A migraine headache can ruin your day--and if it's not treated successfully, you may still be suffering several days later. Although there are prescription drugs available to ease your pain, sometimes migraines respond well to treatments you can do yourself, as well as to over-the-counter medications.
Instructions
1. Notice the early warning signs of a migraine. You may notice as early as half an hour before the onset of pain that you're experiencing signs of a classic migraine. These signs include sensing an "aura" or experiencing visual disturbances such as spots or blurred vision. However, most migraines are not classic migraines. Most chronic migraines are called "common" migraines. Common migraines, as opposed to classic migraines, do not start with visual disturbances. Usually, they begin with a dull throbbing on one side of the head. Other symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, dizziness, disorientation and fatigue.
2. Stop what you're doing and start treatment. Leave work, if you can. Slip away from that social engagement. Turn off that computer or TV. Catch the migraine early, because the longer you engage in mental or physical activity, the worse it's likely to get. And the earlier you attend to the migraine and begin to treat it, the more successful the treatment will be.
3. Medicate your migraine with an anti-inflammatory over-the-counter medication. Some pain relievers that may help include ibuprofen, aspirin and acetaminophen, but check with your doctor about what medicine is appropriate for you. There are also over-the-counter pain relievers formulated especially for migraine that combine several painkilling ingredients.
4. Take ginger root capsules. Not an anti-inflammatory, ginger root nevertheless helps with nausea. You may find ginger helps particularly if you are experiencing stomach upset.
5. Drink a cup of coffee. Although the caffeine in coffee may at times be a trigger that causes migraine, sometimes it may also reduce the pain of a migraine. Other than coffee, resist the temptation to eat or drink any of the other common trigger foods, which could make the migraine worse. Among possible triggers are MSG (monosodium glutamate), chocolate, peanuts, citrus fruits, cultured dairy products, meats treated with sodium nitrate--including hot dogs, cold cuts and bacon--and red wine.
6. Reduce the inflammation using one or all of these methods:Apply a cold compress or ice pack to your head, neck and shoulders wherever there is pain and tenderness. Besides providing instant relief, this gets the blood flowing away from your head. If the migraine is just beginning, plunge your hands and arms up to the elbows in water as hot as you can comfortably take it. You might be able to stave off the migraine if you can get the blood flowing away from your head and into your hands. Alternatively, take a hot, shallow bath--not so hot that you scald yourself--and immerse only your lower body, so the blood flows away from your head. Why these treatments? Migraines are vascular headaches that involve the expanding of blood vessels in your head. When you get the blood to flow away from the head, you help those blood vessels return back to normal--and that means easing your pain.
7. Rest in a place free from noise, bright lights and smells. Unplug the phone. Lower the blinds. Ask the rest of your household not to disturb you except to check on you occasionally. Many people who suffer from migraines are highly sensitive to intense sounds, light and smells. Rest in at least a semi-upright position. This prevents blood rushing to your face and making the migraine worse.
Tags: away from, your head, away from your, from your, from