Types of Migraines

Migraine with aura and migraine without aura are the two most common migraine types. A person who has a migraine with aura experiences visual symptoms (also called an "aura") 10 minutes to 30 minutes before an attack. With a migraine without aura, a person does not have an aura but does have the other migraine symptoms. Some other forms of migraine headaches include hemiplegic migraine, opthalmoplegic migraine, and basilar artery migraine.

Migraines

An Overview of Migraine Types

The two most common types of migraine headaches are migraine with aura and migraine without aura.

Migraine With Aura

With a migraine with aura, a person has visual symptoms (also called an "aura") 10 minutes to 30 minutes before an attack. These symptoms of an aura can include:

Sees flashing lights or zigzag lines
Having blind spots or losing vision for a short time.

The aura can also include seeing or hearing strange things. It can even disturb the senses of smell, taste, or touch.

Women have this migraine type less often than men.

Some other names for migraine with aura have previously included:

Classic migraine
Ophthalmic migraine (ophthalamic migraine)
Hemiplegic migraine
Aphasic migraine.

Migraine Without Aura

With a migraine without aura, a person does not have an aura but does have the other migraine symptoms, such as nausea and vomiting. This migraine type was previously known as common migraine.

Other Types of Migraines

There are several other types of migraine headaches, including:

Hemiplegic Migraine
Ophthalmoplegic migraine
Basilar artery migraine
Benign exertional headache
Status migrainosus
Migraine aura without headache
Abdominal migraine.

(Types of Migraines Continued: Page 2)