Understanding Migraine as a Neurological Disease
Migraine is a neurological disease that can cause many different symptoms. You can have migraine without experiencing head pain. Migraine attacks can bring a wide range of symptoms that affect daily life, and those can vary from person to person and even from one attack to another.
Recognizing what you experience and when it happens can help you and your healthcare provider understand your pattern and make a treatment plan that works for you.
What does a migraine attack feel like?
Migraine symptoms vary from person to person and can involve the whole body. Common symptoms include:
- Head pain
- Sensitivity to light
- Sensitivity to sound
- Sensitivity to certain smells
- Sensitivity to touch
- Nausea or vomiting
- Brain fog
- Mood swings (depression, euphoria)
- Difficulty concentrating
- Trouble reading or speaking
- Insomnia
- Fatigue
- Food cravings
- Frequent yawning
- Hyperactivity
- Increased thirst
- Frequent urination
- Irritability
- Facial pain or tenderness
- Neck pain or stiffness
- Ear pain or ringing in the ears
- Jaw (TMJ) pain or tooth pain
- Scalp sensitivity
- Nasal congestion
- Runny nose
- Dizziness
- Motion intolerance
- Vertigo (spinning)
This is not an exhaustive list of symptoms. You do not need to experience every symptom to have migraine disease. Your attacks and symptoms may change over time. Your healthcare provider will consider your symptoms, medical history, and how your migraine attacks affect your life during evaluation to determine a diagnosis and treatment.
Migraine with aura
Not everyone with migraine disease experiences aura. Aura is a neurologic symptom that occurs before or during an attack, causing temporary changes in your vision or other senses.
Visual aura is the most common aura, and the visual manifestation may include blind spots, wavy or zigzag lines, colorful patterns, and other changes in vision. Sensory aura may cause numbness or tingling sensations that start in the fingertips and move up the arm or affect the mouth or face. Less commonly, people may experience changes in their sense of smell, or difficulty finding words.
It is important to tell your healthcare provider what your usual aura symptoms are if you experience any. If you experience a new or changing pattern of symptoms, consult your provider so they can determine whether additional evaluation is needed.
Migraine in children
Migraine can begin at any age, including infancy, but prevalence rises steadily through childhood into adolescence. About 1 in 10 children experience migraine and migraine attacks in children can look differently than adults with migraine.
Children with migraine may experience the following symptoms:
- Migraine attacks that last for a shorter duration (approximately 2 hours)
- Pain on both sides (bilateral) of the head
- Prominent nausea, vomiting, or abdominal pain
- Sensitivity to light
- Sensitivity to sound
For children who may not be able to explain that they are experiencing a migraine attack, some changes in their behavior can include:
- Becoming irritable
- Having low energy and feeling tired
- Holding their head
- Avoiding movement or physical activity
- Avoiding light or sound
Pay attention to when these behaviors happen and whether they follow a pattern. Tracking these changes is useful information to your child’s healthcare provider when evaluating their symptoms. It is also important to know that these symptoms may become less frequent or no longer present as children get older.
Signs it's time you talk with your healthcare provider
If you frequently miss work, cancel plans, or struggle with everyday responsibilities, these may be signs that it is time you see your healthcare provider.
Schedule a dedicated appointment about your migraine attacks and talk with your healthcare provider if your attacks are new, changing, becoming more frequent or severe, and most importantly how the attacks are affecting your daily life.
Using self-screener tools like ID Migraine can help identify core symptoms of migraine with three simple questions. Talk with your healthcare provider about your symptoms to understand what is going on, get a proper diagnosis, and get started on a treatment plan.
The importance of tracking your symptoms to understand your disorder
Keeping track of your migraine attacks can help you recognize patterns, show indicators or “warning signs” that you are going to get an attack, as well as support your healthcare provider during the diagnostic process, and determine best treatment options.
To manage your migraine disease, record the following details:
- When your migraine attacks happen
- How bad each attack is
- Symptoms
- Possible triggers (sleep, stress, hormones, food, environment)
- How each attack affects your day
Other information worth tracking and bringing to your appointments is a list of all medications and supplements and/or vitamins taken, medical records, and test results that you may already have. The more information you can share, the easier it may be for you and your healthcare provider to recognize patterns, determine a diagnosis, and get the appropriate treatment plan.
Medically reviewed September 2026 by Maike Tiede Blaya, MD
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