Have you been feeling an intense and throbbing headache that comes with nausea, vomiting, and the like? If so, you may be experiencing a migraine. Migraines are severe throbbing pain and a pulse sensation that are felt usually at one side of your head. They are mostly accompanied by some symptoms of nausea, vomiting and extreme sensitivity to noise or sound, and the light. These attacks can be experienced and last for a couple of hours up to several days. The headaches and pain caused by migraines can be so severe that it can hinder you to do your normal routine and can interfere with tasks involved in your work or studies.
Symptoms of Migraine
Migraine often begins in childhood up to adolescence and early adulthood. The symptoms of migraine have four stages, which are the prodrome, aura, attack, and post-dome. A person having migraines may not go through all stages of these symptoms depending on the severity of their condition.
Prodrome
The prodrome stage happens one or two days before the migraine. This indicates as a sign for the upcoming migraine where you can notice and experience subtle changes in your body and moods. Some of these symptoms include:
- Mood changes: from depression to euphoria
- Constipation
- Food cravings
- Increased thirst and urination
- Frequent yawning
- Neck stiffness
Aura
The symptoms for this stage occur depending on the person’s condition. Some may experience an aura before the migraine while others experience aura during the migraine itself. Auras are reversible symptoms of our nervous system. They are oftentimes visual disturbances but can also occur in different parts of the body. The symptoms begin gradually, build up for several minutes, then progress and lasts for 20 to 60 minutes. Some of these symptoms include:
- Visual disturbances such as seeing various shapes, flashes of light or bright spots
- Vision loss
- Numbness in the face or weakness on one side of the body
- Pinning sensations in the arm or leg
- Hearing noises
- Difficulty in speaking
- Uncontrollable jerking
Attack
The attack stage is when a migraine usually lasts for 4 to 72 hours if left untreated. The migraine may occur rarely or strike several times a month depends and varies from person to person.
During a migraine, you may experience symptoms including:
- Pain in one side of the head, and often lead to both sides hurting.
- Pain that throbs and pulses
- Nausea and vomiting
- Being overly sensitive to the light, sound, and sometimes to smell and touch
Post-drome
This stage happens after a migraine attack. A feeling of exhaustion, confusion, drained and washed out that may last for a day. Sudden head movements may bring back the pain again briefly.
The good thing is, you can relieve migraines even if you are at home. Here are some easy remedies that you can do:
- Avoid Eating Hot Dogs
Many foods and beverages are known to trigger migraines. Some of these include:
- Foods with nitrates that are mostly found in processed foods like hotdogs, bacon, deli meats, and sausages.
- Cheese containing tyramine, such as feta, cheddar, blue, Swiss, and parmesan
- Chocolates
- Food with the flavour enhancer MSG (monosodium glutamate)
- Alcohol, especially red wine
- Processed foods
- Pickled foods
- Dried fruits
- Beans
- Ice cream, iced tea, and other cold foods
- Dairy products that are cultured (butter or yogurt)
- Try acupressure
Acupressure is an alternative medicine technique where pressure is applied with the fingers and hands to specific points on the body to relieve pain. It is a credible alternative therapy for chronic headaches, especially for migraines.
- Apply Lavender Oil
Lavender essential oil helps in relieving headaches. According to research in 2012, those who inhaled lavender oil during a migraine attack experienced faster relief than those who inhaled a placebo. The oil can be inhaled or applied to the temples.
- Apply peppermint oil
Menthol from the peppermint oil helps in stopping migraine pains, nausea, and sensitivity to the light.
- Feverfew
It is a flowering herb that looks like a daisy which is a folk remedy for migraines
- Ginger
Ginger is known to relieve nausea that can be caused by a migraine.
- Yoga
Studies show that yoga helps in relieving the frequency, duration, and intensity of migraines.
- Adding magnesium to your diet
Low magnesium in your body can cause migraines and headaches according to a study. Some of the foods that are rich in magnesium are sesame seeds, almonds, sunflower seeds, cashews, peanut butter, oatmeal, milk, and egg.
- Try biofeedback
It is a relaxation method that teaches you to control autonomic reactions to stress that may trigger migraines and headaches but still I wonder if modern medicine can fix this.
- Book a massage
Massages can reduce migraine frequency and improve your quality of sleep.The symptoms of migraine may differ from person to person. For those who are experiencing severe migraines, contact a medical professional to check your condition. You can also contact an online doctor Canada for an online consultation.
