It is anticipated that 1 in 100 people suffer from migraines. Research on migraines in the past focused on alterations in the blood vessels in the brain. However, new research is being done that point to alterations in the brain itself.

Scientists believe that the reason of a migraine involves a complex mix of chemical changes in the brain with various nerve pathways. They are still not sure what the precise chain of events are that cause a migraine, but think that it can be triggered by such things as stress, environmental factors, or certain foods.

Not all migraine headache sufferers will show all the symptoms at one time, or even one migraine headache indication consistently with all their migraine headaches.

One consistent migraine headache sign is the moderate to severe pain experienced. The ache can be all on one side or both sides of the head. Only the ache from cluster headaches or a meningitis headache is worse. The ache is not static, which would be easier to ignore, but is throbbing or pulsating.

Another migraine headache indication is sensitivity to light and/or sound. Light of any intensity seems to cut right through the eye and make the level of ache experienced spike. Relief from this indication can be found by shutting off all lights, blocking all light coming in from windows and also having a wet washcloth over the eyes to keep any light from sneaking in. The sensitivity to any light is hard to deal with as the sufferer is left alone unable to see or speak due to the ache.

Triptans do have side effects with heart attacks, strokes, drowsiness, fatigue, tingling of the skin, facial flushing and dizziness. The possibility of such severe side effects such as heart attack or strokes is caused by the narrowing of the arteries that the triptan induces, also narrowing the arteries in the heart which could add to the risk of heart attack.