Migraine Awareness Week

What is migraine?

Migraine is a severe and painful long-term health condition. If you have migraine you will have migraine attacks, which can be a whole-body experience.

Common symptoms of an attack can include:

• head pain,
• problems with your sight such as seeing flashing lights,
• being very sensitive to light, sounds and smells,
• fatigue,
• feeling sick and being sick.

Different people get different symptoms. When you have a migraine attack, you may not be able to function normally.

Migraine attacks usually last for between four hours and three days. Some symptoms may start about 24 hours before you get head pain, and end about 24 hours after you stop having head pain. Most people don’t have any symptoms in between migraine attacks.

Managing migraines.

There are things you can do yourself to manage your migraines, with help and advice from a GP.

• try sleeping or lying down in a darkened room during a migraine

• try to avoid things you know trigger your migraines, such as certain foods (keep a diary to help you identify triggers.)

• stay well hydrated and limit how much caffeine and alcohol you drink

• try to keep to a healthy weight

• eat meals at regular times

• get regular exercise

• get plenty of sleep

• try to manage your stress

• Seek medical help if your migraines are getting worse, more than once a week or difficult to control.

Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if:

You have a migraine and:

• it's lasted longer than 72 hours
• aura symptoms last longer than an hour at a time
• you're pregnant or just had a baby

Find information on living with migraines.

Find information on supporting family, friends and colleagues with migraines.

Migraine Trust Helpline

0808 802 0066

Open 10am–4pm, Monday to Friday and Thursday evenings between 6 and 9pm (excluding Bank Holidays). A voicemail operates outside these hours. 

online contact form Contact Migraine Trust 24/7 online (They aim to respond within five working days.)