Migraines affect everyone differently and there is no universal treatment, but you can work with your physician to reduce how frequently and severely migraines appear. Medication, lifestyle changes and stress management techniques could all form part of an effective migraine management plan.
Maintaining a migraine diary and tracking its triggers can help identify patterns. Furthermore, practicing self-care techniques such as deep breathing or avoiding trigger foods to manage symptoms is also useful.
Identify Your Triggers
An migraine can feel like the end of the world and there’s nothing you can do about it. The discomfort can last hours or days and interfere with everyday tasks, including work and family commitments. Some people experience an aura before their headache begins; not everyone does though. There are medications to help prevent migraines as well as reduce symptoms when they occur – as well as being aware of your triggers so as to take steps against them in advance.
Stress, bright lights or flashing, loud noises and strong smells may all trigger migraines in some people. Weather changes or barometric pressure changes may also bring on migraine attacks as can skipping meals or medications such as oral contraceptives or vasodilators like nitroglycerin causing migraines in certain people.
Keep a headache diary to track what occurs prior and during migraine episodes. You may notice patterns like migraines occurring at certain seasons or after eating certain food items.
Avoid Foods That Trigger Migraines
Diet is often the source of migraine attacks for some individuals. Food additives such as MSG (used in processed food like canned soup and snacks) or nitrites (found in packaged meat products such as bacon, sausage and deli meats) could play a significant role in initiating headache attacks.
Dairy products such as milk, yogurt and cheese may cause headaches for people who are lactose-intolerant. Chocolate can also be an trigger, making it hard to quit this delicious treat but cutting back may help improve symptoms.
Aged cheeses should also be avoided to help reduce migraine headaches as these contain high levels of tyramine which dilates blood vessels and heightens sensitivity to migraine triggers. Maintaining a food diary can help identify which food items might be triggering headaches and try eliminating these for some period to observe any differences in effectiveness.
Exercise
Apart from taking preventative medications for migraines, you can also make lifestyle adjustments to reduce their impact. These may include drinking plenty of water, eating healthy foods, getting better rest and exercising regularly.
Exercise helps decrease migraine pain and frequency by activating the natural production of endorphins in your body – the body’s natural painkillers. Studies show that aerobic exercises like walking, jogging, cycling and swimming, as well as yoga have all been shown to decrease both migraine pain and frequency.
If you’re new to exercise, take it slow and gradually increase the intensity of your sessions in order to prevent migraine triggers. Be sure to drink fluids prior, during and post workout in order to stay hydrated; dehydration can trigger migraines so make sure you consume enough isotonic beverages as dehydration can also trigger migraines. It may also be beneficial to warm-up and cool-down prior and after physical activity as this will help avoid muscle stiffness that could trigger migraines in certain people.
Simplify Your Life
Migraines can cause severe headaches, vision changes (aura), nausea and light/sound sensitivity. By identifying and managing triggers effectively, migraines can be reduced both in frequency and severity.
If migraines interfere with daily activities, visit a primary care doctor for diagnosis and treatment. He or she may suggest preventive medicines which may lessen frequency, severity and make migraines easier to manage.
Other lifestyle adjustments may also prove helpful, including eating regularly healthy meals and drinking enough water. Engaging in mindfulness or relaxation techniques such as deep breathing can lower stress levels and aid sleep quality. Furthermore, keeping a diary of migraine triggers and symptoms is invaluable; keeping one will allow you to identify patterns more accurately as well as improve accuracy when diagnosing migraine. You could try keeping a “stoplight diary”, with red, yellow and green lights used to signify when your symptoms started, ended, provided relief – an easy way of gathering the data without counting or calculations!
