoms are unusual, sudden, progressive, or concerning. A headache diary can help reveal attack frequency, symptoms, triggers, medication use, and response to treatment.
Acute treatment
Acute treatment aims to stop or reduce an attack once it starts. Options may include rest, hydration, avoiding light or noise, anti-nausea medicines, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, triptans, gepants, ditans, or other clinician-recommended medicines. Treatment works best for many people when used early and matched to attack severity and medical history.
Prevention
Preventive treatment tries to reduce attack frequency, severity, or disability. It may include sleep regularity, trigger management, exercise, stress strategies, treatment of other conditions, and preventive medicines. Options can include beta blockers, anti-seizure medicines, antidepressant-class medicines, CGRP-targeting drugs, botulinum toxin for chronic migraine, or neuromodulation devices in selected cases.
Chronic migraine and medication overuse
Chronic migraine involves headache on at least 15 days per month for more than three months, with migraine features on some of those days. Frequent use of acute headache medicines can also contribute to medication-overuse headache in some people. Tracking days with headache and days with medication helps clinicians choose safer treatment plans.
Why it matters
Migraine matters because it is common, disabling, and often misunderstood. It can affect work, school, caregiving, sleep, mood, and social life. Understanding migraine as a neurological disorder helps people move past blame or minimization and toward better diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and accommodation.