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| Diagnosis of Migraines - Symptoms Checklist Just like any other disease, a migraine diagnosis is based on the symptoms. However, a physician might find that doing so is not a simple procedure. This is because there are different types of migraine and some symptoms can be very similar to other diseases as well. Fortunately, there are several methods that a doctor can apply to make his assessment of the patient and the migraine's symptoms more certain. Diagnosing migraine is made more difficult by the fact that unlike other forms of diseases, there isn’t a single test or procedure that verifies if a person has the medical condition or not. A correct diagnosis can only be arrived at after a series of tests and data analysis on the part of the physician has been conducted. Oftentimes, a person who is experiencing recurrent headaches consults a physician and rightly so. It is then the doctor’s responsibility to identify the cause of the headache and to see if the pain is not a manifestation of another underlying illness other than migraine. To do this, he must know the frequency and intensity of the headaches, the location of pain and the existence of other symptoms. The presence of auras or visual disturbances as a symptom do not necessarily indicate a migraine all of the time. This is because sinus infections can also cause this type of symptom. In addition, there are some migraine attacks which do not involve auras and, although rare, others are not even accompanied by a headache. Aside from the symptoms themselves, knowing the patient’s and his family’s medical histories is vital. Migraine is a genetic disease and if one family member has it, then it is likely that other members will also suffer from it. Past illnesses could also provide clues if the headaches are indeed caused by migraines and so will information on medications taken currently or in the past. For women patients, data on the menstrual cycle is helpful for the physician because it will help determine if the headaches coincide with changes in hormonal levels. If so, then the patient could likely be suffering from hormonal migraine. Because of the compexity of migraines, symptoms could be as complex as well. It is not uncommon for this medical condition to be misdiagnosed as just a common persistent headache such as a tension headache. The difference is that migraines are more consistent in their severity and location than the other types of headache; and gastrointestinal or neurological symptoms are present. Moreover, they react to triggers. Imaging tests such as a CT scan may be ordered by the physician to make sure that the headaches are not the result of some kind of brain disorder or sinusitis. If sinusitis is indeed suspected, the X-rays can confirm this. Imaging tests are recommended if the doctor thinks that other illnesses are existent. When diagnosing migraines, symptoms are not always easy to put together, especially when the most common reported symptom is a headache. This is because a headache can have many causes other than migraine. Luckily, there are techniques that can be applied to aid in the assessment.
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Fight Migraine Headaches - Type of Migraines Sign up today! Recommended Books:The Migraine Solution Filled with scientifically backed, natural solutions to stop migraines, this book is written in an easy to understand manner. The Migraine Relief This book talks about a comprehensive migraine relief system that deals with preventing a migriane attack, what to do when you have one, and how to treat it naturally. |
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