Migraine Headaches - Leading Alternative and Traditional Treatments

To learn about identifying migraines and migraine headache treatment, keep reading.

About Migraines and Their Causes

Migraines affect approximately one in six people across the country and are defined essentially as a headache that prevents you from carrying on your day-to-day life. In ...To learn about identifying migraines and migraine headache treatment, keep reading.

About Migraines and Their Causes

Migraines affect approximately one in six people across the country and are defined essentially as a headache that prevents you from carrying on your day-to-day life. In general, women are more susceptible to migraines. It's also believed that migraines are genetic and may run in the family.

Migraines are believed to be caused by the release of the chemical serotonin into the bloodstream. Exactly what causes this to happen is still unknown. However, various factors have been identified that may trigger attacks in migraine-susceptible people, including stress, poor diet, environmental issues, fatigue and hormones like estrogen.

Diagnosing a Migraine

The most obvious symptom of a migraine is the throbbing and almost unbearable pain behind your eyes. Most migraine sufferers complain that they're extra sensitive to light, smell and various sounds - often wishing they could escape to a dark and quiet room. Some migraine suffers complain of nausea and vomiting as well.

How Migraines are Treated

Most migraines are treated on an as-needed basis, meaning once the pain occurs then a treatment is sought. Typically, migraine sufferers reach for an acetaminophen or strong pain killer.

However, using drugs to dull the symptoms of a migraine is not a truly beneficial treatment. Instead, sufferers should focus on identifying the cause of their migraines and preventing them from occurring.

The most common preventive method is to eliminate foods that may trigger migraines like caffeine (in any form), alcohol, nitrites, coffee and cheeses. In addition to eliminating these foods, you should also focus on increasing your magnesium aspartate and Vitamin B levels.

After diet improvement, migraine sufferers should focus on stress reduction. Whether they practice meditative breathing or start taking yoga classes, these can all help to reduce stress levels and therefore reduce the instances of the headache attacks.

Butterbur Root

When taken twice a day over a period of time, Butterbur root has been proven to be effective in preventing migraines. However, because certain kinds of butterbur root can be toxic to the kidneys and liver, you should look for a variety that's approved for long-term use. Common side effects of butterbur include itchy or dry eyes, diarrhea and nausea.

Feverfew

Though originally intended to treat colds and flus, feverfew has caught on as an effective migraine headache treatment. It's also used to help with menopausal symptoms.

Not only can feverfew prevent the instances of a migraine headache, but it can also alleviate the symptoms as they happen.