Symptoms of migraine without aura

What are the symptoms of migraine without aura? 

The location is easy to remember. Any part of the head or face may be affected, including the parietal region, the upper or lower jaw or teeth, the malar eminence, and the upper anterior neck.

Pain is unilateral in 60% of cases and bilateral in 40%.

Approximately 15% of migraineurs report so-called side-locked headaches in which migraine always occurs on the same side.

The pain is often more intense in the frontotemporal and ocular regions before it spreads to the parietal and occipital areas. Throbbing pain is present in 85% of episodes of migraine, although up to 50% of patients describe steady pain during some attacks.

As many as 75% of migraineurs report unilateral or bilateral tightness, stiffness, or throbbing pain in the posterior neck along with head pain. The neck pain can occur during the migraine prodrome, the attack itself, or the postdrome. 

Migraines last 4 to 72 hours if left untreated or if unsuccessfully treated. One that persists for more than 72 hours is termed status migrainosus.

 In children and adolescents (aged under 18 years), attacks may last 2 to 72 hours and the pain is more often bilateral (usually frontotemporal) than in adults. 

Without treatment, 80% of patients experience moderate to severe pain, and 20% have mild pain.

Usually increased by physical activity or movement, the pain is associated with nausea in about 80% of episodes, vomiting in about 30%, photophobia in about 90%, and phonophobia in about 80%. 

The below table provides the International Headache Society criteria for the diagnosis of migraine.

  • A. At least five attacks fulfilling criteria B-D
  • B. Headache attacks lasting 4-72 hours (untreated or unsuccessfully treated)
  • C. Headache has at least two of the following four characteristics:
    • 1. Unilateral location
    • 2. Pulsating quality
    • 3. Moderate or severe pain intensity
    • 4. Aggravation by or causing avoidance of routine physical activity (e.g., walking or climbing stairs)
  • D. During headache at least one of the following:
    • 1. Nausea and/or vomiting
    • 2. Photophobia and phonophobia
  • E. Not better accounted for by another ICHD-3 diagnosis
Sources

Headache Classification Committee of the International Headache Society (IHS): The International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition (beta version), Cephalalgia 33(9):629-808, 2013.

15585

Sign up to receive the trending updates and tons of Health Tips

Join SeekhealthZ and never miss the latest health information

15856