Some headaches can be summed up in just a few words. A migraine, however, can be a lengthy event that causes far more than just head pain. If you have migraines, learning a few new words may help you better understand and describe your symptoms.
Here are the definitions of 10 important migraine terms:
Ataxia. This is the medical term for difficulty using your muscles that leads to lack of coordination. A type of migraine called basilar migraine, which involves the brainstem, may cause ataxia that affects your ability to walk and talk. In one study that asked people with basilar migraine about their symptoms, 5% had ataxia.
Aura. In about 20% to 25% of people with migraines, an aura precedes the headache or occurs alongside it. A typical aura has symptoms that may be:
The symptoms develop gradually, last no longer than one hour, and are completely reversible.
The aura may include:
Vision changes such as flickering lights, spots or lines, loss of vision
Numbness, tingling, or pins-and-needles feeling in the body
Difficulty speaking or understanding words
Some people may have only one of these symptoms of an aura. Other people may experience one after another during a migraine attack.
Diplopia: If you've ever had double vision -- which means that you see two of everything -- you've had diplopia. This is one of the symptoms that experts use to diagnose basilar migraine. In the study that looked into the symptoms of people with basilar migraine, 45% had diplopia.
Hyperosmia: In medical terms, "hyper" means excessive. "Osmia" refers to smells. Thus, hyperosmia means that you're unusually sensitive to odors.
Many people with migraines have a variety of unpleasant symptoms during the attack aside from the headache. These symptoms can include hyperosmia, as well as sensitivity to light and sound.
Familial hemiplegic migraine. This is a rare type of migraine with an aura that includes muscle weakness. During the attack, people with this form of migraine have trouble moving their body. The severity can range from muscle weakness to a total inability to move. The muscle weakness is fully reversible.