Migraine is a neurological syndrome characterized by altered bodily perceptions, headaches, and nausea. Physiologically, the migraine headache is a neurological condition more common to women than to men. The typical migraine headache is unilateral and pulsating, lasting from 4 to 72 hours; symptoms include
nausea
vomiting
photophobia (increased sensitivity to bright light
hyperacusis (increased sensitivity to noise).
The signs and symptoms of migraine vary among patients. Therefore, what a patient experiences before, during and after an attack cannot be defined exactly. The four phases of a migraine attack listed below are common but not necessarily experienced by all migraine sufferers. Additionally, the phases experienced and the symptoms experienced during them can vary from one migraine attack to another in the same migraineur:
The prodrome, which occurs hours or days before the headache.
The aura, which immediately precedes the headache.
