Headache

Migraine Headaches

Signs and Symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatment

Diagnosis

There is no medical test that can specifically diagnose migraines. They are diagnosed by the description of your symptoms. Your doctor will ask about the severity, frequency and duration of your headaches as well as other symptoms you experience and any medications you take.

If your headache is associated with flashing lights, blindness or numbness on one side of the head, it is called migraine with "aura," previously known as classical migraine. Only 20 percent of people with migraine have aura.

Reviewed by health care specialists at UCSF Medical Center.
Last updated December 17, 2008