When pain starts budding in the head, we often immediately conclude it’s just a headache. But sometimes, the pain intensifies, and other troublesome arises, which adds up as evidence that it’s not a typical headache.
You may not know it, but you might suffer from migraine pain. I’d like to help you with ways to manage migraine pain because nobody deserves to suffer.
What to Do About Migraines
What Is Migraine and How Is It Different From Headaches?
According to Drs. Michael Teixido and John Carey, “Migraine is a common clinical problem characterized by episodic attacks of head pain and associated symptoms such as nausea, sensitivity to light, sound, or head movement.” It means that it is common for migraine to come back and persist.
Headache is typically mistaken as a migraine, but there are suggestive ways to distinguish which one is which. It is better to know what type of head pain you’re having so you can better treat it.
Headache
Experiencing pain or discomfort around the head or face area indicates a headache. The pressure changes from dull, sharp, throbbing, or constant. It can either be caused primarily or secondarily. Different triggers can initiate the aching.
Headache is a predominant illness that affects all ages. Everyone, for once in our lives, has already gone through it. The pain level varies for every person or every condition, but we can assume that it can be a sign of an underlying condition.
While headaches are not really dangerous and can be generally treated by over-the-counter medicines or a good rest, there are cases of chronic headaches that require attention to be addressed appropriately.
The existing types of headaches are classified into two major categories: primary and secondary headaches.
Primary headaches are induced by over-activity of the head’s pain-sensitive features or dysfunction. This type of headache is certainly not a symptom of an underlying condition. For other people, they consist of genes that heavily affect the development of primary headaches.
Among the many types of primary headaches, some of what’s commonly experienced include:
- Cluster headache
- Tension-type headache
- Migraine
As mentioned earlier, the primary headache is the type of headache that is often brought about by different triggers such as situations or lifestyle factors.
Some of the triggers include:
- Sleep deficiency or changes in sleeping patterns
- Skipping meals
- Coughing, blowing your nose, sneezing, or even excessive laughing or crying sometimes
- Physical activities
- Nicotine consumption
- Hormonal changes
- Emotions such as fatigue, stress, or excitement
While primary headaches are not hazardous, they can still reach a point where the pain can be extremely uncomfortable and it may affect our daily lives.
Secondary headaches are necessitated by an underlying condition which means experiencing this headache is considered a symptom of an illness. You don’t have to fret as it isn’t as dangerous as other illnesses most of the time.
Some known underlying conditions that trigger a secondary headache include:
- Sinus
- Dehydration
- Over-medication
But don’t be too complacent. There are cases of secondary headaches happening because of a more serious or possibly life-threatening underlying condition.
Migraine
Migraine is a type of primary headache that manifests severe headaches that starts from one side of the head and then move to spread to the whole head. The intensity depends per person but it is known to last from two hours to days.
In some cases, migraines are recurring instances. Migraine attacks are crippling neurological illness that comes with different symptoms and treatments varies in its severity.
Even though there is no clear cause for migraine, this neurological disease is assumed to be a result of a number of factors including changes in nerves, chemicals, or blood vessels in the brain.
Research states that women are more susceptible to experiencing migraine pain than men. It usually hits women in their thirties and the pain which lasts for days can be excruciating.
You shouldn’t hastily diagnose yourself and best consult a doctor once you suspected that what you’re experiencing is migraine pain.
How Do You Manage Migraine Pain?
When migraine pain hits, all we want to do is get relief. While medicine remains the most accessible and accepted remedy, it is helpful to know other ways to shorten the attack the get rid of the pain.
If you’re in need of migraine first aid, here are some ways how you can manage your migraine attacks.
Applying a cold or warm compress
If you’re looking for quick and easy relief while waiting for the medicine to kick in, or if you’re like me who tries to avoid taking it, applying a cold or warm compress should do it.
Depending on the area where the migraine persists, you can apply it at the back of your head or your forehead. Doing this will distract your brain from the pain caused by the migraine by stimulating other nerve endings, from the area where the compress is applied.
Ensure that your skin remains protected throughout the application.
Massage the area where the pain is felt
Massage helps the muscles relax and helps reduce stress, which is a common migraine trigger. Performing a calming massage can help alleviate other symptoms such as nausea.
Although for some people, this doesn’t help at all. Especially for those who are sensitive to touch when experiencing a migraine attack.
So always proceed with caution and do what best suits you.
Do stress management
It takes a few minutes before relief comes after taking medicine, so to calm yourself, do some stress management. Some common techniques include:
- Deep breathing exercises
- Meditating
- Music therapy
- Mental imagery
- Progressive muscle relaxation
According to the American Headache Society, it will not only help during a migraine attack but can aid in lessening the number of migraine attacks.
Hydrate yourself
Dehydration is a common migraine trigger so water can absolutely provide relief, if not fully, against migraine. Infusing your water with lemon or cucumber works too. It will help you increase your water intake.
Ensure that you remain hydrated not only when there is migraine pain but on a daily basis as well. Be consistent with drinking plenty of water so it can help you stay away from migraine attacks.
Try using oils like lavender or peppermint
Some oils include chemicals that can be useful in alleviating migraine pain. For instance, inhaling lavender oil, directly or diluted, helps ease migraine pain. Peppermint oil is said to have a component that is close to menthol and helps with reducing pain.
Take note that if you are allergic to any of the chemicals, best to avoid them altogether.
Rest and sleep
Lack of sleep is another common migraine trigger so if you are able to, take an adequate amount of time to really rest your mind and body. Let your body replenish the energy and heal on its own.
In the constantly busy society that we live in, we tend to forget the simple things like listening to our bodies before we reach the burnout point. Sometimes a good sound sleep does wonders.
Move your body and exercise
It is more advice one can take to prevent the frequency of migraine attacks. As some attacks are triggered by hormonal changes, moving through exercise will help regulate the body’s hormones and in turn, lessen the migraine pain and attacks.
Different Types of Migraine
The main types of migraines are sorted into two main types:
- Migraine with aura (aka classic migraine)
- Migraine without aura (aka common migraine)
- Migraine without head pain (aka silent migraines)
Migraine with aura aka Classic migraines
Before we dive into this type, let’s first be familiarized ourselves with what aura is.
Aura is a group of neurologic (nervous system) symptoms. It indicates a warning sign that one is about to experience a migraine. In some cases, it starts with vision disturbances like any of the following:
- Blurred vision
- Seeing flashing lights, stars, or zigzag lines
- Temporary colored or blind spots
- Tunnel vision
More of the nervous system symptoms that come with it are nausea, dizziness, weakness, numbness, yawning, difficulty concentrating and tingling.
For this type of migraine, aura occurs before or after the head pain. They last about 15 to 30 minutes generally. Classic migraine’s pain happens on one or both sides of your head.
Migraine without aura aka Common migraines
Unlike the other type, this migraine doesn’t have an aura signal to it. Common migraines start slow but last longer hence they can be burdening to daily activities.
The pain for common migraines usually remains on only one side of the head.
It is the type of migraine that most people have, including myself.
Migraine without head pain aka Silent migraines
It is a type of migraine where common migraine symptoms are exhibited except for head pain. So, people who experience silent migraines skip the usual pain around the temples and eyes.
It is noted that for silent migraines, an aura phase may be initiated. Expect to be sensitive to light and sound like how a typical migraine would feel.
Symptoms of Migraines
If you think what you’re experiencing is more than just a headache particularly if it is accompanied by any of the following, chances are you are having a migraine attack.
- Throbbing, dull, aching pain felt from one side or both sides of your head, at the back of your eyes, or temples
- Nausea
- Vision changes like blurry sight or blind spots
- Fatigue
- Lightheadedness
- Tender or stiff neck
- Sweaty or feeling cold
- Stuffy nose
Depending on the frequency of the migraine attack, medicines are often enough to relieve it. But if you feel like it’s going beyond the normal amount of migraine attack a person can have, it’s probably time to consult a medical professional.
What Can Trigger A Migraine?
A migraine attack can backstab us and come out of nowhere. Although some can experience symptoms prior to it, signaling it’s apparent arrival, some of us, we’re left to have it by surprise.
The good thing is we can have ourselves enlightened about the common triggers which may cause a migraine attack.
Here is a list of the common migraine triggers we could look out for:
Physiological
We are, even though how much we don’t acknowledge it, aware that one major trigger for migraines is stress. Patients diagnosed with migraines have a common denominator which is the increased symptoms of lack of sleep, fatigue, and overall stress.
Other forms of physiological triggers include hunger, pain, or exercise. Some people who have unsuspected sleep apnea are known to trigger a migraine too.
As mentioned above, women tend to experience migraine more often than men. One medical reason behind it is hormonal changes. The drop in estrogen levels prior to the menstrual period or after menopause commonly triggers a migraine.
Environmental
Yes, that’s right. Even our environment can trigger migraine pain. Some examples of environmental triggers are bright lights, noises, and odors. Weather changes can also cause as a trigger for migraine for some. Usually, excessive sensory stimuli cause migraine attacks to arise.
Food
What we consume can affect and trigger a migraine. It varies from case to case, others might be more sensitive to their food intake which could lead to a migraine attack.
To those who are sensitive to food and presumably have it as a migraine trigger, the attacks don’t come as soon as they’ve been exposed to the food they’re sensitive to. This is why it is also hypothetically acknowledged that there could be partial triggers combined with it.
Final thoughts
If you suffer from migraines, you are aware that the symptoms can be difficult to deal with. There is a possibility that you will be unable to attend work or take part in activities that you enjoy. However, the treatments and tips described above might alleviate some of your symptoms.
Many people find success with these lifestyle choices and home treatments, particularly when combined with conventional medical treatment.
It is imperative that you consult a medical professional if the migraine attacks or episodes you are experiencing do not react to the home treatments you have tried. Seek medical attention if your symptoms are severe, or recurrent, or if they inhibit your ability to go about your normal activities.
