10 Things You Didn’t Know About Migraine Triggers…

Migraine:

Migraine is a primary headache disorder characterized by recurrent headaches that are moderate to severe and last from a few hours to 3 days. The pain is generally made worse by physical activity and triggers pain.

Associated symptoms may include nausea, vomiting. The initial recommended treatment is with simple pain medication. Globally, approximately 15% of people are affected by migraines.

In this article, we discuss the Underlying causes of Migraine, Migraine Symptoms, Migraine Triggers, Migraine Remedies, Treatments and Relief, and few simple steps to get rid of them. We also explore how these are identified, treated, and prevented.

Migraine Symptoms and Treatments:

Migraines cause pain the same as the pain of injuries or even worse sometimes Medication is a proven way to both treat and prevent migraines.

But medication is only part of the story. It’s also important to take good care of yourself and understand how to cope with migraine pain when it strikes.

There are some natural and home remedies for Migraines:

At the first sign of a migraine, take a break and step away from whatever you’re doing if possible.

• Try to turn off the lights and sound. Relax in a dark, quiet room. Sleep if you can. Bright light even from your computer screen can cause Migraine headaches.
• Apply hot or cold compresses to your head or neck. Ice packs have a numbing effect, which may dull the sensation of pain the same as hot packs and heating pads can relax tense muscles. If you have a tension headache, place a heating pad on your neck or the back of your head.
• Ease Pressure on Your Scalp or Head. headaches” can also be brought on by wearing a hat, headband, or even swimming goggles that are too tight.
• Try not to chew too much, chewing gum can hurt and cause even worse pain. Avoid crunchy and sticky foods, and make sure you take small bites.
• Get Some Caffeine drink like tea, coffee, or something with a little caffeine in it, It can also help over-the-counter pain relievers.
• Practice Relaxation is very important like yoga, meditation, or progressive muscle relaxation can help a lot, and learning how to chill out when you’re in the middle of a headache can help with the pain relievers.
• Taking Meds by consulting a doctor for pain relievers for all kinds of headaches is also good they may work, but to get the most benefit with the least risk, follow the directions on the label and these guidelines:
• Choose liquid over pills. Your body absorbs it faster.
• Take painkillers as soon as you feel pain. You’ll likely beat it with a smaller dose.
• If you get sick to your stomach when you get a headache, ask your doctor what might help.

Migraine Triggers and Treatments:

There are several migraine triggers, such as Stress, Drinks, Irregular Sleep schedule, Physical factors, Weather changes, Medications, including Hormonal changes in women.

Fluctuations in estrogen, such as before or during menstrual periods, pregnancy, and menopause, seem to trigger headaches in many women.

Several studies have now linked migraines with an increased risk for suicide attempts and even completed suicide. The risk may be even higher among people with migraine with aura or the flashes of light and other sensory symptoms that can accompany the headaches.

It’s not clear why migraines and suicide are related, but depression and migraine share similar biology.

Your medication could be making migraines worse, although drugs are meant to help ease the pain of migraines, in some cases this strategy can backfire–badly.

Migraine triggering factors:

Too-frequent use of migraine medications can result in triggering Migraine.

Weather-related factors such as barometric pressure and humidity, both of which have been linked with migraines in the past, couldn’t explain all of the elevated risks.

The study authors speculated that electromagnetic waves from the lightning could be triggering the headaches or that lightning might increase the production of ozone or fungus spores, either of which might spur a migraine.

Serious healths problems are also linked with Migraines People with migraines have an elevated risk of stroke and of other cardiovascular problems when compared with the general population.

A drop in your stress level can also bring on a migraine Research actually found a 20% higher risk of migraines after someone’s mood changed from sad or nervous to happy or relaxed.

These “let-down” migraines may be caused by a sudden, dramatic drop in hormones. How to reduce the likelihood of being let down in this way?

Try to avoid peaks of stress in the first place. If it’s finals week, do some yoga or take copious breaks.

Sex can also trigger a migraine that’s right. Intense physical exertion, including sexual activity and sometimes even just arousal, can actually cause a migraine. Normally this type of migraine is more common in young or mid-life men.

Tips for managing the most common Migraine triggers:

Migraine Trigger  Stress –

Stress is a trigger for almost 70% of people with migraines, and one study revealed that 50-70% of people had a significant association between their daily stress level and their daily migraine activity.

Try to avoid peaks of stress in the first place to stay happy or relaxed.

Sleep schedule-

The connection between migraine and sleep is undeniable. Sleep renews and repairs all parts of the body—including the brain—so it makes sense that when your sleep schedule becomes irregular, you are more prone to migraine attacks.

So u need to make a sleep schedule is very important.

Hormones-

Women are three times more likely to have migraines than men, and up to 75% of women find that they experience attacks around the time of their menstrual period.

This is called “menstrual migraine,” occurring only during a women’s period due to the change in estrogen and progesterone levels.

Fluctuations in estrogen, such as before or during menstrual periods, pregnancy, and menopause, seem to trigger headaches in many women.

Caffeine and Alcohol-

Many people find their migraine symptoms are heightened after consuming caffeine or alcohol. Limit and know your limits when it comes to alcohol consumption.

If you are experiencing the warning signs and symptoms of a migraine attack after drinking alcohol, take your acute (as needed) medication immediately.

Weather Changes-

Storms, excessive heat, and changes in barometric pressure are common weather-related migraine triggers that can lead to a migraine attack.

We can’t control the weather, so if the current conditions are not favorable for your migraine, stay inside, or adjust your schedule accordingly.

Diet-

If you can identify specific food triggers, be sure to avoid them as much as possible. Many people also adopt a migraine diet that eliminates foods and ingredients known to trigger a migraine.

You can read more about how to make this lifestyle change in our resource library.

Dehydration-

About 1/3 of people with migraines say dehydration is a trigger, and for some, even the slightest hint of dehydration can be the fast track to debilitating head pain.

Dehydration affects the body on all levels and can cause dizziness, confusion, and can even become a medical emergency.

Light-

For many migraine patients, natural light is the enemy Both natural, bright light and fluorescent or flickering bulbs are problematic, making it difficult to spend time outside or be in an office environment.

Smell-

Some odors may activate certain nerve receptors in the nasal passages that may trigger a migraine attack or make worse one that already started.

Avoid perfumes, strong food smells, chemicals, or gasoline.

Migraine-Trigger Foods List:

Even though we’d hate to take the fun out of even more of your favorite foods, we should let you know about these other potential migraine trigger foods.

These foods are commonly reported as Top migraine triggers.

Excessive Coffee-

Research shows that excessive caffeine consumption can trigger migraines, cutting back on coffee can help reduce migraines.

Red Wine-

Studies confirm that alcoholic beverages are a common trigger, with certain chemicals in alcohol like tyramine and histamine believed to be the problem.

Red wine, a commonly-reported trigger, contains a lot of histamines.

Aged Cheeses-

Unfortunately for cheese lovers, this delicacy can also be a trigger for migraine symptoms. Blue cheese, brie, cheddar, Swiss, feta, mozzarella, and most other common cheeses are good to avoid.

Chocolate-

Chocolate can also sabotage your chances of avoiding migraines. One study found that, compared to a placebo, chocolate triggered a migraine in 42% of its subjects.

Citrus Fruits-

While eating lots of fresh fruit is a great way to avoid migraines (and stay healthy!), you might want to be careful with citrus fruits.

While some people say oranges, grapefruits, lemons, and limes give them migraines, they’re not as common a trigger as some of the other foods on this list.

Aspartame and Other Artificial Sweeteners-

If you’ve got a sweet tooth, listen up: Research suggests that artificial sweeteners like aspartame commonly found in Diet Coke and other calorie-free drinks may increase the risk of migraine headaches.

Yeast-

Foods that contain yeast—like sourdough bread and fresh-baked goods like donuts, cakes, and bread—have been known to trigger migraines.

The sneaky ingredient is (you guessed it) tyramine, the same culprit found within alcohol and cheese.

Monosodium Glutamate (a.k.a. MSG)-

It is a flavor enhancer used in a variety of processed foods, like frozen or canned foods, soups, snacks, seasoning, and more.

MSG is no more likely to cause a headache or migraine than placebo, but many of the migraine sufferers say that MSG is a trigger for them.

Processed and cured meats-

Cured and processed meats (think: bacon, sausage, ham, and deli meats) often include nitrites and nitrates, known migraine triggers used to preserve their color and flavor.

Nuts and Certain Seeds-

Addicted to almond butter? Prepare for some bad news: almonds, peanuts, and many other nuts and seeds contain tyramine, and you know what that means.

Like all triggers, not all sufferers are sensitive to nuts, so trial and error may be the key to figuring them out.

A Few More Potential Migraine Trigger Foods:

• Avocados.
• Chicken livers and other organ meats.
• Dairy products like buttermilk, sour cream, and yogurt.
• Dried fruits like dates, figs, and raisins.
• Garlic.
• Most beans including lima, fava, navy, pinto, garbanzo, lentils, and snow peas.
• Onions.
• Pickled foods like olives, sauerkraut, and, of course, pickles.
• Potato chips.
• Some fresh fruits like ripe bananas, papaya, red plums, raspberries, kiwi, and pineapple.
• Smoked or dried fish.
• Tomato-based products (including pizza!).

Learning and avoiding your personal migraine triggers, managing your symptoms, practicing preventive methods, following your doctor’s advice, and reporting any significant changes as soon as they occur usually results in the best outcome for persons experiencing a migraine.

What is a Migraine Trigger Point?

A trigger point is a place on a patient’s face, neck, or scalp that is linked to the onset of migraine pain. Typically, a patient refers to a migraine trigger point as the “starting from” area associated with a migraine.

A migraine trigger point sometimes causes tenderness when an individual puts pressure on it, too.

What causes Migraines in Males?

Everyone experiences their own migraine triggers, but a primary cause of migraine in men is physical exertion. This can range from walking up the stairs to intense exercise.

Research also shows a link between migraine and an increased risk of heart disease in men.

What causes Migraines in Females?

There are a number of triggers, including Hormonal changes in women. Fluctuations in estrogen, such as before or during menstrual periods, pregnancy, and menopause, seem to trigger headaches in many women.

Why keep a Migraine Diary?

Recording details of your migraine attacks can be useful in:

• Helping the doctor make a firm diagnosis
• Helping you recognize trigger factors and warning signs
• Assessing if your acute or preventive medication is working.

The Migraine Chart may include information on:

• when the symptoms such as headache started
• how often they occur
• where the pain is
• the type of pain (throbbing, piercing, etc)
• if there are other symptoms (such as being sick or having vision problems) how long the attacks last
• what treatment you take
• How effective treatment is (or isn’t).

It is helpful to have a Migraine Tracker and record as many aspects of daily life as possible, such as:

• what and when you eat (think about missed or delayed meals)
• The medication you take for other conditions
• vitamins or any health products you take
• how much sleep you have
• exercise you take
• social and work activities
• other factors, such as the weather
• Women should record details of their menstrual cycle.

It is often useful to note if you did anything different prior to the attack such as missing a meal. The 6-8 hours before the migraine attack are particularly important to record.

Monthly diary

By keeping this diary over a period of 2 or 3 months you may see a pattern in your migraine attacks.

The effect of different aspects of your lifestyle on your migraine may also become clear, and you may identify your trigger factors so you can try to avoid or minimize them.

Migraine attack Record:

This is useful if you want to keep more detailed information about each attack you have.

You can use this in conjunction with the monthly record to give more detailed information about each migraine attack.

Record of drugs:

With any drug treatment, you should keep a record of the medications you are taking.

This will give you an idea about the type of Migraine Tablets that works best for you.

Keeping a headache diary is a good way to figure out the association between triggers, your lifestyle, and headache,” says Robert Cowan, MD, professor of neurology and chief of the division of headache medicine at Stanford University in California.

Headache diary:

“With a headache diary, you’ll start to see a pattern, such as you get migraines on weekends or in the afternoon. If you take migraine medication, you record this in your diary.”

If you get migraines, you know the symptoms can be challenging to cope with. You might miss work or not be able to participate in the activities you love. Try the above remedies and find some relief.

Living with migraines is a daily challenge. But making healthy lifestyle choices can help.

Ask your friends and loved ones for support. If you’re feeling anxious or depressed, consider joining a support group or seeking counseling. Believe in your ability to take control of the pain…

Remember, everyone’s experience with migraine and migraine triggers is different.

Don’t feel embarrassed when talking to your doctor or headache specialist about your triggers—it will help them give you a proper diagnosis and start the best treatment plan for your symptoms.

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