Beat the Pain: How to Alleviate Migraine Symptoms
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That pounding headache leaving you bedridden might be more than just a headache.
Migraines are more common than you might think. In fact, migraines are the third most prevalent illness in the world. An average of one in four households has a member who suffers from them.
A migraine attack can be debilitating, to say the very least. There are notable differences that distinguish migraine symptoms from those of an ordinary headache. Although there is no prescribed method for getting rid of them entirely, there is still hope for those who consistently suffer from migraine symptoms.
If you suffer from migraines, there are ways to beat the pain and even prevent it from coming back. Read on to learn all about migraines and what you can do to keep them at bay.
What is a Migraine?
A migraine is an extremely intense, pounding headache that is often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, vision problems, and light sensitivity. For many people, symptoms develop in stages, sometimes even days before a headache starts.
Migraine symptoms tend to start off as a dull ache that gradually gets worse until it becomes full-on throbbing pain. Pain can localize to one side of the head or it can shift between sides. Or it can feel like the entire head is pounding.
Once a migraine fully develops, many sufferers begin to experience problems with appetite, as well as nausea and vomiting. These often become worse when attempting any kind of physical activity.
Here are the most common migraine symptoms:
- Sensitivity to lights, smells, sounds, or other stimuli
- Fatigue
- Irritability
- Sudden mood changes
- Changes in appetite
- Extreme thirst
- Bloating
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Constipation
- Diarrhea
Migraine symptoms can last anywhere from 4 to 72 hours, or even longer in severe cases. Once symptoms subside, the sufferer is typically wiped out, weak, and still feeling residual changes in appetite.
Migraine Aura Symptoms
One of the defining characteristics of migraine symptoms is the accompanying problems involving vision. These originate in the nervous system, often starting slowly and gradually becoming more severe.
Here are the most common migraine aura symptoms:
- Hallucinations, such as light flashes, dots, lines, or other visuals
- Tunnel vision
- Temporary blindness
- Inability to speak clearly
- Ringing in the ears
- Tingling or numbness in extremities, sometimes localized to one side of the body.
In addition to these visual changes, migraine symptoms can also bring on a notable change in your other senses, mainly taste, touch, and smell. The changes can occur suddenly and, in some cases, can happen long before the migraine attack.
Chronic Migraines
If you’re suffering from 15 or more headache days in a single month, then this means you are experiencing chronic migraines. Although there are no complete cures, there are still things you can do to lessen the frequency of migraine symptoms.
One of the best things you can do is keep a journal of your headaches. Migraine symptoms have typical triggers, such as loud noises and stress, but could something else be triggering yours? Tracking them will help put this into perspective.
For example, you could be eating or drinking something that your body isn’t agreeing with. Or, if you’re stressed or not sleeping properly, that could also be a possible cause. Once you’ve spotted these consistencies in your journal, you can start working out what your triggers are and how you can avoid them.
Preventing Migraine Symptoms
Although migraines can’t be cured or avoided entirely, there are still ways to proactively manage them with basic prevention.
Along with avoiding your specific triggers, here are some methods for preventing migraine symptoms:
- Avoid bright lights and/or loud noises. Especially when combined, these intense stimuli can trigger migraine symptoms.
- Watch the weather. Intense changes in atmospheric pressure, such as rainy days, can bring on a migraine.
- Manage your stress levels.
- Eat healthy. Avoid sugar and processed foods.
- Do not skip meals.
- Get plenty of physical activity.
- Regulate your sleep schedule.
- Track your caffeine intake. Too much (or too little) can often bring on migraine symptoms.
Modifying your lifestyle to avoid triggers is a big part of managing migraine symptoms, or even preventing them altogether.
However, some triggers are unavoidable, such as hormone-related triggers. For example, many women who suffer from migraines often experience them during their menstrual cycle. Hormonal birth control is another possible cause.
Even when you can’t avoid triggers, you can still track them and plan accordingly. By incorporating these precautions into your lifestyle, you can enjoy more headache-free days.
Migraine Medication
There are many kinds of migraine medication out there that can help treat, and also prevent, migraine symptoms.
For example, Aspro is backed by many migraine sufferers. These effervescent tablets dissolve in water and are capable of being absorbed quickly by the body, offering fast relief.
Here are some other quality brands of migraine medication to look out for:
- Cafergot
- Calan
- Compazine
- Evorel
- Gedarel
- Hcg/Fertigyn
- Hcg/Hucog
- Imigran
- Imitrex
- Inderal
- Lamictal
- Manerix
- Maxalt
- Migrex
- Naproxen
- Neurontin
- Nuromol
- Panadol
- Relpax
- Serc/Zevert
- Sumatriptan
- Topamax
- Yasmin
- Zofrin
- Zomig
In addition to these, you can try general pain medications like ibuprofen or aspirin. Formulas with added caffeine have also proven to be effective in a number of cases.
Since no two migraine sufferers are exactly alike, you may need to experiment with medications before finding the one that works for you. Just be patient, be proactive, and trust that there is an end in sight.
Get Migraine Relief Today
Migraines can steal days away, leaving you lying in the dark and desperately waiting for relief.
Although they can be extreme, and sometimes unavoidable, migraine symptoms don’t have to completely take over your life. With the right preventative measures and migraine medication, you can enjoy more time spent without a terrible headache.
Now that you know more about migraines, as well as how to treat and prevent them, you can start experiencing relief today.
For relief from migraines and other pain, shop our full selection of pain relief products.
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