7 Effective Tips on How to Cope With Migraines
Dr. Amr Hosny is a Board Certified, Harvard trained, Interventional Spine Specialist, who helps patients relieve their pain, recover from injury, and get back to their normal lifestyle without surgery, as fast as possible. After completing his residency at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center, Columbia University in... more
Migraine pain is a stark reality for roughly 12% of the population. Migraine headaches are a common neurological disorder that can cause stabbing pain and a variety of other, often excruciating symptoms, making it difficult to go about your everyday activities. Migraines are a type of headache caused by electrochemical responses in the brain that include light and sound sensitivity, nausea, and vomiting.
Migraines are mostly genetically based, although most migraine sufferers also have particular triggers that cause symptoms. Migraines have no known remedy. This implies that adjusting to living with migraines and learning to manage them may be the most important variables in deciding your quality of life. While different strategies work for different people, here is a list of seven effective tips on how to cope with migraines that you should be aware of.
1. Be sure to get enough sleep
Migraines might keep you awake at night or prevent you from falling asleep. They are frequently precipitated by a bad night's sleep. Establish a sleep schedule that is consistent. Every day, including on weekends, get up and go to bed at the same hour. Listening to relaxing music, soaking in a warm bath, or reading a beloved book can all help you sleep better.
2. Track your caffeine intake
Caffeine can cause migraines in some individuals, but it can also help prevent them in others. Some over-the-counter migraine drugs, according to Seng, contain a combination of acetaminophen and caffeine to help prevent headaches. If you drink caffeine on a daily basis, do it in moderation and maintain your consumption from day to day to avoid migraines.
3. Drink plenty of water
Dehydration may play a huge role in headaches, whether you drank one too many cocktails last night or left your favorite water bottle at home (you know, the gigantic one with encouraging messages). Increasing your water consumption may be all you need to alleviate your symptoms. To avoid dehydration and the accompanying headaches, drink water at set intervals throughout the day.
4. Apply an ice pack
According to recent research, ice bands around the neck or ice packs administered at the outset of a migraine can considerably lower migraine pain perception. It's possible that you'll have to experiment to figure out what works best for you. An ice pack applied to the head might provide calming, numbing relief for some people. This is especially beneficial if your migraine was brought on by the sun or heat.
5. Consider taking supplements
Migraines may be handled with or without medication, but getting the right nutrition is crucial. Certain herbs and minerals may aid in the prevention of migraines. Magnesium deficiency has been linked to the beginning of migraines, so taking a daily dose might help you feel less irritable. Discuss herbal remedies and other non-prescription supplements with your doctor to see if they can help you with your symptoms.
6. Obtain a prescription for medications
There are abortive and preventive migraine pills. When your migraine starts, you take abortive drugs to stop it in its tracks, ideally within 15 to 20 minutes. Triptans are one of the most often prescribed painkillers. They operate by activating serotonin in the brain, which narrows blood vessels and lowers inflammation, therefore relieving pain.
When it comes to preventive drugs, there are a few choices. Beta-blockers, which are often used to lower blood pressure, and anti-seizure medications, such as divalproex sodium (Depakote), sodium valproate (Depacon), and topiramate, are older treatments for this purpose.
7. Massage your temples
Massage may help your muscles relax, and it's been used to treat pain in a variety of diseases, including migraine headaches. Whether or not this is beneficial, depends on the individual. Some migraine sufferers are highly sensitive to touch, and a massage might make them feel even worse. This is especially true for people who suffer from allodynia, a migraine symptom in which people are hypersensitive to touch and other non-painful actions.
