Migraine types

Highlights

Migraine Aura
Other Headache Types
Living with Migraine
Migraine Triggers

Migraine Types Overview

Migraine is a word used to describe a wide range of related disorders. Migraines are the most common cause of daily head pain, with migraines afflicting more than 87 percent of people who complain of daily head pain. The World Health Organization ranks migraine as the 19^th most common cause of disability worldwide.

There are several different types of migraines, which are diagnosed based on the migraine symptoms experienced. Some migraines are triggered by changing seasons or hormonal changes in women. Other migraines only cause symptoms in the stomach.

The International Headache Society has developed one of the most well known classification systems for migraine and headache, called the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD). The ICHD-II defines migraine as one of the main types of primary headaches, along with other headaches types such as tension headaches and cluster headaches.

The specific migraine types recognized by the ICHD-II include:

Migraine without aura
- Pure menstrual migraine and menstrually-related migraine
Migraine with aura
- Familial hemiplegic migraine and sporadic hemiplegic migraine
- Basilar-type migraine
Common Childhood Precursors of Migraine
- Cyclical vomiting
- Abdominal Migraine
- Benign paroxysmal vertigo of childhood
Retinal Migraine
Probable Migraine
- Probable migraine without aura
- Probable migraine with aura
- Probable chronic migraine

Although the ICHD-II does not recognize the following terms as individual migraine types, some physicians may still use them in practice:

Different types of migraines are diagnosed based on symptoms, therefore all migraine sufferers are encouraged to make note of each migraine attack experienced. A good place to keep track of migraines and migraine symptoms is in your migraine journal. This is where you write down what you were doing before the symptoms surfaced, how long the symptoms last and how intense the symptoms were. A migraine doctor or specialist will use your journal to determine what type of migraine you have, what your migraine triggers are and how to best go treat your migraines.