Remedicated

Anyone who has ever had a migraine knows that the pain is unlike any other type of pain. A migraine can last for many hours or even days, and it often includes other physical symptoms. Dizziness, vision disturbances, and sensitivity to light and sound are common symptoms that accompany migraines.

There are plenty of prescription drugs to control migraines, but most of them require you to take them every day, whether you have a headache or not. For migraine sufferers who try to avoid excess medications, this option doesn’t seem like the wisest way to manage migraines. There are more natural ways to deal with the agony of migraines - and they don’t involve daily injections or mountains of pills.

1. Keep a journal of the foods you eat and your migraine symptoms. You may find a correlation between certain foods and migraines. Some of the most common offenders: chocolate, red wine, caffeine, and artificial sweeteners.

2. For some people, caffeine is a trigger. For others, it’s a treatment. When you feel a migraine creeping up on you, try drinking a cup of coffee or a caffeinated soda. You may feel the pain receding.

3. When the migraine has already started to take hold of you, try to get to a dark and quiet place as soon as possible. Put in earplugs, cover your eyes so no light reaches your face, and lie down. The absence of sound and light works wonders for many migraine sufferers. A nap may also help, so if you find yourself drifting off in the dark don’t fight it!

4. See a dentist. Some migraines are actually a result of temporomandibular jaw (TMJ) disorder.

5. Ginger, taken raw, in a tea, or even in cookie form, may help arrest the increase of migraine pain once a headache has begun.

6. Relax. Many headaches are caused by tension. If you are prone to migraines, tense facial muscles can bring on one of the painful episodes.

Experimentation is necessary when you’re finding a migraine treatment that works for you. Every sufferer is different, and every migraine is different. Keeping records of your symptoms can help you to figure out exactly what works best for you.

It’s estimated that over 29.5 million Americans suffer from migraines. If you have ever experienced one of these headaches, you are familiar with the misery that they cause. Migraine sufferers often feel desperate to find an effective treatment. What works for one person may have no effect on the next person, so many people may go through several different treatments before discovering one that works for them.

There are a few natural migraine treatments that have been used successfully and somewhat reliably by migraine sufferers. These natural treatments are often preferred over pharmaceutical treatments because their side effects are generally less severe.

One of the oldest natural migraine treatments is the herb feverfew. This herb has been preferred over other natural migraine treatments for centuries and is said to be extremely effective. It may have some unpleasant side effects, though, so do your homework before trying this natural migraine treatment.

Other natural migraine treatments include healthy doses of magnesium, vitamin B12, and fish oil. These food-based natural migraine treatments work more as prevention than treatment, but they can be extremely helpful in the long term. They do not come with side effects, but care should be taken to avoid overdosing on any one vitamin or mineral.

Not all natural migraine treatments have to be ingested, though. Some of the best natural migraine treatments are external. Acupuncture, chiropractic adjustments, and massage therapy are some of the most effective natural migraine treatments for both long term and short term relief. There’s nothing quite like a soothing and gentle massage to ease away the stress of a migraine!

As more migraine sufferers choose natural migraine treatments over medical treatments, these natural migraine treatments become more mainstream and readily available to all of us. Try them for long term or short term relief and decide for yourself whether they can provide relief that’s on a par with medicinal treatments.