It's been a long day. Four classes and a study group at the HUB-Robeson Center leave you wound up as your get back to your room. Checking your mail, you find out that you failed last week's biology test, and everything starts to go black.

Literally. You can't see. One by one, your fingers go numb.

It might sound like a nightmare, but millions of Americans experience this or something like it every day.

This is a migraine.

A migraine is a form of vascular headache, meaning that it is caused by the expanding and contracting spasms of blood vessels on the surface of the brain and can have varying affects from blindness to flashes of light to numbness of the limbs, according to the National Headaches Foundation.

Karen Taylor (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) experiences some of the symptoms.

"One of my eyes goes blurry, then half of my head starts to hurt, then my stomach feels sick," she said.

Migraines are caused by a variety of stimuli, many of which are not uncommon in an average college student's life.

Caffeine in large amounts can trigger migraines, as well as some food preservatives.

Changes in one's sleep patterns or extended exhaustion can also cause migraine headaches.

The most well-known triggers are tension and emotional stress, two variables that are present in everyone's life in one form or another. Also, migraines are hereditary.

Studies show that if one parent has experienced migraines, his or her child has a 50 percent chance of experiencing them as well, and if both parents are prone to migraines, then the child will have a 75 percent chance.

Migraines are both common and treatable.

According to the National Headaches Foundation, more than 28 million Americans suffer from them.

There are several ways to treat a migraine, depending on what symptoms occur.

For head pain there are many non-prescription drugs that will lessen or stop the headache completely, though in severe cases a prescription is necessary.

Nausea is a common part of a migraine that can also be alleviated by over the counter medication.

Many sufferers of Migraines often find the best way to get through a migraine is to sleep through it.

"I try to take a nap," says Bede Portz (sophomore-microbiology), " but sometimes it just hurts too much."

If over-the-counter drugs aren't working and the pain is too great to fall asleep, one option is visiting University Health Services at the Ritenour Building.

"If students are in acute pain from the migraine and are getting no relief from over-the-counter drugs or their prescription meds, we will suggest that they come in to either be seen by a triage nurse or seen through Urgent Care clinic," said UHS Marketing Manager Ellen Nagy.

According to University Health Services, the best treatment for migraines is prevention. Preventative pills, taken on a daily basis, come in many forms, from calcium-channel blockers to anti-convulsants.

For lesser cases, staying away from "migraine triggers" such as excessive caffeine and exhaustion can be just as effective.