Symptoms of Migraine

List of symptoms of Migraine:

The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in various sources for Migraine includes the 26 symptoms listed below:

• Severe headache - one-sided or both sides of the head
• One-sided headache
• Frontal headache
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Weakness
• Vision disturbance
• Light sensitivity
• Sound sensitivity
• Throbbing headache
• Pain over one eye
• Sound sensitivity
• Aura - also called "prodrome"; a set of specific symptoms affecting the brain and vision that will precede the onset of certain types of migraines, including:
  • Flashing lights
  • Seeing zigzag lines
  • Temporary vision loss
  • Speech difficulty
  • Arm tingling
  • Arm weakness
  • Leg weakness
  • Tingling face
  • Tingling hands
  • Confusion
  • Confusion
  • Giddiness
  • Noise sensitivity

Note that Migraine symptoms usually refers to various symptoms known to a patient, but the phrase Migraine signs may refer to those signs only noticable by a doctor.

More ways to research these symptoms: To research other symptoms use the symptom center, or to research causes of more than one symptom in combination, try our multi-symptom search.

Research More About Migraine

Do I have Migraine?

• Migraine: Introduction
• Migraine: Diagnostic Testing to confirm diagnosis
• Alternative diagnoses and misdiagnosis for Migraine
• Failure to Diagnose Migraine
• Treatments for Migraine
• More about Migraine

Wrongly Diagnosed with Migraine?

The list of other diseases or medical conditions that may be on the differential diagnosis list of alternative diagnoses for Migraine includes:

• Common headache
• Cluster headache
• Muscular contraction headache
• Transient ischemic attack - misdiagnosis between TIA and migraine is reasonably common.
• Multi-Infarct Dementia

See the full list of 28 alternative diagnoses for Migraine

More about symptoms of Migraine:

More information about symptoms of Migraine and related conditions:

• Other diseases with similar symptoms and common misdiagnoses
• Tests to determine if these are the symptoms of Migraine
• Symptoms that may be caused by complications of Migraine
• Underlying causes of Migraine
• Associated conditions for Migraine
• Risk factors for Migraine

Other Possible Causes of these Symptoms

Click on any of the symptoms below to see a full list of other causes including diseases, medical conditions, toxins, drug interactions, or drug side effect causes of that symptom.

• Arm tingling - see all causes of Arm paresthesia
• Arm weakness - see all causes of Arm weakness
• Aura - see all causes of Aura
• Confusion - see all causes of Confusion
• Confusion - see all causes of Confusion
• Flashing lights - see all causes of Flashes
• Frontal headache - see all causes of Headache
• Giddiness - see all causes of Giddiness
• Leg weakness - see all causes of Leg weakness
• Light sensitivity - see all causes of Photophobia
• Nausea - see all causes of Nausea
• Noise sensitivity - see all causes of Sensitive hearing
• One-sided headache - see all causes of Headache
• Pain over one eye - see all causes of Eye pain
• Seeing zigzag lines - see all causes of Vision distortion
• Severe headache - see all causes of Severe headache
• Sound sensitivity - see all causes of Sensitive hearing
• Sound sensitivity - see all causes of Sensitive hearing
• Speech difficulty - see all causes of Speech symptoms
• Temporary vision loss - see all causes of Impaired vision
• Throbbing headache - see all causes of Throbbing headache
• Tingling face - see all causes of Tingling face
• Tingling hands - see all causes of Tingling hands
• Vision disturbance - see all causes of Vision changes
• Vomiting - see all causes of Vomiting
• Weakness - see all causes of Weakness

Medical Books Online about Migraine

Medical Books Excerpts Excerpts of published medical book chapters related to Migraine are available from published medical books for more detailed information about Migraine.

Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

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Symptoms of Migraine: Online Medical Books

16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE! Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration, for more information about the symptoms of Migraine.

Encephalitis: Signs and Symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Sudden onset of fever, headache, vomiting, meningeal irritation (stiff neck and back), drowsiness, coma, paralysis, seizures, ataxia, psychoses

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Headache: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Initially, migraine headaches usually produce unilateral, pulsating pain, which later becomes more generalized. They’re commonly preceded by a scintillating scotoma, hemianopsia, unilateral paresthesia, or speech disorders. The patient may experience irritability, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, and photophobia. (See Clinical features of migraine headaches.)

Both muscle contraction and traction-inflammatory vascular headaches produce a dull, persistent ache, tender spots on the head and neck, and a feeling of tightness around the head, with a characteristic “hatband” distribution. The pain is usually severe and unrelenting. If caused by intracranial bleeding, these headaches may result in neurologic deficits, such as paresthesia and muscle weakness; narcotics may fail to relieve pain in these cases. If caused by a tumor, pain is most severe when the patient awakens.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

West Nile encephalitis: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Mild infections of the virus are more common and include fever, headache, and body aches, usually accompanied by a skin rash and swollen lymph glands. Severe infections can be manifested by headache, high fever, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, occasional convulsions, paralysis and, rarely, death.

The incubation period for West Nile encephalitis is anywhere from 5 to 15 days after exposure. Most patients who are bitten by an infected mosquito won’t develop symptoms. It's estimated that only 1 in 300 people who are bitten by an infected mosquito will actually get sick.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Cutaneous larva migrans: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

A transient rash or, possibly, a small vesicle appears at the point of penetration, usually on an exposed area that has come in contact with the ground, such as the feet, legs, or buttocks. The incubation period is typically 1 to 6 days. The parasite may be active almost as soon as it enters the skin. Local pruritus begins within hours following penetration.

As the parasite migrates, it etches a noticeable thin, raised, red line on the skin, which may become vesicular and encrusted. Pruritus quickly develops, often with crusting and secondary infection following excoriation. Onset is usually characterized by slight itching that develops into intermittent stinging pain as the thin, red lines develop. The larva’s apparently random path can cover from 1 mm to 1 cm a day. Penetration of more than one larva may involve a much larger area of the skin, marking it with many tracks.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Encephalitis: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

All viral forms of encephalitis have similar clinical features, although certain differences do occur.

Usually, the acute illness begins with sudden onset of fever, headache, and vomiting and progresses to include signs and symptoms of meningeal irritation (stiff neck and back) and neuronal damage (drowsiness, coma, paralysis, seizures, ataxia, and organic psychoses). After the acute phase of the illness, coma may persist for days or weeks.

The severity of arbovirus encephalitis may range from subclinical to rapidly fatal necrotizing disease. Herpes encephalitis also produces signs and symptoms that vary from subclinical to acute and commonly fatal fulminating disease. Associated effects include disturbances of taste or smell.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Headache: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

Migraine headaches and muscle contraction headaches have different signs and symptoms.

Migraine headache

Initially, a migraine headache usually produces unilateral, pulsating pain that later becomes more generalized. The headache is commonly preceded by a scintillating scotoma, hemianopsia, unilateral paresthesia, or speech disorders. The patient may experience irritability, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, and photophobia. (See Clinical features of headache, page 364.)

Muscle contraction headache

A muscle contraction headache produces a dull, persistent ache; tender spots on the head and neck; and a feeling of tightness around the head, with a characteristic “hatband” distribution. The pain is usually severe and unrelenting.

If caused by intracranial bleeding, the muscle contraction headache may result in neurologic deficits, such as paresthesia and muscle weakness; narcotics fail to relieve the pain in these cases. If the headache is caused by a tumor, pain is most severe when the patient awakens.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

West Nile encephalitis: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

Mild WNV infections are more common than severe infections and include symptoms such as fever, headache, and body aches, often accompanied by swollen lymph glands and a skin rash. Severe infections present with symptoms such as headache, high fever, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, occasional convulsions, paralysis and, rarely, death.

The incubation period for West Nile encephalitis is 5 to 15 days after exposure.

CLINICAL TIP: Researchers estimate that only 1 in 300 people who are bitten by a mosquito infected with WNV actually develops the disease.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Article Excerpts About Symptoms of Migraine:

Headache - Hope Through Research: NINDS (Excerpt)

sensitivity to light is a standard symptom of the two most prevalent types of migraine-caused headache: classic and common.

The major difference between the two types is the appearance of neurological symptoms 10 to 30 minutes before a classic migraine attack. These symptoms are called an aura. The person may see flashing lights or zigzag lines, or may temporarily lose vision. Other classic symptoms include speech difficulty, weakness of an arm or leg, tingling of the face or hands, and confusion.

The pain of a classic migraine headache may be described as intense, throbbing, or pounding and is felt in the forehead, temple, ear, jaw, or around the eye. Classic migraine starts on one side of the head but may eventually spread to the other side. An attack lasts 1 to 2 pain-wracked days.

Common migraine—a term that reflects the disorder's greater occurrence in the general population—is not preceded by an aura. But some people experience a variety of vague symptoms beforehand, including mental fuzziness, mood changes, fatigue, and unusual retention of fluids. During the headache phase of a common migraine, a person may have diarrhea and increased urination, as well as nausea and vomiting. Common migraine pain can last 3 or 4 days.

Both classic and common migraine can strike as often as several times a week, or as rarely as once every few years. Both types can occur at any time. Some people, however, experience migraines at predictable times—for example, near the days of menstruation or every Saturday morning after a stressful week of work. (Source: excerpt from Headache - Hope Through Research: NINDS)

Headache - Hope Through Research: NINDS (Excerpt)

Children with migraine often have nausea and excessive vomiting. Some children have periodic vomiting, but no headache—the so-called abdominal migraine. Research scientists have found that these children usually develop headaches when they are older. (Source: excerpt from Headache - Hope Through Research: NINDS)

Migraine Update: NINDS (Excerpt)

Migraine symptoms occur in various combinations and include pain, extreme sensitivity to light and sound, nausea and vomiting. The pain of migraine is often described as an intense pulsing or throbbing pain in one area of the head. Some individuals can predict the onset of a migraine with tell-tale signs that include visual disturbances. This is called a migraine "aura." (Source: excerpt from Migraine Update: NINDS)

MIGRAINE HEADACHES: NWHIC (Excerpt)

migraine headaches are a severe, throbbing pain over one or both temples, or behind one eye or ear, and are often accompanied by nausea and vomiting. A migraine often starts on waking up in the morning, but can occur later in the day and can last hours to one or two days. In individuals with a form of migraine called classic migraine, visual symptoms described as bluriness, dazzling zigzag lines, blind spots or sensitivity to light occur just before and sometimes during the headache. While fatigue and stress can sometimes bring on both tension and migraine headaches, bright lights, noise and alcohol are specific factors that can trigger a migraine. (Source: excerpt from MIGRAINE HEADACHES: NWHIC)

Migraine as a Cause of Symptoms or Medical Conditions

When considering symptoms of Migraine, it is also important to consider Migraine as a possible cause of other medical conditions. The Disease Database lists the following medical conditions that Migraine may cause:

• Abdominal pain
• Amaurosis fugax
• Cerebrovascular accident
• Eye pain
• Headache
• Nausea and vomiting
• Photophobia
• Vascular headache
• Vertigo
• Visual impairment

Migraine as a symptom:

For a more detailed analysis of Migraine as a symptom, including causes, drug side effect causes, and drug interaction causes, please see our Symptom Center information for Migraine.

Medical articles and books on symptoms:

These general reference articles may be of interest in relation to medical signs and symptoms of disease in general:

• Diagnostic Testing for a Diagnosis of Migraine
• Research Alternative Diagnoses for Migraine
• More about Migraine
• Online Diagnosis
• Self Diagnosis Pitfalls
• Pitfalls of Online Diagnosis
• Symptoms of the Silent Killer Diseases
• Lesser known silent killer diseases
• Books on signs and symptoms

Full list of premium articles on symptoms and diagnosis

About signs and symptoms of Migraine:

The symptom information on this page attempts to provide a list of some possible signs and symptoms of Migraine. This signs and symptoms information for Migraine has been gathered from various sources, may not be fully accurate, and may not be the full list of Migraine signs or Migraine symptoms. Furthermore, signs and symptoms of Migraine may vary on an individual basis for each patient. Only your doctor can provide adequate diagnosis of any signs or symptoms and whether they are indeed Migraine symptoms.