You Got To Read This If You Are Having Frequent Headache

Migraine headaches are severe headaches that often begin in one area of the head and then spread to other ears. When a migraine strikes, it may seem like the worst pain in the world and you would do anything to stop it. The good thing regarding a migraine is that it is transient, that is the pain will go away after sometime.

A variety of headache closely related to the migraine is the cluster headache. The truth is almost everyone has had a headache at one point in his or her life. How bad are your headaches? Is it just a normal headache or it is a migraine headache? Read on to find out more.

The most important symptom you will probably have with your migraine headache is pain, and as you know, the pain can be very severe and last many hours. The exact cycle of events taking place in our brains during a migraine attack is still not fully understood. Approximately 25% of women and 8% of men suffer from migraine at some time in their lives. A migraine may remain at a "static" level that is tolerable, as long as the patient is not physically active, such as sitting at the office, or reading at home.

Migraine triggers are numerous and varied and occur in combinations peculiar to a individual. Triggers can be divided into different groups, including emotional triggers, stress, environmental, chemical, food and beverage. Migraine headache resulted from the expansion (or dilation) of blood vessels in the brain and scalp. Insufficient sleep, anxiety, problems, and worries give rise to the migraine headache. Staying up late or drinking too much coffee will bring on a headache every time. There are many possible triggers for migraines and they differ from one migraine sufferer to another. Stress, insomnia, over sleeping, and hunger may also trigger migraines.

What causes migraines is still somewhat of a mystery. Some even go to say that a migraine maybe caused by the end of a stressful situation. You may find it hard to avoid them, but for some people, environmental changes can trigger a migraine. Although the cause of migraine headaches is often undetermined, we do know that they present in different ways, and may involve different areas of the head and/or neck area.

Treatments of Migraine Headache

There are a lot of things you can do for yourself to help treat each of your migraine headaches. Some people find that by falling asleep, they can actually reduce the attack. Before you consider any treatment for your headaches, it is important that you make sure your diagnosis is indeed migraine

Crucial to the appropriate treatment of headache is the proper diagnosis of its type, and migraine headache is a particularly common form of recurring headache. Individuals with mild and infrequent migraine headaches that do not cause disability may require only OTC analgesics. Knowing what triggers attacks is a major step towards preventing them. People can avoid exacerbating aspects of Migraine by paying more attention to the triggering cause of the pain.

One of the most important aspects of headache treatment is your own control over your headache, and control starts with identifying your own triggers, and learning to avoid them. How migraine headaches are treated is usually determined by the frequency of the headaches. If the pain is severe, which it frequently is during a full-blown migraine attack, then you may need medication. Virtually all migraine therapies are designed to eliminate, or at least reduce, pain.

There are other alternative treatment options for migraine headaches. Some people put fingertip pressure on one of your temporal arteries, which are arteries you can feel on either side of your head near your temples. Other non-medication treatments include relaxation training; thermal or electromyographic (EMG) biofeedback, which is electrical activity recorded from small sensors attached to the scalp, mixed with relaxation training; and cognitive-behavioral treatments. Try putting a cold damp cloth on your forehead or temple (on the side that is painful), or deploy a frozen bag of peas wrapped in a small towel, as cold compresses can sometimes help with the pain.

Given so much options of treatments, there is no need to endure the pain. The good thing about a migraine is that it usually stops as people get older.

Cindy Heller is a professional writer. To learn more about different forms of frequent headaches, their cause, symptoms and remedy, visit http://www.frequentheadache.net/.

Read More

Say No To Migraine Headaches!

Are you a migraneur (one who suffers from migraine pain)? If you are, then you are most definitely aware of the intense throbbing headache that it brings and the disabling symptoms that accompany it!

The word “migraine” originated from the Greek work “hemicrania” which literally means “half of the head”. This is because classic migraine headaches usually affect one side of the head only, with the pain centering on the eye or temple. It can be accompanied by several other symptoms such as numbness or weakness, nausea or vomiting, dizziness and a marked sensitivity to light, noise, odors and touch.

Migraine headaches tend to affect the females more than the males. In fact for every four migraine sufferers, three would be females! It was also observed that migraine tends to run in the family so if you have a close relative who suffers from this debilitating condition, there is a great chance that you would, too.

What does a migraine headache feel like?

Those who have already suffered from migraine headaches describe the pain as a constant, intense throbbing pain that can literally knock you off your feet. Migraine headaches can be so disabling that you need to lie still in a dark quiet room and avoid even the slightest of stimulation to any of your primary senses to prevent the pain from worsening. Migraine headaches can also be accompanied by nausea and vomiting but in some cases, vomiting can actually help in relieving the pain.

Migraine headaches can hit you all of a sudden. However, if you are observant enough, you will notice a series of warning signs before the onset of the pain. These may include abrupt mood changes, food cravings, excessive yawning and speech or memory problems. You may also notice a change in your energy level and/or experience increased sensitivity.

A number of migraine sufferers may also experience visual disturbances, temporary vision problems and may feel a tingling sensation in their lips and hands. In some extreme cases; migraine headaches can even cause a person to hallucinate, go temporarily blind or be unable to speak!

When the headache finally ends, you may either feel more alive with your energy literally bursting at the seams or you may feel completely drained and washed out for about a day or so. Even your emotions may be affected – you may experience extreme mood changes from euphoria to depression in an instant!

Migraine headaches were observed to be triggered by a lot of different factors – from stress to a diet dominated by processed foods. You may not know it but you may be eating a lot of foods that can trigger the onset of migraine headaches. Among the most common culprits are the following:

• Dairy products such as buttermilk, chocolate milk, ripened cheeses, sour cream and yogurt
• Processed meat and fish such as bacon, bologna, corned beef, hotdogs, pickled herring, salami, sausages and smoked fish, among others
• Yeast breads and cakes
• Beverages that contain alcohol and caffeine
• Condiments such as MSG, soy sauce and vinegar
• Pickled foods

If you are prone to migraine headaches, you may also want to avoid certain fruits and vegetables such as avocado, banana, beans, citrus fruits and juices, nuts, onions, papaya, raisins and certain seeds (pumpkin, sesame and sunflower). They may just worsen the frequency and intensity of your migraine pains!

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Migraines

Read More

Overcoming Headache And Migraine Pain Using Self Hypnosis

Do you suffer from migraines? Do you know someone who suffers from migraines?

If you do, you are not alone! A whopping 15% of the population (UK) is plagued by fear of debilitating migraine attacks and the searing pain that goes with them.

Never knowing what's going to set off the attack and force a retreat away from noise and light means that life as a migraine sufferer can be ruled by this condition. It can dominate personal relationships and cause problems in the work environment too. Unfortunately, while every pharmacy is stocked with drug-based pain relief, these expensive band-aid solutions offer only temporary relief by masking the symptoms.

Not to mention the international pharmaceutical companies who make these band-aid solutions are actually relying on your pain and suffering to make their massive profits. At the end of the day it's in their interests to focus on temporary relief medications rather than a long term solution for migraine sufferers.

And of course there is the additional frustration for those of us who are trying to avoid polluting our bodies with chemicals and live a natural, healthier lifestyle but when it comes to a solution to crippling migraine pain what are the drug free alternatives? Fortunately, new medical research is starting to offer some effective non traditional treatment options.

And self-hypnosis is one remedy that's gaining more and more attention!

Using self-hypnosis techniques that have been around for more than 100 years, many migraine sufferers are starting to take control of their pain using the power of the mind!

A quality self-hypnosis program that is specifically designed to take you on a journey to becoming free from migraine pain will help you unlearn the old, sub conscious migraine triggers that you are probably not even aware you are harboring and give you access to an amazing resource which will give you the ability to control and ultimately banish migraines from your life.

The key to making self-hypnosis work for you is understanding that you need to re-educate your sub-conscious to understand your migraine triggers and channel the incredible power of your mind to re-program these triggers.

By taking ownership for our health and refocusing our own personal power we can open ourselves up to a natural path of healing. We have lost touch with the natural healing practices of times past, practices that were once common knowledge and our dependency on modern medicine is to blame. Western societies have been so quick to lay absolute faith in modern science to the exclusion of all other healing techniques but this just makes the pharmaceutical companies richer!

Self hypnosis is a legitimate, natural and effective technique available for migraine sufferers who are willing to embrace ownership and responsibility toward their own journey of pain relief.

It's lifestyle change... Much like using a healthy diet to keep weight gain in check, migraine suffers must commit to spending 20-30 minutes a day, for 30 days, using these techniques to stave off their headaches once and for all. But as any migraine sufferer will tell you, it's a small price to pay for a pain free life without fear of the next attack.

So if you suffer from migraines, self-hypnosis might be the answer you've been looking for.

Lisa Dyke has put together The Mind Training Series which is a high quality range of self hypnosis audio programs, for more information on natural migraine and headache pain relief please visit http://www.natural-migraine-relief.com

Read More

Natural Cures for Migraine Headaches

If you suffer from migraine headaches, you know all about the excruciating pain. They used to be called "sick headaches" because of the nausea and vomiting that are often associated with these kinds of severe headaches. This really unbearable pain can last for up to three days with little relief from taking plain aspirin or even stronger over-the-counter medicines. As a migraine sufferer you know that it gives warning before it strikes. You may experience blurry vision or see black spots or lines before your eyes.

Usually the headaches will be on one side of the head and often centered around one eye. Noise and light seem to be intolerable, and eating might be impossible. People sometimes will just go to bed with a migraine to try and lessen the pain. When the headache finally wears off, usually one to two days later, the sufferer will be pretty weak and shaken. After feeling normal again the person will usually feel alert and fine, until the next migraine strike occurs.

To understand about how to cure and lessen migraine pain, you first need to learn about what causes these terrific headaches. It has been said that migraines are associated with people who are perfectionists and drive themselves relentlessly in order to succeed. They will do this until they are totally exhausted, but they also feel triumphant from their work in the process. This is when many of the migraines will start up. Sometimes it just takes excitement, or even fright, to trigger the migraine.

A person with this type of high drive personality should be aware of what happens to their body when they push themselves beyond their physical capabilities. Before this person finally lets go to exhaustion, the migraine will already be starting to attack. The blood vessels start to shrink in the head, which doesn't let the blood circulate normally and leads to visual abnormalities. Then, when the person finally does let go of his exhaustion, the blood pressure rises. The blood vessels then start to dilate and the walls of the vessels swell. Then the brain produces and releases a stress enzyme. Soon the migraine headache starts with its unusually harsh throbbing and pain. Some time after, the digestive system starts to become upset. The migraine is full-fledged at this point.

There are several approaches to relieve a migraine, but the best one is to prevent it altogether. The high drive personality of a migraine sufferer is usually mostly to blame. This person should slow down in his stressful business and/or personal life. But when a migraine attack is inevitable, the person should not give into it by going to bed or abruptly slowing down his activities. If he or she gives into the headache slowly and not quickly, it will keep the blood vessels from over relaxing and therefore causing the first ebb and flow of the migraine. Fresh air, coffee, a massage and a heat lamp applied on the back of the neck can help to restore circulation and relieve the pain.

The nutritional approach can also help the sufferer. He or she should be eating a high vitamin, high mineral and high protein diet. Additional supplements should also be taken. The sufferer should check with his or her doctor before using any of these natural remedies for their migraine headache relief. Remember that migraines can be caused by lots of stress and also nutritional deficiencies. The sufferer needs to relax and start taking it easy (or easier!) and of course needs to eat a nutritional diet along with supplements. Prevention is the key for curing migraines!

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Migraine

Read More

Migraine Headaches - Eight Prevention Steps

Anyone who has experienced a migraine headache knows how debilitating they can be. Migraine headaches are characterized by extreme pain and pressure, usually over one eye or concentrated on one side of the head; sometimes they are accompanied by nausea and sensitivity to light. An episode can last anywhere from a few hours to a few days, and render a person incapable of functioning.

The price one pays while having a migraine headache is not limited to physical pain. According to a recent study, fiscal pain can be an unfortunate consequence, since headaches often result in multiple trips to the doctor and missed days of work or school.

How can migraine headache suffers find relief for the pain without breaking the bank? The study’s author suggests taking more preventative approaches. Such as:

• Decrease stress

• Affirm yourself: “I relax into the flow of life and let life provide all that I need easily and comfortably. Life is for me.”

• Decrease Caffeine--drink decaffeinated tea/coffee and eliminate all other drinks with caffeine

• Discover any food allergies and eliminate those foods

• Eat Right for Your (Blood) Type

• Maintain healthy body weight

• 7 to 8 hours of sleep – preferably at least 1 hour of sleep before midnight

• Exercising at least 2 times a week

Resource: Stang, P.E., Crown, W.H., Bizier, R., et al. “The Family impact and costs of migraine,” American Journal of Managed Care, May 2004:313-320.

Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD, author, speaker and inspiritional leader specializes in: Mind, Body, Spirit healing. Dr. Neddermeyer empowers people to view life's challenges as an opportunity for Personal/Professional Growth and Spiritual Awakening. http://www.drdorothy.net

Read More

What is a Migraine?

A migraine is an intense throbbing pain which often only affects part of the head and may involve nausea, vomiting, extreme pain, or vision disturbances. The pain may be felt behind the temples, or behind one eye or ear. Although migraines can occur at any time of day, they commonly begin in the morning. A migraine can last from several hours to several days.

The specific cause of migraines is unknown. Too much or too little sleep, lack of food, stress, hormonal changes in women, weather changes, bright lights and certain foods such as chocolate or red wine are thought to be triggers of a migraine attack. It is thought that constricted blood flow in the brain can bring on the pain.

Contrary to popular belief, a migraine is not actually a headache. A headache is just a symptom of the migraine. In some migraines, a headache is not present at all. Some people can predict the onset of a migraine as an aura, vision disturbances, zigzag lines, or temporary vision loss may precede it. Sometimes the symptoms can begin as early as 24 hours before the migraine attack. Many people also report feeling irritable, depressed, or hyper.

Twenty-five percent of all people and 15% of Americans, suffer from migraines. More women than men suffer from this condition. Migraines affect younger people more often than older. Boys and girls younger than 10 suffer equally from migraines. After the age of 12 and after puberty, three times as many girls suffer from migraines than boys. Although migraines can occur up to 10 times a month or more, the average is 1 to 2 a month. Caucasians experience migraines more often than Asians or African Americans. Family history also plays a role in migraines. Over half of migraine suffers have a parent with migraines.

Everyone is different and it is important for each individual to pay attention to the triggers associated with their own migraines. Keeping a diary is recommended to track the foods, weather and other events leading up to a migraine. Avoiding these triggers is the best way to prevent a migraine. Other methods physicians recommend are getting regular exercise, eating a healthy diet on a regular basis, lowering stress and establishing regular sleep patterns.

There are several common methods to treat a migraine. Lying in a dark room is one common way to alleviate the pain. Small doses of caffeine have been known to help treat a migraine, but large doses can be triggers. Over the counter drugs such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or aspirin can help with migraine pain. Doctors can also prescribe stronger drugs called ergotamines or triptans. Putting an ice pack at the back of the skull will lessen the blood flow to the head and provide instant relief. An icepack on the head directly where the pain is felt can also be helpful. Sleep is another way to get through a migraine.

If migraines become more frequent or more painful, it is important to discuss treatment with a physician. Fortunately migraines tend to decrease with age.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Headaches

Read More