Migraine is an extraordinarily prevalent neurological disease, affecting 39 million men, women and children in the U.S. and 1 billion worldwide.

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Everyone either knows someone who suffers from migraines or struggles with migraines themselves.

• Migraine is the 3rd most prevalent illness in the world.

• Nearly 1 in 4 U.S. households includes someone with migraine.

• Amazingly, 12% of the population – including children – suffers from migraines.

• 30% of American women, 6% of men, and 10% of children experience migraines.

• Migraine is most common between the ages of 18 and 44.

• Migraine tends to run in families. About 90% of migraine sufferers have a family history of migraine.

Most people don’t realize how serious and incapacitating migraines can be. 

• Migraine is the 6th most disabling illness in the world.

• Every 10 seconds, someone in the U.S. goes to the emergency room for a severe headache, approximately 1.2 million visits are for acute migraine attacks.

• While most sufferers experience attacks once or twice a month, more than 4 million people have chronic daily migraine, with at least 15 migraine days per month.

• More than 90% of sufferers are unable to work or function normally during their migraine.

Migraine is much more than a bad headache.

• Migraine is a neurological disease with extremely incapacitating neurological symptoms.

• It’s typically a severe throbbing recurring pain in the temple area, forehead, and back of the head. 

• In some cases, other bothersome symptoms such as nausea, aura, stiff neck, or irritability are present without the head pain.

• Attacks are often accompanied by one or more of the following symptoms: visual disturbances, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, extreme sensitivity to sound, light, touch and smell, and tingling or numbness in the extremities or face.

• About 25% of migraine sufferers also have a visual disturbance called an aura, which usually lasts less than an hour.

• In 15-20% of attacks, other neurological symptoms occur before the actual head pain.

• Attacks usually last between 4 and 72 hours.

For many sufferers, migraine is a chronic disease that significantly diminishes their quality of life.

• More than 4 million adults experience chronic daily migraine – with at least 15 migraine days per month.

• Depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbances are common for those with chronic migraine.

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There are many possible triggers for Migraine Headaches.  Knowing yours and avoiding them is important. 

• Stress

• Changes in sleep patterns such as getting too little or too much sleep

• Changes in routine, traveling

• Missing meals

• Hormone changes due to menstruation or menopause

• Caffeine in coffee, tea, or soda, or caffeine withdrawal

• Alcoholic drinks, specially red wine or beer

• Changes in the weather, especially changes in barometric pressure

• Certain foods, especially those with nitrates, tyramine, or MSG

• Dehydration

• Light, including bright sunshine and indoor fluorescent lights, or glare

• Smells like perfumes, chemicals, gasoline, bleach, or strong food odors

• Computer use

• Strenuous exercise or sexual climax

Migraine disproportionately affects women.

• Migraine affects about 28 million women in the U.S.

• 85% of chronic migraine sufferers are women.

• They usually start in adolescence

• Roughly 1 in 4 women will experience migraine in their lives.

• Three times as many women as men suffer from migraine in adulthood.

• About half of female sufferers have more than one attack each month, and a quarter experience 4 or more severe attacks per month.

• More severe and more frequent attacks often result from fluctuations in estrogen levels.

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For more information on Migraine Headaches check out WebMD

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