Causes for Migraine Headaches
Headaches are not known to be easy on anybody. Add to that the aches and pains of a Migraine, and hell is sure to break loose!
All about migraines
Most migraines typically affect one side of the head. These can last anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Some people have them weekly, others have them for lesser than in a year’s time. Migraines have no fixed age really, they may start off as early as sometime between the teen years and the age of 40, and can be classified as either "classic" or "common".
What causes a Migraine
At the onset of a migraine, the blood vessels in your head are the first to shrink and then swell as the pain travels through your head. Tension, bright lights, loud noises, strong smells, weather changes, fatigue, missed meals, and emotional upheavals all trigger a Migraine. Headaches can also be brought on by many other reasons such as common foods and beverages. These would include meat, hot dogs, alcohol, beans, coffee or tea, cheese, chocolate, nuts, pickles, raisins, and canned soup. Artificial sweeteners can also trigger a migraine. Most women may also get affected by a migraine thanks to their PMS, before or during their menstration [menstruation].
There may be several observations that you might want to make as to when does the migraine strike. Although there are no hard and fast rules to the game, one thing is for sure that you might be able to gauge the frequency and the situation wherein you might experience a migraine attack. This can help you in understanding the real reasons causing you the agony.
If you observe closely, you might even get to know when you are going to experience an attack. A stressful situation, mild warning signs like nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to noise, light, or smells. Most migraines begin with warning signals such as flashing lights or colours; it's true, although these may occur if you are truly the sensitive types. You may feel as though you are looking through a tunnel. One side of your body may feel prickly, hot, or weak. Although these warning signs last for under 30 minutes they are almost always followed are followed by severe pain in your head. But then this is the case with severe migraines and not the common ones. You might feel tired, depressed, restless, or talkative for 2 or 3 days before the headache sets in.
Precautions for a Migraine attack
If medicines don’t help in treating your headaches, try other means to get your head calmed down. Ice packs, massages, or lying down in a dark room might help, away from the noise pollution outside.
Try acupressure if you must as it helps in easing out the pain from your head. Pressure points can give you relief like no other form of medication.
Sleep, meditate, chant OM, or simply listen to light soothing instrumental music. Don’t watch your favourite shows on television and please don’t pick up your novel to read. It might worsen the situation.
Keep a record of what you ate before each attack. Avoid foods, such as chocolate, cheese, and red wine that seem to cause an attack. Generally these have natural sedatives that temporarily make you feel good and also that these contain caffeine to a large extent due to the high cocoa content. Research proves that they are instrumental in allowing the migraines to be built in your system.
Never skip meals and have them at the appropriate time. Your system gets accustomed to meals when they are taken at that particular time and does not allow toxins to play havoc and cause acidity. Acidity also leads to nausea, which might build up into a migraine, especially if you frequently get them.
Learn to relax, whether it is a relaxing technique that you are trying to master or even trying a hand at yoga, simple meditation and light forms of exercises can help you iron out the stress causing the migraine. Life is beautiful so you don’t have to live with aches and pains.