The main symptom of migraine is an intense headache on 1 side of your head.
The pain is usually a moderate or severe throbbing sensation that gets worse when you move. It can stop you doing everyday things.
Sometimes the pain is on both sides of your head, your face or neck.
Common symptoms of migraine
Other symptoms of migraine include:
- feeling sick (nausea)
- vomiting (getting sick)
- sweating
- poor concentration
- feeling very hot or very cold
- tummy pain
- diarrhoea
- feeling dizzy
- fatigue
- increased sensitivity to movement, light, sound or smell
Not everyone with migraine has these other symptoms. Some people have them without having a headache.
The symptoms of a migraine attack can last between 4 hours and 3 days. You may feel very tired for up to a week after an attack.
Non-urgent advice: Contact your GP if you have:
- severe migraine symptoms that do not improve with painkillers you can buy without a prescription
- more than 5 migraine attacks in a month
Emergency action required: Call 112 or 999 and ask for an ambulance if
you or someone else has:
- paralysis or weakness in 1 or both arms, or on 1 side of the face
- slurred or garbled speech
- a sudden, very painful headache unlike anything you had before
- headache with a high temperature (fever), stiff neck, confusion, seizures, double vision and a rash
These symptoms may be a sign of a more serious condition.
Stages of a migraine attack
Migraine attacks often develop in stages:
- prodromal stage
- aura
- headache stage
- resolution
But not everyone goes through all of these. Sometimes the stages can happen at the same time.
Prodromal stage
Changes in mood, energy levels, behaviour and appetite that can happen several hours or days before an attack.
It is also called premonitory stage.
Aura
About 1 in 3 people with migraine get symptoms before the head pain of a migraine attack. This is called aura.
Symptoms of aura include:
- visual problems - such as seeing flashing lights, zig-zag patterns or blind spots
- numbness or a tingling sensation like pins and needles - symptoms start in 1 hand and move up your arm to your face, lips and tongue
- feeling dizzy or off balance
- difficulty speaking
- loss of consciousness - but this is rare
Aura symptoms can develop over 5 minutes and last for up to an hour.
Some people may have aura followed by only a mild headache or no headache at all. This is called a silent migraine.
Headache stage
A pulsating or throbbing pain on 1 side of the head. The pain can feel worse with movement, light or sound.
You may also feel sick or vomit. This stage can last for 4 to 72 hours.
Resolution stage
When the headache and other symptoms fade away, you may feel tired for a few days afterwards.
Content supplied by the NHS and adapted for Ireland by the HSE
