Types of Migraines

The classification of migraines is closely linked with the symptoms they cause. Some migraine types include:

Migraine with Aura (Classic Migraine)

These migraines involve the person seeing an aura around objects. An aura is a neurological phenomenon that is often described like seeing a glow around objects or at the edge of the field of vision.

People sometimes also report seeing flashes of light, jagged lines, blurred vision, wavy images, difficulty focusing and sometimes hallucinate.

Migraine without Aura (Common Migraine)

This is the most common type of migraine. It often occurs on one side of the head but can be on both (bilateral). The symptoms can be similar to those experienced when having a migraine with aura - namely nausea/vomiting, sensitivity to light and sound.

Abdominal Migraine (Periodic Syndrome)

Abdominal migraines are generally seen in children with a history of migraine problems in the family. Their migraines are coupled with abdominal pain that is not the result of a gastrointestinal problem.

Basilar Artery Migraine (Bickerstaff's Syndrome)

Basilar Artery Migraines (also known as Bickerstaff's Syndrom) affect the circulation at the back of the brain or neck (at the basilar artery in the brainstem). It can involve dizziness, loss of balance, disorientation, slurred speech, vertigo, double vision, poor muscle control, and in some cases, fainting.

It is most common in young women and the sufferer is often mistakenly thought to be intoxicated or under the influence of drugs by others.

Hemiplegic Migraine

A Hemiplegic Migraine is a very rare type of migraine that may temporarily paralyse the sufferer and/or disturb their senses. These symptoms are immediately followed by the headache itself.

By the time the headache arrives, the neurological symptoms have usually subsided.

Nocturnal Migraine

Nocturnal Migraines occur when the sufferer is sleeping. They are often so bad that they wake the sufferer. These type of migraines may be the result of changing adrenaline levels during sleep cycles.

Ocular Migraine

An Ocular Migraine is either a migraine with aura, but without the headache - or, it is a migraine that involves one-sided blindness or blind-spots with a headache. The definition depends on who you speak to. Sometimes Ocular Migraines are confused with Ophthalmoplegic Migraines.

Ophthalmoplegic Migraine

An Ophthalmoplegic Migraine has the symptom of pain around the eyeballs. It is a very rare type of migraine and the pain can last for months in bad cases.

Status Migraine (with Sterile Inflammation)

A Status Migraine is a migraine that lasts for more than 72 hours. The reason the migraine may last this long can be due to the sterile inflammatory response to the migraine itself. These type of migraines may require hospitalization of the sufferer.

Carotidynia (Facial Migraine)

Carotidynia is sometimes called a facial migraine or a lower-half headache. The pain is often around the jaw or the neck and there is usually tenderness or swelling over the carotid artery in the neck. Most common in older people.