Migraine headaches plague roughly 1 billion people around the globe and are the sixth most disabling disease in the world. Luckily, several migraine headache treatments can help.
Here we look at different types of migraine headache treatments that can alleviate the pain and severity of migraines and even stop them.
Migraine Headache Treatments: Dietary Changes
What we eat affects us in more ways than we realize. Some foods and beverages can even trigger migraines in some people. For example, alcoholic drinks are known to cause headaches, as can caffeine, although interestingly, caffeine is also used in several migraine headache treatments.
Other possible triggers that may cause migraines include aged cheese, processed meats, aspartame, monosodium glutamate, citrus fruits, gluten, and chocolate. Skipping a meal or fasting can also create a migraine headache.
If you are experiencing frequent headaches, you should keep a calendar on hand to track your migraines to see if there are changes throughout the day, week, or month. This will help you understand any trends that may be occurring.
Migraine Headache Treatments: Medication
There are both medical and natural migraine headache treatments. On the medical side, you can do several things for migraine treatment. There are over-the-counter medications that might ease your migraines, such as Advil, Tylenol, or Aspirin. There are also targeted migraine headache treatments you can get over-the-counter such as Excedrin Migraine, which contains aspirin, acetaminophen, and caffeine. Then there are prescription medications like eletriptan (Relpax), zolmitriptan (Zomig, Zomig-ZMT), naratriptan (Amerge), and almotriptan (Axert), among others.
Botox injections are also proven as a chronic migraine headache treatment.
Migraine Headache Treatments: Natural Remedies
On the natural spectrum of migraine headache treatments, there are numerous, albeit unproven, options. Relaxation techniques like yoga, tai chi, meditation, and breathing exercises can help reduce tension and alleviate migraine headaches, especially for people who get stress headaches.
Acupuncture may also be useful as a migraine headache treatment. Acupuncture can assist in migraine relief by restoring energy flow, disrupting blockages, and relaxing your muscles. Some people believe the effect acupuncture has on migraines is mainly a placebo effect, but those who have found long-lasting relief from this treatment continue to tout its benefits.
Using an ice pack on specific pressure points, taking vitamins (particularly B2) daily, and drinking herbal teas throughout the day are other natural migraine headache treatments. According to recent research from the American Academy of Neurology, butterbur root extract can be used as a treatment for migraine headaches.
If you continue to have regular migraines and can’t seem to find any reason or rhyme, speak with your physician about migraine headache treatments available to you.
Original source: http://findquickanswers.com/treat-migraine-headaches/
Featured image: DepositPhotos – Maridav
