Start with this guide
What Is a Migraine? Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment
What is a migraine? Learn how this neurological disorder causes attacks involving pain, sensory, digestive, thinking, and mood symptoms.
Read the core guideMigraine and headache library
Migraine and headache guides with clear answers.
Start with a core guide, then move into the narrower symptom, pattern, or headache term you are trying to understand. Every guide shows its sources and links to a practical next step where one exists.
01
Migraine basics
Start with what migraine is, what an attack can feel like, and the language used to describe frequency.
How Long Do Migraines Last? A Timeline of the Four Migraine Phases
How long do migraines last? Learn what the 4–72 hour headache range means, how each attack phase affects timing, and when a long attack needs care.
Migraine Symptoms: Early Signs, Aura, Pain, and Postdrome
Migraine symptoms can span prodrome, aura, headache, and postdrome. Learn early signs, pain and non-pain symptoms, duration, and warning signs.
Migraine vs. Headache: Key Differences, Symptoms, and When to Get Help
Compare migraine vs. headache symptoms, duration, pain patterns, relief options, and warning signs so you know what to track and when to seek care.
What Does a Migraine Feel Like? 12 Common Symptoms Explained
What does a migraine feel like? Compare throbbing or pressure, nausea, aura, light sensitivity, brain fog, fatigue, and important warning signs.
02
Symptoms and phases
Follow an attack from early changes through pain, associated symptoms, and recovery.
Start with this guide
Eye Strain Headache: Symptoms, Causes, Relief, and Prevention
Learn how an eye strain headache feels, why screens and close work can contribute, what may provide relief, and which eye or headache symptoms need care.
Read the core guideMigraine Aura: Symptoms, Visual Signs, and Timeline
Migraine aura can cause reversible visual, sensory, or speech symptoms. Learn what aura looks like, how long it lasts, and when to seek urgent care.
Migraine Hangover: Postdrome Symptoms, Duration, and Recovery Tips
Learn what a migraine hangover feels like, how long postdrome can last, what may support recovery, and when lingering symptoms need medical care.
Morning Headaches: Causes, Relief, and When to Worry
Morning headaches can relate to sleep apnea, migraine, teeth grinding, caffeine, or medicines. Compare the clues and learn when to seek care.
Photophobia (Light Sensitivity): Causes, Relief, and When to Worry
Photophobia makes light painful or uncomfortable. Learn common causes, practical relief, warning signs, and what to record for a medical visit.
Sleep Deprivation Headache: Symptoms, Relief, and Prevention
A sleep deprivation headache can follow too little or irregular sleep. Learn what to do after a bad night and how to build a steadier sleep pattern.
03
Headache types and locations
Compare common headache terms, pain locations, and patterns that need prompt attention.
Start with this guide
Different Kinds of Headaches: A Clear Guide to Headache Types
Compare different kinds of headaches, including migraine, tension-type, cluster, medication-overuse, and secondary headache warning signs.
Read the core guideCaffeine Headache: Can Caffeine Help or Cause Headaches?
A caffeine headache can follow withdrawal, excess intake, or a changing routine. Learn how caffeine, migraine, sleep, and headache medicines interact.
Caffeine Withdrawal Headache: Symptoms, Timeline, and Relief
Learn when a caffeine withdrawal headache starts, how long it can last, what helps, and how to reduce caffeine gradually with fewer symptoms.
Cluster Headaches: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment
Cluster headaches cause severe one-sided attacks in bouts. Learn symptoms, duration, episodic vs chronic patterns, oxygen/triptan treatment, and prevention.
Exertion Headache: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, and Red Flags
Exertion headaches happen during or after exercise. Learn when they are emergencies, how primary exercise headache is diagnosed, treated, and safely tracked.
Headache Behind the Eyes: Causes, Relief, and Warning Signs
A headache behind the eyes may come from migraine, cluster headache, eye strain, sinusitis, or an eye condition. Compare symptoms and find safe relief.
Hypnic Headache: Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment
Hypnic headache is a rare sleep-only headache that causes waking. Learn diagnostic criteria, nighttime mimics, treatment options, and what to track.
Ice Pick Headache: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment
Ice pick headaches cause sudden, seconds-long stabbing head pain. Learn the symptoms, common mimics, treatment options, and emergency warning signs.
Occipital Headache: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment
Occipital headaches cause pain at the back of the head or base of the skull. Compare migraine, neck-related pain, occipital neuralgia, and treatment.
Sinus Headache vs. Migraine: Symptoms, Differences, and Relief
Compare sinus headache and migraine symptoms, timelines, nasal discharge, nausea, light sensitivity, treatment options, and warning signs.
Temple Headache: Causes, Relief, and When to Worry
Temple headaches may come from migraine, tension headache, jaw problems, cluster headache, or giant cell arteritis. Compare symptoms and relief.
Tension Headache: Symptoms, Relief, and When to Worry
Learn tension headache symptoms, episodic vs. chronic patterns, practical relief, migraine differences, medication-overuse risks, and warning signs.
Thunderclap Headache: Causes, Emergency Signs, and Diagnosis
A thunderclap headache reaches maximum intensity within about one minute and needs emergency assessment. Learn causes, hospital tests, RCVS, and next steps.
04
Migraine types
Understand aura, vestibular, retinal, menstrual, and other migraine terminology.
Start with this guide
Types of Migraine: Aura, Chronic Migraine, and More
Understand the main types of migraine, aura subtypes, chronic and menstrual migraine, vestibular migraine, and confusing labels such as ocular migraine.
Read the core guideAbdominal Migraine: Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment
A practical guide to abdominal migraine in children, including symptoms, diagnostic criteria, common triggers, treatment options, and warning signs.
Complex Migraine: Meaning, Symptoms, and Formal Diagnoses
Complex migraine is not a formal diagnosis. Learn what the term may mean, how aura subtypes differ, why stroke must be excluded, and what to ask your clinician.
Hemiplegic Migraine: Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment
Hemiplegic migraine causes reversible motor weakness with aura. Learn familial vs sporadic forms, stroke warning signs, diagnosis, genetics, and treatment.
Menstrual Migraine: Symptoms, Treatment, and Prevention
Learn the menstrual migraine window, symptoms, acute and short-term preventive treatments, hormone options, and how to track attacks across cycles.
Ocular Migraine: Symptoms, Visual Aura, and When to Seek Help
Ocular migraine may mean visual aura or rare retinal migraine. Compare symptoms, one-eye warning signs, duration, assessment, and treatment.
Retinal Migraine: One-Eye Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment
Retinal migraine is a rare cause of reversible vision change in one eye. Learn how it differs from visual aura, when to get urgent care, and how it is diagnosed.
Silent Migraine: Aura Symptoms Without Headache
Silent migraine usually means migraine aura without headache. Learn the visual, sensory, and speech symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and urgent warning signs.
Vestibular Migraine: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment
Vestibular migraine can cause vertigo, motion sensitivity, and imbalance with or without headache. Learn the criteria, treatment, and warning signs.
05
Patterns and possible factors
Make sense of timing, medication days, sleep, weather, meals, and other possible influences.
Start with this guide
Migraine Triggers: Common Causes, Early Signs, and How to Track Them
Explore common migraine triggers, foods and routines that may matter, early symptoms mistaken for triggers, and a practical way to identify your patterns.
Read the core guideBarometric Pressure Headaches: Symptoms, Weather Triggers, and Relief
A barometric pressure headache may follow a weather change. Learn what the pattern can feel like, practical relief steps, and how to test your own record.
Chronic Migraine: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment Options
Understand chronic migraine symptoms, the 15-day diagnostic threshold, common risk factors, treatment options, and how to track headache days accurately.
Constant Headache: Causes, Warning Signs, and Treatment
A constant headache can have several causes. Learn why onset and continuity matter, possible headache types, warning signs, diagnosis, and treatment.
Dehydration Headache: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, and Prevention
Learn what a dehydration headache feels like, which symptoms suggest dehydration, what may help, how long it lasts, and when to seek medical care.
Frequent Headaches: Causes, Warning Signs, and What to Do
Frequent headaches can have many causes. Learn how often is concerning, common patterns, medication-overuse limits, warning signs, and what to track.
Headache After Eating: Causes, Relief, and What to Track
A headache after eating can have several explanations. Use timing and symptoms to compare migraine, glucose, blood pressure, allergy, and jaw clues.
Rebound Headaches: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment
Rebound headaches can develop from frequent acute headache medicine use. Learn medication-overuse thresholds, withdrawal treatment, and prevention.