Living with migraine is no easy feat, but effective management can be achieved. Any new or worsening symptoms or pain that interferes with daily activities should be immediately assessed by a healthcare provider.
Preventive strategies should also be employed in addition to abortive and prophylactic pharmaceutical treatments for migraine, in order to lessen both frequency and severity of attacks. These may include identifying triggers and learning how to avoid or manage them (for instance: caffeine consumption or stress), in order to lower migraine risk.
1. Avoid Triggers
Migraines can be caused by many different stimuli, including bright lights and glare, loud noises and strong scents. Other triggers may include missing meals or eating too little at one sitting, foods high in sugar content (like hot dogs), processed meat products containing additives like nitrates (like hot dogs) as well as caffeine consumption or withdrawal.
Step one in avoiding triggers is identifying them for yourself. That may involve keeping a headache diary to record when and why migraine symptoms began, and what was happening that day.
Note any incidents where drinking two liters of water brought on migraine symptoms in your diary, along with details about stress or dehydration levels that day and any possible patterns that emerge over time. Eventually, patterns should start becoming clear.
2. Change Your Diet
Migraines are defined as intense head pain characterized by throbbing, pounding or pulsating sensations that affect either one side of the head and are typically accompanied by nausea, light sensitivity and other symptoms that may range from light sensitivity to sound sensitivity to smell sensitivity. They can often be triggered by stress, certain foods, skipping meals, alcohol or weather changes; but can also result from hormonal changes in women and traumatic brain injury.
Changes to diet may help decrease migraine attacks. One study suggested that diets rich in fatty fish reduced migraine attacks for frequent sufferers. Furthermore, eating whole grains, fruit and vegetables with low-fat dairy and healthy proteins such as nuts may be beneficial in alleviating symptoms of migraine.
3. Get Plenty of Sleep
Sleep and exercise have proven to be effective ways of avoiding migraine headaches, according to studies. Both can reduce both frequency and severity.
Exercise can help, as the brain releases chemicals that block pain signals and promote relaxation. Low-impact exercises like swimming or walking may be best, while intensive workouts such as crossfit can sometimes trigger headaches in some individuals.
Poor sleep and mood are both controlled by different parts of the brain, making it no coincidence that lack of it can contribute to migraines. A diary detailing headache symptoms, sleeping pattern changes, food consumption patterns and any possible triggers might help identify triggers; discussing this matter with your GP and altering pillows/position may also prove beneficial in alleviating migraine attacks.
4. Exercise
Migraines are an extremely real condition that can severely decrease quality of life. Anyone is susceptible to migraines and it may become more frequent or intense over time. Luckily, there are preventive treatments available which may reduce frequency and severity.
Effective migraine management typically includes acute treatments to provide quick relief during an attack, preventive medications and lifestyle adjustments tailored to each person’s triggers – all designed to maximize both short-term and long-term results.
Neck rotation exercises may help alleviate migraines by stretching the muscles in your neck and back. Try standing up straight while turning your head to one side for several seconds at a time before repeating on the other side – the gentle twisting action may also help ease stress-related migraines.
5. Stay Hydrated
Consume water throughout the day to replenish any minerals lost through sweat or urine, or consume electrolyte-rich drinks such as coconut water and sports drinks for rapid hydration during exercise or hot weather.
Dehydration can bring on migraine symptoms such as throbbing and pounding pain, according to the American Migraine Foundation. About one-third of those living with migraines report being dehydrated as one cause for an attack.
Tea, milk, reduced-fat juice and green smoothies may provide relief from migraine headaches. These beverages contain magnesium which may reduce migraine episodes while folate helps boost cellular energy production – but be sure to consult your physician if these beverages don’t improve or prevent attacks; they should not replace traditional treatment and prevention strategies.
