Migraines are more severe than the common headaches. These happening induced draining pain and receptive become overloaded causing it all but impossible for somebody to continuing functioning normally. Due to this effect, making someone look miserable.
Here we will look at what are migraines and the common symptoms. We will also discuss how they are different from the cluster headaches and equally list out common triggers of migraine. Conclusively, we will look at possible things to do to get rid of pain from migraine episode so that the person can go back to normal life living.
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- What Are Migraines?
- Symptoms of a Migraine
- How are migraines different from cluster headaches?
- Common Migraine Triggers
- Other common Migraine triggers include:
- How to Get Relief from a Migraine?
- Alternatives to Pharmaceutical Medications
- Green light therapy:
- Botox treatments (OnabotulinumtoxinA):
- Environmental controls:
- Prevention is The Key
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What Are Migraines?
Migraine is seen as genetic neurological disorder that affects the brain. Those experiencing migraine, their autonomic nervous system respond unsuitably to stressors, distorting circulation of blood within the brain. As the body system tries to recover, over-dilation occurs with the arteries in the brain as the body attempt to reverse the process. And as blood flow passes these arteries, it induces pain receptors along the way, causing throbbing pain in the head
Headaches from migraine give rise to acute and sometimes long-lived pain behind one ear or eye, including temples pain. Other common migraine symptoms include vomiting or nausea sensitivity to mild and intense and at times vision loss or difficulty speaking.
Migraine not untreated can linger for from several hours to 3 days and in some individual migraine stay up to several months. People who are suffering from worst form of migraines; the pain has great implication on their lifestyle, prevent them from even working and subject them to spend most times in quiet, dark rooms.
According to scientists findings came up with fact that about 12percent of the population of American suffer from migraine headaches and this is common among their women. They also forecast that up to 30 percent of all women will suffer migraine during their lifetimes.
Symptoms of a Migraine
Migraines are not just extremely terrible single episode of headaches that stay for a time. Instead, they manifest as a sequence of turbulent and terrible commotion that can start and stay for days before resulting to the main headaches and can last up to 72 hours.
A day or more before migraine episode start, some individual feel symptoms that sign depict an upcoming attack. The symptoms include unusual food cravings, irritability, hyperactivity and depression.
After this happening, the main migraine may instantly follow by “aura” a term used to refer to form of sensory experiences. For steady migraine sufferers, the aura can actually be used to prognostic the start of the headaches up to thirty minutes ahead. During aura period, individual that happen to be feeling it are likely to be unable to think correctly and focus on jobs. They may suffer visual stimuli such as heightened sense of smile or flash lights, taste or touch to the point where any form of sensory input can be enormously uneasy. They may also have numbness or tingling in the face or extremities.
Whether migraine comes with warning signs or not, once it happened, the pain can be serious. They are known for pounding pain around and above the eyes usually focused on one side of one’s head. More so, those having migraines frequently complain about themselves being sensitive to smells, light and sound. Most individual with this ailment do experience feeling of being lightheaded, nausea and vomiting. Pain is worsening when doing physical activities, which cause the heart rate to increase, or when leaning forward.
How are migraines different from cluster headaches?
Migraine and cluster headaches are both enfeebling headaches and most people mistake one for the other. Different from migraines episode, cluster headaches suddenly occur, without prior auras or warning signs. Symptoms of cluster headaches include watery eyes, runny nose and pain generally one side. In spite of the symptoms, cluster headaches are dissimilar from sinus headaches, although medications apply for sinus can also help to relief migraines.
One of the biggest distinctions between cluster headaches and migraines when experienced will react to the pain. Though, many migraine sufferers needs complete silence and darkness, while cluster headaches victims tend to be troubled and restless sitting in one place.
Even though, both women and men can get any of the two headaches, cluster headaches are more common in men while migraine episode are mostly in women.
Common Migraine Triggers
Scientists are yet to understand the real cause behind migraines or why some individuals get them and others don’t. Study suggests that migraines could be from genetic. But one thing most medical expert conclude upon, that certain triggering actions and food can induce migraine while specific triggers differ from one person to the other.
Those having migraine issue should keep a diary to enable them detect the succession of their migraine sequences. Successively, these kept can identify which of the food, environmental factors or behaviors trigger their migraine succession. Preventing these symptoms that can triggers migraine episode may importantly migraine episode.
A common trigger of migraine in most women is estrogen levels in their body. Some women are likely to experience migraine pain at certain times of the month, especially, during or before a woman’s monthly cycle. For most women, taking oral contraceptive may help reduce or get rid of migraines, for other women it may increase their pain frequency.
Other common Migraine triggers include:
- Certain activities (long durations in front of a television, video game, or computer; skipping meals; motion sickness; anything that is very mentally or physically stressful)
- Sensory stimuli (flickering or bright lights; violable odors like your perfume, solvent or paint)
- Condition of the environment (low fronts pressure; dust or pollution in the air; severe weather, humidity, extremely dry air high heat, altitude changes)
- certain foods like chocolate, probably due to caffeine presence, foods containing high quantity of tyramine such as processed meat, aged cheese, olives, pickles, nut and soya beans; cultured dairy, salty food, processed foods containing wheat)
- Food supplements and additives (sugar substitutes, in the like of aspartame; yellow dye no. 6; mono-sodium glutamate, also known as MSG; cellulose used in some medications and vegan capsules; melatonin; nitrates and nitrites)
- Beverages (alcohol, especially beer, wine, whiskey and champagne; caffeinated beverages such as coffee, tea, and soda)
- Medications (oral contraceptives; vasodilators; also note that the content of the tablets or capsules themselves can cause migraines in some people sensitive to the cellulose)
- Sleep stress and deprivation (which may be connected to release of high levels of cortisol)
How to Get Relief from a Migraine?
Migraines are discomforting health disorder. During migraine episode, everything becomes suspended. While the episode is on, it practically becomes not possible to do daily work, caring for your children, run errands, drive or other home tasks.
There are virtually steps to solution that people facing migraine challenges can do to eliminate or get rid of the symptoms. Most victims will take over-the-counter pain relief medication and pull back into a quiet, dark room. Other answerable thing that can help reduce symptoms of migraines (Although, these things generally are not sufficient to completely alleviate the pain)
- Ice pack or Cold wet cloth over the eyes.
- Taking a nap
- Taking hot baths or hot showers and submersing your head (but be sure to dry out ears afterwards)
- Vitamins, including Riboflavin, B12, Coenzyme Q10 and Magnesium
- Drinking feverfew tea
- Hydrating with water or sports drinks
- Sinus medications
- Use over-the-counter prescribed medications (ibuprofen, Tylenol, aspirin)
- Applying diluted peppermint essential oil to the temples or under the nose
As regards to all medical ethics, if after trying one or two methods and migraines persist, we recommend you consult your doctor immediately.
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Alternatives to Pharmaceutical Medications
While some migraines sufferers go for medical treatment, remember over the counter medication do have some enormous side effect. Some drugs that have been proven to solve migraine attack are pretty heavy-hitting. Some of them include antidepressants, cardiovascular drugs and anti-seizure medication.
While some people seek medical treatment for migraines, prescription medication often comes with significant side effects. Some pharmaceuticals that have been shown to help migraines are pretty. These include cardiovascular drugs, antidepressants, and anti-seizure medications.
For those who are looking for alternatives to these kinds of medicines, there are some options to consider:
Green light therapy:
Research done at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, are establishing promising outcome when migraine sufferers where expose to certain wavelengths of green light. Which means it may be possible to buy sunglasses or light bulbs made to filter out light rays, but this spectrum, giving reliefs to headaches.
Botox treatments (OnabotulinumtoxinA):
Injecting Boxton injections into the head and neck of some migraine sufferer can help to relief them for up to 3 months at a time.
Preventive acupuncture can help some migraines sufferers to ease muscle tension especially around the shoulders and head. During migraine succession, acupuncture pain relief may also effectual, especially when avoiding the area around the neck, head and the upper body.
If smoke or dust is your trigger for migraines, purchasing air filters for your HVAC system, as well as stand-alone air filtration units will help to lessen the flow of particles in the air. Buying a humidifier machine can be of assistance for people who develop migraines in dry air. Blackout curtains and white noise units or sleep masks can help individual facing difficulty sleeping. It is also worth trying different types of light bulbs in your house or work offices, as the flicker of light bulbs, especially fluorescent tubes, can trigger migraines in some people.
Prevention is The Key
While doctors are yet to give a conclusive cure for migraines, this means for those who get migraines, it is very significant to identify and avoid personal triggers of migraines as well as also knowing the signs that migraine is coming. By keeping off trigger like behavior and foods, keeping off extreme physical or mental fatigue as possible and having adequate sleep up to 7-8 hours, most migraines victims, can handle their problem and will no need to resort to medical prescription. But for those who still experience migraines, there are result getting medications, plus other promising alternatives, which can help most migraine sufferers, live normal lives.