Diagnosis Center
Migraine diagnosis guides
Understand what migraine can look like, how it differs from other headaches, and which symptoms need a clinician or urgent care.
What is a migraine?
Migraine is a neurologic disease with attacks that can include head pain, nausea, light and sound sensitivity, aura, and post-attack symptoms.
The phases of a migraine attack
Migraine attacks can include prodrome, aura, headache, and postdrome phases, though not everyone has every phase.
Types of migraine
Plain-language overview of migraine without aura, migraine with aura, chronic migraine, menstrual migraine, and vestibular migraine.
Migraine vs. headache
How migraine differs from common headache patterns, and why symptom tracking helps clinicians tell them apart.
Migraine vs tension headache
Migraine and tension-type headache can both cause head pain, but symptoms, disability, and treatment needs often differ.
Migraine vs sinus headache
Sinus pressure, facial pain, and congestion can overlap with migraine; learn how clinicians tell migraine and sinus headache apart.
Migraine with aura
Aura is a temporary neurologic symptom pattern that can happen before or during migraine, but new aura-like symptoms need caution.
Migraine aura without headache
Aura can happen without head pain, but new or unusual aura-like symptoms should be checked because other conditions can mimic migraine.
Ocular migraine vs migraine aura
Ocular migraine is often used loosely; learn how migraine aura differs from one-eye vision symptoms that need medical attention.
Silent migraine
Silent migraine is a common term for migraine aura or other migraine symptoms without significant head pain.
Chronic migraine
Chronic migraine means headache on at least 15 days per month with migraine features on at least 8 days, and it needs clinician-guided care.
Migraine diagnostic criteria in plain English
A plain-language guide to the symptom pattern clinicians look for when deciding whether recurrent headaches fit migraine.
When is imaging needed for migraine?
A practical guide to when CT, MRI, or other tests may be discussed for headache or migraine symptoms.
Migraine aura vs stroke symptoms
How migraine aura can overlap with stroke-like symptoms, and why sudden neurologic symptoms should be treated as urgent.
Migraine red flags
Warning signs that should not be assumed to be migraine and should prompt urgent or emergency medical care.
Use the hub
What to do next
Track attack frequency, duration, symptoms, aura, and medication response before appointments.
Use comparison pages to separate migraine from tension-type, sinus, and other headache patterns.
Treat red flags as safety information, not as a self-diagnosis checklist.