Migraine Remedies – According to the Migraine Research Foundation, migraine is a prevalent condition in the world. It can be genetic as it runs in families with adults and children likely to have it. In America alone, the foundation estimates that 12 percent of citizens suffer from migraine headaches.
Migraine headaches are not like a typical headache. Instead, migraine is a neurological condition that comes with its symptoms. These include nausea, vomiting, pounding pain, sensitivity to light and sound, visual changes, and tingling or numbness in the hands and feet.
This condition can be chronic and can disrupt normal daily activities and life for some people. While the go-to treatment for it is over the counter drugs, there are natural remedies that work reduce migraine symptoms without using drugs.
These drug-free migraine remedies can also help to prevent migraine and reduce the severity and duration of it. While you may have to see a doctor depending on the severity of the headaches, you can also try these remedies for fast relief.
What Is Migraine?
Migraine is a type of headache that increases pain from a moderate level to an uncomfortably severe level. Unlike tension headaches that often affects the head or neck, migraine tends to occur on only one side of the head and can last for hours or days in some cases.
Some people also experience disturbance in sensations, mood swings, trouble sleeping, vision changes, and increased sensitivity to sound and light.
Apart from its usual symptoms, migraine can also reduce the quality of life as it can lead to anxiety over future attacks. Many migraine patients assert that several times a year, they are unable to attend classes or go to work because they experience trouble concentrating.
They also complain that they can not speak properly or operate normally after an attack for hours or days.
Read Also: How to Get Rid of Knee Pain Fast – 7 Best Home Remedies for Knee Pain Relief
What Causes Migraine?
For some people, migraine headache symptoms worsen when they suddenly increase physical activity. For others, it may be because of exposure to loud sounds and bright lights or spending long hours in front of a computer and other electronic devices.
However, the common underlying causes of migraines include:
- A poor diet and nutrition deficiency
- Chronic stress caused by anxiety, nervousness, or rush
- Dehydration
- Lack of sleep
- Hormonal Changes
- Eye strain due to overexposure to light
- Poor posture that affects the spine
- Reaction to medications
- Genetics and family history
- Brain stem dysfunction due to a past illness or injury
- High levels of inflammation, this affects nerves in the brain and blood vessels
- Other health conditions that affect the neck or spine
- Changes in the level of neurotransmitters, including low serotonin levels and high levels of “stress hormones” like cortisol
Precautions To Take When Treating Migraines
If you have been suffering from severe headache for a while, you need to be conscious of changes in how often or harsh these symptoms get. Also, you need to check for these patterns and changes if you are over 40.
Often, these migraines come on suddenly and may be a symptom of an underlying health condition. At this point, you will need to talk to a medical practitioner.
Additionally, talk to a medical practitioner if you notice these symptoms for the first time:
- Headaches that are sudden and intense that stop you in motion suddenly.
- Very stiff neck, mental confusion, dizziness, and fever,
- Severe headaches after an injury or trauma,
- Headaches accompanied by a mild seizure, fainting, or double vision,
- Headaches that are unexplained and last for several days
If any trigger or other health conditions do not cause your migraine, seek professional help. This is especially important if you are over 50.
9 Best Migraine Remedies That Provide Instant Relief At Home
While many over the counter medications work to relieve headache symptoms, there are many potent natural treatments for it. This article contains nine migraine remedies that help to relieve symptoms naturally.
1. Eat an Anti-Inflammatory Diet
One of the biggest triggers for migraine symptoms is eating a poor diet that is full of unhealthy foods like processed food. These foods include refined grain products, red wine, added sugar, conventional dairy products, and chocolate.
Aged cheese, eggs, flavor enhancer, cold foods, the presence of nitrate in processed meat, high amount of sodium, and food additives can also worsen migraine headache pain.
To reduce, prevent, or treat migraine, you need to add foods rich in omega-3 fatty acid like seeds, nuts, and wild-caught fish to your diet. Also, eat foods high in magnesium, fresh fruits, vegetables, and healthy lean proteins to prevent migraine.
2. Use Essential Oils
Essential oils are potent for treating diverse conditions. They can also be used to get rid of migraine headaches. Essential oils are natural painkillers that help to reduce anxiety or stress levels. They also improve blood flow, reduce inflammation, balance hormones, and lessen muscular tension.
You can apply essential oils to the painful side of your head, neck, and any other body part to relieve stress and muscular tension. You can also add drops of your chosen essential oil to a heated towel or heating pad and place it on your head and neck for about 20 minutes.
The following essential oils are potent for migraine headache relief:
- Lavender Oil: It soothes stress and anxiety while improving the quality of sleep and reducing muscular tension. It has natural antidepressant properties and sedative qualities that keep you healthy.
- Frankincense Oil: This oil lowers inflammation and has various benefits, including balancing hormones, decreasing anxiety, and boosting overall immune function.
- Peppermint Oil: This essential oil has a natural cooling effect on the skin that reduces pain and lowers inflammation. It also prevents muscle contractions and boosts blood circulation in the head.
- Eucalyptus Oil: It improves the flow of blood and boosts your mood. The oil also removes toxins and harmful substances from the body, while lowering high blood pressure and pain.
- Rosemary Oil: It is beneficial for reducing pain by regulating the flow of blood. It also helps to lessen the withdrawal symptoms of medications and caffeine. Additionally, rosemary oil boosts digestion and soothes stomach upset.
3. Manage Stress And Sleep Well
Oversleeping or not getting enough sleep can cause an increase in migraine symptoms, a study posits. Stress on its own can lead to poor sleep, muscle tension, and create a change in blood flow.
To combat stress and improve sleep, stick to regular sleep, exercise, and eating pattern. This helps to keep your hormones balanced and blood sugar stable during the day. Also, add stress-relieving activities to your daily plan. This may include reading, exercising, meditation, acupuncture, or going outdoors.
You can also try cognitive behavioral therapy and other forms of psychotherapy for dealing with chronic pain, unhelpful behavior, and negative thoughts.
4. Acupressure
Acupressure is the application of pressure to certain parts of the body. It stimulates specific points of the body and is believed to ease muscle tension and soothe pain in these areas.
A popular pressure point is a space between the left thumb and index finger known as the LI-4 point. By applying firm circular pressure to this point for about 5 minutes, you may find relief from pain and headache.
A 2012 research on 40 people who suffer from migraine without aura found that acupressure is effective in treating migraine-associated nausea or vomiting. This conclusion was reached by applying pressure on the PC6 acupoint located three fingers up from the wrist and inside the arm.
5. Reduce Screen Time Or Exposure To Light
Another on our list of migraine remedies is to reduce screen time or direct light exposure. Once you notice that prolonged exposure to the blue light from electronic devices triggers a migraine headache, you should consider wearing blocking glasses.
If your trigger is sunlight or it worsens headaches, you need to start wearing sunglasses when stepping outdoors. You should especially go for sunglasses that are tinted green or blue as they are best for blocking UV rays from reaching your eyes.
6. Massage
Massaging the muscles of the neck and shoulders can help to ease tension and relieve migraine pain. It may also reduce stress. While most people prefer engaging a professional masseuse for this service, you can do a self-massage at home by rolling a tennis ball along your shoulders and back.
7. Use Ginger
Ginger is a popular remedy for alleviating nausea caused by several conditions like migraine. It also helps to sooth other symptoms of migraine. Research shows using ginger powder can help to reduce the severity of migraine and lessen the duration of it. All of these benefits with fewer side effects.
In a 2014 study conducted on 100 participants, the potency of ginger powder was compared with sumatriptan, a popular migraine prescription drug. The study found that the power of it was statistically comparable to that of the drug. Patients were also willing to use either method for further treatments.
Apart from an existing allergy, there is no side effect to using ginger for migraine headaches. This makes it an excellent home remedy.
8. Drink More Water
Dehydration is another popular trigger for migraine and headaches. As it only takes minor dehydration to cause headache, there is a need to drink a lot of water daily to ward off a dehydration-induced migraine. However, people with severe dehydration may need an oral rehydration solution to replace lost electrolytes.
9. Balance Your Hormones
A study posits that a significant risk factor of migraine headaches is when the body is experiencing hormonal changes like puberty. This can happen before a woman’s period, during pregnancy, or menopause.
Surveys also prove that young women usually experience their first bout of migraine as soon as they start having their menstrual cycles. It is also common for women in their first trimester of pregnancy or women during PMS.
To balance your hormones naturally, you will need to eat a healthy diet and exercise moderately. Additionally, use adaptogen herbs, avoid chemical toxins, and make sure to get enough rest.
Conclusion
If you’ve experienced a migraine, then you know how challenging the symptoms can be. It hampers your daily activities such that you may have to miss work or school and not participate in activities you love as a result.
Therefore, there is a need to find relief by trying the above migraine remedies. While using popular methods like medication to treat migraine may be unavoidable, there are several natural ways to prevent and heal migraine.
Besides, since these methods offer you so much health benefits without side effects, there is no reason you shouldn’t try them out now!
