If you frequently experience throbbing pain on one side or both sides of your head, go through nausea and vomiting and become very sensitive to light and sounds, then you could be suffering from migraine.

“A migraine is a severe kind of headache which is a result of specific changes within the brain. This is accompanied by sensitivity to light, noise or any kind of smell in most cases. Migraines can begin in childhood or adolescence. Certain risk factors that increase susceptibility include family history, age, gender and hormonal changes. It has also been shown that women are more prone to it than men,” says Delhi-based Dr Haresh Tolia, a general physician on the medical app, Lybrate.

Some possible causes of migraine may be environmental such as high temperatures, light, high humidity, weather changes, besides unhealthy lifestyle habits such as not eating on time, consuming certain types of cheese, chocolates, foods with monosodium glutamate, fermented foods.

Migraine may also be caused by nervous or neurological disorders such as epilepsy or Alzheimer’s. Certain medications and sensory stimuli such as perfumes, cigarettes or paint can also trigger migraine.

“Migraine starts with a pulsating/throbbing pain that builds up over time and becomes intense. Some other symptoms include feeling of nausea, discomfort with bright lights and loud sounds, neck stiffness, intense hunger, confusion and disorientation and feeling low or sad,” explains Dr Haresh Tolia.