Migraine headaches, those tension headaches that affect not only your head, but your vision, balance, and even mood, can affect just about anyone at any time, but some are more prone to suffering migraines than others.
Anyone who has ever felt that throbbing, pulsing, radiating pain; the sensitivity to light and sound; the tension and pressure behind the eyes or at the temples; the nausea and achy feeling that can all come from a migraine knows just how debilitating a migraine headache can be.
There is not cure for migraines, and most of the time, the medication for migraine pain can have side effects that are oftentimes worse than the migraine symptoms. Additionally, some people cannot take migraine medicine due to other health problems.
When this happens, or even if you just don’t want to take medication, there are some steps you can take to help prevent or reduce the effect of migraines, without popping a pill or hiding in a dark, cool room until it passes.
One trigger of migraines is emotional, mental and physical stress on the body. It is impossible to eliminate all stress from our lives, but there are stressors we do have control over, and by removing them from our lives, migraines are less likely to occur.
Please understand, one is not saying migraines are all emotional or mentally related. They’re not, but it is proven that stress exacerbates the problem or can trigger a migraine in someone who is prone to having them.
RELAX
It’s important when things become stressful, you are overworked, exhausted, drained, that you find those moments where you can relax. Using relaxation techniques such as meditation, yoga, stretching exercises, and even taking cat naps can all help reduce stress, aid in relaxation, and help reduce the strength and pain of a migraine.
HOT AND COLD THERAPY
Some people prefer hot therapy, some prefer cold, and depending on the type of migraine, different headaches will respond differently to each type of therapy. One doctor a friend of mine spoke to about migraines indicated that alternating 15 minutes of cold therapy with 15 minutes of heat therapy will likely produce the best pain relief.
Cold compresses or ice packs, heating pads or heat packs can be used directly on the temples and forehead when necessary, but one doctor recommended using the heat back on the base of the head, right near the neck, since many nerves run through there that can contribute to migraine pain.
VISUALIZATION AND THOUGHT
There are numerous studies that have been performed on people who are suffering from any type of pain that indicate creative visualization helps with pain relief. The brain, although it functions at super fast speeds, has difficult concentrating on more than one major issue at a time. As such, if you can relax, focus your mind on visualizing tranquil, calm, soothing places, music, or situations, and keep those images in your mind, your focus is not on your pain as much.
In addition to this, visualization like this can help you relax, which will reduce the tightening and tension that the migraine pain itself brings, which will also help alleviate some of the pain of a migraine.
SENSORY DEPRIVATION
There’s a reason that a dark, cool room is best for migraine treatment. You may not always be able to hide in a dark room through a migraine, but the more sensory background noise, movement, light, and clutter you can remove, the better for your migraine pain.
Try to turn off ringing phones, avoid the light of the computer screen whenever possible, close your office door, turn of the television and radio, and try to reduce as much sensory stimulation as you can.
HUM OR CHANT
While this may sound silly to sum, tension can help be reduce by vibration, and humming or chanting soothing vibrational sounds actually can help reduce migraine pain. Soft, low humming or chanting soft sounds actually vibrates the temple, neck and face area, which can result in diminished pain, especially when used in conjunction with relaxation and meditation techniques.
Alcohol can cause both dehydration and migraine headaches. Dehydration itself can cause migraine pain, so it’s important to drink plenty of clear fluids, and avoid carbonated drinks whenever possible. Staying hydrated can help prevent some types of migraine headaches.
Also, some people have latent allergies to foods that may not show as one expects an allergy to, such as rashes or itching. Some food allergies actually can cause migraine pain, so it’s important to check your diet, and see if there are any patterns to food causing migraines and eliminate that food from your diet and see if the migraine frequency reduces.
MASSAGE
Gentle, therapeutic massage, especially on the scalp, the base of the neck, the temples and back of the head can help prevent a migraine if performed daily, and help alleviate migraine pain when it occurs, especially when a migraine is just beginning, before it gets worse.
You’ve seen women in labor use special breathing techniques to help push through the pain. Those breathing techniques can be modified for just about any type of pain one can experience. Deep, relaxing, oxygen filled breathing can help blood circulate better, and reduce some of the tension build up that can exacerbate a migraine.
ACCUPUNCTURE AND ACCUPRESSURE
Some migraine sufferers will swear by acupuncture and some will say it is a sham. Which one is right really doesn’t matter if acupuncture provides YOU relief. Many acupuncture practitioners will give free or reduced rate sample acupuncture sessions so you know what they are all about.
Accupressure is along the same lines as acupuncture, but more a massage and pressure technique, without the needles or pins used in acupuncture. One acupressure point for migraines is said to be in the skin between the thumb and the forefinger of your hand. Apply consistent, solid pressure to that location from both sides of the skin, or providing pulsating pressure to that area has been shown in many to alleviate migraine pain.
Do a bit of research on the internet and learn more about other possible acupressure points for migraine pain relief, and find one that helps you, and use it.
OVER THE COUNTER PAIN MEDICATION
When severe, some migraine headaches do respond well to migraine over the counter treatments, such as ibuprofen, which helps with inflammation and pain, and NSAID like Aleve, which are also pain relief that is anti-inflammatory, as well as Tylenol and generic versions of it. Excedrin Migraine contains both aspirin and the active ingredient in Tylenol – acetaminophen, and small amounts of caffeine.
Moderate use of over the counter pain relievers along with the previous pain relief techniques should be safe for most people. Over use of over the counter pain medications can have serious consequences, so it’s important to use medication as a last resort, not the first line of defense. As always, talk to your health care professional if you are unsure whether over the counter pain medications are right for your migraine pain relief.
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Remember, there is no quick fix or cure for migraine pain. The best course of action is to take as many steps as you can to prevent one occurring, and then, when one does occur, to try to minimize the pain and reduce the duration as much as possible. Migraines can indeed be debilitating, so it’s important to seek a doctor’s care or work with a health care professional to help with symptoms and prevention.
