Alternative Approaches to Treating Headaches and Migraines
Those who suffer from migraines will do anything for fast, effective relief. However, many people are concerned with the potential side effects of many of the ‘mainstream’ treatments used to treat it, such as prescription drugs. This means many of them are turning to Complementary and Alternative Medicines (CAM) to help with their headaches and migraines.
Headaches and migraines differ in a number of ways. About 37 million Americans suffer from migraine. However, it is important to note that the Headache Foundation estimates that around 50% of people who have migraines don’t even realize it. This being the case, in this guide, we will be looking at a range of approaches to treating headache which should also be effective for migraine.
Triggers
Before we get started, it is important to note that headaches and migraines in particular can be triggered by a range of known causes. They are:
• Food
• Food additives
• Feeling Hungry
• Alcohol use
• Caffeine use
• Tobacco use
• Stress
• High blood pressure
• Bright lights
• Loud music and other extreme noises
• Strong smells
• A lack of high-quality sleep
• Physical factors
• Changes in the environment
• Medications
• Hormonal changes
Types of Headaches
It is also important to note that there are different kinds of headaches, such as:
• Tension
• Cluster
• Sinus
• Rebound
All headaches can be described as neurological issues that result from a person’s activities of daily living (ADLs), environment, and lifestyle choices, such as smoking tobacco, drinking alcohol, especially red wine, and/or consuming a lot of caffeine.
Avoiding the triggers on the list above can help. So too can going to a doctor and perhaps a headache specialist and/or neurologist can also help you figure out which kinds of headaches you have and anything special you can do to treat them.
Journaling
Keeping a headache diary can also help. Share it with your doctor so you can track your patterns. Also make notes about what you did to try to relieve the pain, and whether or not it worked. It can be a case of trial and error, but making note of your successes might help lessen the frequency of you headaches, or their pain and duration.
There are many different CAM available. Choose the best ones for you in terms of time commitment, cost, the amount of effort involved, whether or not it is covered by your insurance, and what degree of relief it gives you. Again, keep track of all your results in your headache diary. You should soon be able to create a headache prevention routine you can live with.
