For the best migraine relief, it is therefore very important to give yourself ample time to properly recover in a comfortable and healthy environment after an attack.

The following is a list of tips that you can follow to ensure a quick recovery of your migraine headaches:

Migraine-friendly Bedroom

Migraineurs are usually very sensitive to bright light and the most common space they use for recovery is their bedrooms.

If your bedroom gets lots of sunlight, then it may impair your recovery. Try finding ways to block out light effectively and temporarily. Installing blackout shades or curtain liners are should help – and they can be good noise insulators too.

You can also install a dimmer switch if you feel more comfortable in low ambient light. Apart from reducing the amount of light, you should also keep your bedroom quiet. Try switching off the ringer on your phone.

If you are staying in a high-traffic area, consider using white-noise machines to block out the unwanted sound.

If a migraine strikes in the workplace, and it is not possible to call sick, then you might want to consider other options that can increase your comfort level. If possible, turn off any overhead fluorescent lighting or wear sunglasses. This may seem a little awkward but they can really help to relief the migraine. Let your colleagues know that you are suffering from an attack.

Try to rest in an office lounge or any other place that is quiet until your pain relievers start to take effect. If this is not possible, then try to rest at the back of your car with an eye mask.

Comfortable Temperature

To speed up your recovery, it is important that you rest in a comfortable temperature and humidity level. Try to standby an extra dehumidifier, fan or air filtration unit in the closet. Depending on where you live in, weather patterns and air quality may impair your recovery.

Sleep

Sleep and more sleep. The healing powers of sleep have amazing effects in speeding up the recovery of migraine headaches. Several studies have found out that those who slept during a migraine attack were able to recover more quickly than those who did not.

Getting regular and ample amounts of sleep can also be an excellent preventive measure for migraine headaches. A study by a University of North Carolina has found out that having sufficient sleep will reduce the frequency of migraines by 29 percent with the intensity reduced by 40 percent.

Control Your Stress Level

As difficult as it may seem, it is very important to keep your stress levels down in order to speed up your migraine recovery. Stress is a known trigger for migraine attacks and can also make an active attack worse. Try to take occasional breaks from work and spend time with the family. Go for a short holiday trip or do whatever that can make you happy.

Find Things To Make Yourself Comfortable

Some of the migraineurs may experience an increased sensitivity to touch. Try wearing clothes that can make you feel comfortable – a nice set of pajamas works great. Use soft blankets and sheets with high thread count on your bed.

There are also other nonpharmaceutical pain relieving techniques such as cool compresses, massages and relaxation techniques. It is very common that migraine patients tend to apply manual pressure to the pain points on the head in order to alleviate the pain.

Chronic headaches

Tension headaches that are occuring for less than 15 days in a month are not considered as chronic headaches, but are otherwise known as episodic tension-type headaches. Tension headaches are by far the most common type of primary headaches, with approximately 78 percent of the general population experiencing them sometime in their lives.

A study has shown that an estimated 40 percent of people with tension headaches have experienced at least a headache within the past year. On top of this, most people who are suffering from tension headaches will experience headache once or twice each month with moderate intensity pain. If these headaches are left untreated for an extended period of time, the likelihood of developing chronic headaches becomes two fold. Similar to migraine, a tension headache is more commonly experienced by women than men.

An interesting trend was also spotted in a large U.S. study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. With this, it is said that men and women with higher levels of education were more likely to experience tension-type headaches. On the other hand, an opposite trend has been found in migraines. Interesting enough, people with lower socioeconomic levels seem to experience higher migraine occurences.

With chronic tension-type headaches, the pain is often described as a tight band encircling the top of the head with mild to moderate severity. You can easily differentiate this chronic headache from migraine and cluster headache since it is felt on both sides of the head and you will also not feel nausea.

At times, tension chronic headaches sufferers may also experience hypersensitivity to sound or light. This may sound similar to having migraines but take note that in a tension chronic headache, you will usually experience only one of of these symptoms. This is unlike migraine sufferers who will usually experience both the symptoms together.

A typical tension headache can last from 30 minutes to 7 days with at least 2 of the following characteristics:

• Routine physical activity will not worsen it
• Mild to moderate intensity
• Both sides of the head or bilateral
• Tightness or pressure like pain

In some cases, tension headaches sufferers may also feel that their heads are tender to touch. This is otherwise known as the pericranial tenderness. Pain may also be felt at the back of the neck as well as at the base of the skull.

Extra care must be taken when you are experiencing more than 2 of the above characteristics with longer headache episodes each time. Without proper treatment, this can easily develop into to chronic headaches which can have tremendous effect to your quality of life. The headache itself can cause sleep problems, difficulties in concentrating, irritability as well as fatigue.

If you suspect that you are suffering from tension headaches, seek help from professionals immediately before they got worse. Otherwise, treating chronic headaches can easily become an expensive and time-consuming affair which can easily affect your life and work.

The fact is, constant headache is a painful and debilitating neurological condition that costs the Americans billions of dollars in spending for health care, reduced quality of life and lost in workplace productivity. These constant headaches can come in many forms with many underlying causes that trigger them. A migraine attack is a common example of constant headaches that is frequently accompanied by symptoms such as vomiting, nausea, visual disturbances, mental confusion and sensory changes. Do not take migraines too lightly as the entire episode may span a period of several debilitating days resulting in significant crippling for anyone experiencing a frequent headache.

Migraine can be classified into 2 major types namely, migraine with aura (classic migraine) and migraine without aura. Around 80% of migraine victims have migraine without aura. In the recent years, migraines were also easily confused with other types of headaches. Other types of constant headaches that share almost the same symptoms are tension headache, sinus headache and cluster headache. Special care and extra attention must be taken to diagnose these headaches as some of them will have minor symptoms that are unique to themselves only.

Headaches can strike men and women, young and old, with women 3 times as likely to experience migraines as men. It is estimated that 30 million Americans have experienced a constant headache at least once in their lives. Among them, more than half remain undiagnosed due to mis-diagnosis or reluctance to seek help. It is very important to get a proper diagnosis and this may well be the most challenging step of getting the constant headaches treated.

There are currently many effective treatments for common headaches and these include drugs that can be bought at the local pharmacies or surgical treatments that aims to eliminate the root cause totally. On top of these, there are also alternative treatments such as acupuncture, vitamins and herbal supplements.

If you are a victim of constant headaches, then the best practice is to document them down with a headache diary so that the potential headache triggers could be identified. From here, you could also identify the type of headaches you are suffering from so that the correct treatment could be used. This will help to save alot of time and money by avoiding misdiagnosis and using the wrong prescriptions. The type of information you may want to record in your headache diary are:

• Date and time
• Type of headache
• Medications
• Disability
• Suspected Trigger

Below is one such example:

Data and Time – 15 Mar 2011 @ 1518

Type of headache – Migraine (Suspected/Unclassified)

Medications – 2 doses of Midrin

Disability - 3 hours of partial disability (rest on bed)

Suspected Trigger – Withdrawal from smoking

Remember, living with constant headaches can be emotionally difficult for both you and your family or friends. More often than not, headache patients may experience anxiety or even depression as a result of these frequent headaches. The best way to tackle them is to be patient and to seek help from appropriate channels.

On the other hand, preventive headache remedies are designed to stop the headaches from occuring in the first place. They usually involve in finding and eliminating the root cause of the headaches as well as to avoid the headaches triggers. Using an preventive headache remedy is sometimes known to be much safer and also a more permanent solution since it aims to totally eliminate the headache symptoms.

Most people will tend to go for acute headache remedies since the effects are more immediate as compared to preventive methods that will usually require more time and patience. When an acute headache remedy fails to stop the headache, then a more potent rescue medication will be required.

Pain Relievers: They usually come in two categories – Nonopioid and Opioid. Nonopioid medications are pain relievers that do not contain opioid or narcotic. They are recommended by the U.S Headache Consortium as the first line of treatment for patients with mild headache symptoms. They usually comprise of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs which are effective in easing mild headaches by reducing inflammation. Common examples are aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), ketorolac (Toradol) and naproxen (Aleve). The main reason to why NSAIDs or Nonopioids are preferred is due to their non-addictive nature with minimal side effects.

In contrast, Opioid pain relievers are narcotics which can have many side effects and very addictive. As such, great caution must be taken when using them as headache remedies. They are usually prescribed when other headache medications fail to treat the patient. Some examples are butorphanol (Stadol), morphine (Avinza, Kadian, Roxanol), fentanyl (Actiq) and propoxyphene (Darvon). Some side effects associated with Opioids include nausea, vomitting, fatigue, constipation and itching. It is also not recommended to use them before driving or operating machinery. With all the undesirable effects, Opioids are often reserved as rescue therapy used in a second-line headache remedy.

Ergot Derivatives: They are an older class of headache remedy and are known to have an immediate nausea side effect. They also tend to lead to complex vascular problems with extended usage. Ergot derivatives are only effective in relieving some pain symptoms of the headache and some other headache symptoms may still linger. Other known side effects are abdominal cramps, dizziness, dry mouth and overuse will lead to rebound headaches.

Triptans: These are medications that are specifically designed as headache remedies and are the most commonly prescribed treatments today. Triptans inhibit the transmission of pain signals in certain nerve centers of the brain and help to reduce the inflammation and vascular changes in the head. Some examples include rizatriptan (Maxalt), frovatriptan succinate (Frova) and almotriptan malate (Axert). They are available in various forms such as oral druags or nasal sprays. Triptan drugs work best when they are consumed as soon as the headache attacks and have some mild side effects such as flushing of skin and muscle weakness.

Bed Rest in Dark Room: Choosing to lie down in a dark and quiet place when the headache begins will help to provide some minor relief. Remove and scented candles or air fresheners from the area will also help.

Biofeedback: This is a non-drug headache remedy that has been clinically proven to be effective in relieving pain from headaches. It is basically a system that monitors the body’s biological signals such as heart rate, temperature and muscle tension as well as to regulate those functions through relaxation and visualization techniques. Former trainings with a headache specialist or physical therapist will be required. Biofeedback is also an ideal headache remedy for children since no drugs are involved and therefore they will no experience any side effect. Biofeedback treatment is often being used as a therapy to prevent headaches as well.

Cold Packs and Compresses: They are more effective headache remedies as compared to heat packs and are more effective in easing head pain, probably due to the fact that cold reduces inflammation. Some popular products are the cold gel patches that one can adhere to the forehead.

Fortunately, there are a number of steps that parents can follow to help their children by learning to identify the headaches triggers and symptoms. Generally speaking, the causes of headaches are the same for both children and adult. The types of headaches that children experience are also very similar to those experienced by adults.

If a child has been diagnosed with migraine, then an important step in diagnosing the headache will be to determine the headaches triggers. Parents should always try to eliminate the triggers that are within their control so that any potential headaches can be prevented in the first place.

Foods and Beverages

The same type of foods that can trigger a headache in adult can also become headaches triggers in children as well. During the days when headaches strike, check whether your child has consumed the following foods:

• Chocolate
• Cheese
• Fried stuffs
• Processed meat containing sodium nitrate such as hot dogs, etc
• Any other food that contains monosodium glutamate

Monosodium glutamate is a food addictive that is also known as a headache trigger for migraines in adults. Other that foods, beverages such as sodas and sports drinks can also be effective headaches triggers. These are some of the favorite children’s drinks and they usually contain high amounts of caffeine, which can trigger headaches as well.

Smells

Many small children like sweet smelling stuffs and they often enjoy the sensation of smelling flowers along the side of roads or sweet cakes in the oven. Although these scents and smells are very common, they can also be headaches triggers for some children. Other common scents such as perfumes, smoke, air purifier and anything with a strong smell can also be a possible headache trigger. Try to keep track of any smells that your child is not often exposed to.

Dehydration

The excessive loss of water from the body can easily cause headaches for both adult and children. To determine if a child is suffering from dehydration, look out for the typical tell-tale signs:

• Fatigue
• Headache
• Less frequent urination
• Dark colored urine
• Dry mouth
• Sticking feeling inside the mouth

Try to encourage your children to drink more water by having them carrying their most favorite water bottles when out of the house. If the child experiences lesser signs of headaches after drinking more water, then dehydration will most probably be the headache trigger.

Motion Sickness

Motion sickness is a common headache trigger that is observed in an adult, but can also happen to a child. Check if your child displays notable headache symptoms after having been in a boat, car or train. Preventive motion sickness medications may be effective here. Other simple preventive measures such as not reading in the car and not taking long car trips with an empty stomach are generally effective as well.

Improper Diet

A child skipping meals regularly due to poor appetite can cause hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia is a known migraine trigger and is a condition whereby the body’s blood sugar or glucose is too low. Seek advice from a pediatrician to find out the reasons for your child’s poor appetite as well as to identify other potential conditions.

Others

Other headaches triggers such as stress and lack of sleep can also apply to children as well. Make sure that your child has sufficient rest every day and see if he or she has problems at schools. Studies have also shown that most children with headaches tend to experience them during the school sessions.

Certain medications can also trigger headaches in children. Check with your doctor to make sure that any of your child’s regular medications do not have other side effects. If yes, then try to find some alternative remedies.

Spending long hours playing computer games or playing loud music through the headphones can also trigger chronic headaches in children. Try to control the amount of time your child spend in front of a computer or listening to music through headphones. Even if they are not the headaches triggers, spending long hours doing these activities are generally not good for a child’s health as well.

Fortunately these headache are not common. Only one person out of a thousand can ever expect to experience one, and they affect more men than women. Most cluster headaches will be diagnosed before the person suffering hits 30. They also have some prominent headache symptoms that differentiate themselves from the rest of the headaches.

Cluster Headache Symptoms

Similar to a migraine, a cluster headache is usually one-sided with the pain remaining only on this side. Generally, when a person is prone to these headaches, the cluster will always return to the same side for every attack.

The pain occurs near the region of the eye and may radiate outward from there. It can be a pulsing headache or a continuous sharp pain. A cluster headache can also cause the scalp to become tender.

Cluster headaches have a different set of symptoms associated with them than migraines. There is seldom any nausea or vomiting involved and they do not have a migraine aura. These headaches begin quickly and are not usually as long-lasting as a migraine. They are often thought of as being a form of migraine since they are extremely painful, but they are not related. A cluster headache is in a class of its own.

Frequency and Duration

These headaches are known as a cluster because of their frequency. They arrive in clusters daily and usually at the same time. Most people that suffer from these headaches get between one to three headaches per day. If the headache occurs at night the person will wake up at the same time every night to face the music.

The episodes can last anywhere from 15 minutes to 3 hours or more. In most cases, however, the headaches usually don’t last any longer than an hour and a half.

There are chronic sufferers that only get relief from these headaches for 2 weeks per year. The rest of the time they are fighting off these headaches on a daily basis. A cluster headache sufferer needs to plan his day according to the schedule of his headaches.

Fortunately only 20% of the cluster headache sufferers have chronic symptoms. Most have cluster headaches that are episodic, meaning that they come daily for a certain amount of time. A cluster headache can turn on every day for a week, a month or even a year. Between attacks there is relief for at least 14 days.

Warning Signs

When a cluster headache is about to start there may be some warning signs or there may not be any. Here are some of the most classic signs that a cluster headache will begin shortly.

1. A burning sensation on one side of the head.

2. Sensitivity to light.

3. One eye begins to droop or swell.

4. Nasal congestion or discharge from the nostril on the side where the headache will appear.

5. Sweating

Causes of a Cluster Headache

Two schools of thought exist regarding the cause of a cluster headache. Some experts believe that these headaches start in the trigeminal nerve. This nerve is the one responsible for carrying sensation to the head. Other experts believe that the pain is caused from the vascular head channels and does not have anything to with the trigeminal nerve.

Treatment Options

Preventative – Doctors often prescribe medications to help prevent these clusters. While they can help lessen the severity and the length of these headaches, they do not usually prevent them from occurring altogether. Common medications prescribed include ergotamine tartrate, verapamil, divalproex sodium, lithium and prednisone.

Abortive – These drugs are taken after the onset of the headache. Common medications include intranasal lidocaine and ergotamine drugs. Other treatments include the administration of oxygen through a mask and Imitrix injections.

Surgery – This operation centers on interrupting or blocking the trigeminal nerve that is sending all this pain to the head. There has not been a lot of research done on this option since it is relatively new, so it is considered as a last option in most cases.

A cluster headache can change a person’s life. Someone that suffers from these headaches has to live his life around them. His whole existence and everything he does will be based on their frequency and severity. While medical treatments sometimes provide relief, most people still have to deal with the pain in one form or another. There are alternative treatments available for cluster headaches and many sufferers are using them with good results.

1. Finding the Triggers

If possible, the most important thing you can do for headache prevention is to find the things that are triggering them. Even if you can only find one of them, it will still help greatly. You may only have one thing that is triggering your headaches or you may have a lot of them. You might never discover what the cause of your headaches are, but that shouldn’t stop you from trying.

The more you examine your lifestyle and what you were doing before the headache started, the easier it is to find your triggers. Headache prevention is easy if you know what is causing your headaches. What is difficult is finding these triggers in the first place.

If you’re serious about finding out more about the causes of your headaches, you’ll need to start keeping track of everything you do during the day with a log or diary. This is the way you’ll be able to isolate any changes in your routine, any dietary indiscretions and anything else that could possibly be the cause of your headaches.

2. Relaxation Techniques

Since stress is a major contributing factor to a lot of headaches, you may want to consider using some relaxation techniques for headache prevention. Some people find that yoga is a relaxing way to relieve stress. Other people like to take a nice leisurely stroll around the neighborhood.

You’ll have to find your own relaxation technique that you feel comfortable with. It should be something that you really enjoy doing and you find relaxing at the same time. This is something that you’re going to want to make a habit to help with the headache prevention, so it should be something that you really like doing.

The idea is to find some type of outlet to remove your stress. A creative person may want to use his talents, a sporting person may want to engage in the sport he loves, an animal lover may want to walk his dog. There is no set rule for relaxation. You need to do whatever it is that makes you more relaxed and releases your stress.

3. Avoiding Changes

Changes are a part of everyday life and everything will be different from one day to the next. While you can’t avoid changes altogether, fast changes can often lead to a headache. Things like moving to a new house, changing schools, finding a new job, or losing one, are big changes that will affect your whole body. The stress levels will go up and sometimes there will be fear. And, quite often, there will also be a headache.

Some changes can’t be avoided while others can be. If you are headed for a big change in your life, then you should take a look at your options part of a headache prevention technique. Is there any way to make the change more gradual so that it is less stressful on your body? For example, if you’re planning a move, can you take a few days to move your furniture instead of doing it all on the same day? Can you start living in the house gradually during the move?

If you suffer from migraines, you may want to take a look at making gradual shifts instead of fast changes. You certainly don’t want to end up with a major migraine the day after you move into your new home. This is the time to celebrate, not to hide in your room with the curtains drawn in agony. 

When it comes to preventing headaches, you are either going to be your own best friend or your own worst enemy. You’ll have to take the responsibility of finding out for yourself what is causing your headaches. In the same light, you will have to determine what helps them. Unless there is a physical cause for your headaches that can be determined by a doctor and medical tests, it’s up to you to learn more about yourself in order to come up with a list of headache prevention methods.

The following is a list of the most common headaches triggers. While one or more of these triggers may apply to you, there is also a good chance that you will have your own that you need to discover by yourself.

Weather Changes

Sometimes the barometric pressure can act as a headache trigger. Low pressure that often comes before rain has been linked to an increase of headaches in some people. Also, you are more likely to get a migraine as the temperature rises. Researchers have also found that the risk of getting a headache increases 7.5% for every temperature rise of 9°F.

Changing of Hairstyle

A lot of people get a headache after they visit their hairdresser. Changing your hairstyle can often prompt a headache. If you usually part your hair on the left and then change it to the right for a new hairstyle - followed with a headache coming on, then try putting your hair back into place. You just might find that you have stopped your headache in its tracks.

Tyramine

Tyramine is a substance that is commonly found in old cheese, red wine, and cold cuts. While tyramine is found in many other foods, the amount is higher in the ones listed. This is one of the easiest headaches triggers to figure out. You can test yourself by eliminating these foods from your diet completely for a month and then trying one to see if it triggers a headache. If it does, you have found at least one of your headaches triggers.

Monosodium Glutamate

This chemical is commonly found in Chinese food but it can also be added to a lot of junk food. For instance, the next time when you buy a bag of potato chips, try taking a look at the ingredients. Some companies sneak in monosodium glutamate to make you want to eat more of the chips, thus increasing their profits. Even if you find out that MSG is not acting as one of the causes for your headaches, you should still avoid it. It really isn’t good for you.

Smoking

If you’re a non-smoker do you ever notice that being around others that smoke triggers one of your headaches? Even a smoker can get a headache from his own smoke. Any type of smoke in fact can be a headache trigger.

Sensitivity to Odors, Lights and Sound

Many people get a headache from the glare of the sun and have to wear sunglasses regularly. Others find that loud noises or strong smells can start up the pain. Try to isolate any of these attacks to your senses as a headache trigger.

Stress

It has been known for quite a while that stress can be a leading cause of headaches. Not only does it upset your nervous system, but it can also tighten up the muscles in your neck. A lot of people use stress-relieving therapies to help them reduce the amount and the severity of their headaches.

Nutritional Imbalances

Many people are walking around with a nutritional imbalance and aren’t even aware of it. Chances are that if you’re not taking a multivitamin every day, then you’re not getting the proper nutrition you should be. Even if you are eating healthy foods, it’s still hard to get the right amount of vitamins and minerals you need on a daily basis. Also, a lot of the foods produced today are lacking the vitamins and minerals that they used to have back when farming was more natural and less commercialized.

Caffeine

A lot of research has been done about caffeine lately. It is quite an interesting substance in that too much caffeine can trigger a headache in some people while giving it up can also act as a cause of headaches. On the other hand, caffeine pills are often prescribed for people that suffer from migraines to help relieve the pain. It’s quite interesting to note that caffeine can act as a cause as well as a treatment for headaches.

While the above are the most common headaches triggers, you’re really going to have to search for your own while keeping your eyes open for the ones listed. The best way to keep track of what may be triggering your headaches is to start keeping a daily diary of your activities. Be sure to note everything you do so that when a headache does occur, you can take a look at your notes to find out what may have triggered it. Finding the right headache triggers is your best line of defense against this pain that affects your quality of life and is something that you can do on your own at home.

Traditional Medicine or Prescription

Once a medical doctor has determined that you are indeed suffering from migraines you will often be given a prescription medication. These prescriptions can fall into two different categories.

1. Pain Relievers

These medications are taken as soon as the migraine begins. They have been designed to alleviate the symptoms once they have started. Common pain relievers such as Tylenol and Excedrin can be purchased as an over-the-counter drug. In most cases, however, a person who is visiting a medical doctor to discuss a migraine headache treatment is not finding the relief they need with these drugs. Some of these over-the-counter pain relievers may not be strong enough to work on severe migraines.

Prescription medications include triptans or narcotic pain relievers such as codeine, a combination of caffeine and ergotamine and indomethacin.  The narcotic pain relievers are not recommended unless everything else fails because they can become addictive, which only adds another problem to the migraine issue. As with any type of pain relief, it is always a good idea to start with the weakest form of pain reliever and work up from there, if necessary. A lot of these drugs have side effects associated with them and if you’re in the middle of a migraine, you certainly do not want to deal with side effects on top of it.

2. Preventive Medicines

A doctor may advise you to start preventive therapy if your attacks are debilitating and occur more than twice a month. He may also suggest following this migraine headache treatment route if your headaches are severe and you aren’t able to get enough relief from other medications that have been prescribed. Some of the drugs used for preventing migraines include anti-seizure medications, cardiovascular medications, Botox and Cyproheptadine.

It is important to note that these drugs usually don’t eliminate the migraine headaches totally. While they can reduce the severity and length of the attacks, many of these medications can also cause side effects that are quite severe. It will be up to you to decide whether you want to take this preventative path, use pain relievers or look for alternative migraine treatments.

Natural Migraine Headache Treatment

While the medical establishment is trying to figure out the best migraine headache treatment, there are many other natural solutions available for these terrible headaches. More and more people are turning towards natural medicine when they can’t get enough relief or a cure from mainstream medicine.

There are a lot of different alternative treatments for migraine headaches. Most of these therapies are based on Eastern philosophies and are becoming more recognized in the West. A lot of people are using natural treatments and many are getting great results from them.

The difference between the Western form of medical treatment and the Eastern form lies a great deal with the symptoms. Traditional medicine practiced by medical doctors here in the West isolates the symptoms and then looks for a cure. Alternative therapies from the East usually look at the person as a whole and work on getting it back into balance.

There are several different therapies that can work on balancing the energy flows within the body including acupuncture, acupressure, homeopathy, chiropractic, massage therapies, herbalism and many more. With these forms of medicine, the migraine headache treatment does not specifically address the headache itself. The headache is viewed as a symptom of a larger energy flow problem within the body that needs to be corrected. Once this is handled, the headaches will go away naturally.

If you are tired of taking medications for your migraines, you may want to try out some of these alternative headache treatments. With so many people getting relief from them, there just may be something in the treatments that would help you as well.

Although there has been a lot of research done in the field of migraine headache treatment, there are still a lot of questions that haven’t yet been answered. You have some options when it comes to treating your migraines and in the end you’ll have to make your own choices. Others will try to offer some advice, but it will still be up to you to figure out for yourself the route that you want to choose for treatment.

That’s the funny thing about migraine headaches. For most people the migraine headache symptoms can be masked with a pain reliever, but there is an overall feeling within the body that lasts until the headache is completely gone. It is an indescribable sort of feeling that just kind of takes over the body. While the headache medication can often reduce pain, nausea and dizziness, it usually cannot get rid of this “migraine feeling”.

It is important to know the different migraine headache symptoms and not to confuse them with tension headaches. The symptoms of a migraine are typically as follows.

Pounding Headache

The main symptom of a migraine is the horrible pounding headache. It seems as if every blood vessel on one side of the head is going to explode with every beat of the heart. Some people actually hold their head in their hands for fear that it will explode or to get some relief with pressure. This pounding headache is one of the classic migraine headache symptoms that is common to all migraine sufferers.

Nausea and/or Vomiting

About 80% of the people that get migraines complain of some sort of nausea with it. Some unfortunate migraine sufferers get nausea that leads to vomiting with every major headache. This is like adding fuel to the fire that is already out of control. Some people can control this nausea by remaining still, since this feeling can be linked in many cases to motion sickness.

Migraine Aura

There is a migraine aura that occurs with approximately 20% of migraine sufferers. Aura related headache symptoms will usually present themselves right before the headache begins and may include blind spots, seeing zigzag patterns across the eyes, lights flashing or blind spots. This aura also may include hallucinations, weakness or prickly skin. The aura is not especially painful and many people that have migraines actually appreciate the fact that they can have some kind of warning before the headache turns on. It gives students and workers a chance to leave their school or work in time to get home and get to bed.

Aversion to Light

This is another one of the migraine headache symptoms that may be experienced by one sufferer and not another. Some people have to remain in the dark until the migraine has completely passed. It is not unheard of for a person to cover their bedroom windows with cardboard during one of these migraine sessions to completely block out the light.

Low Blood Pressure

In some cases, the blood pressure can become lower during a migraine and this can make the person experiencing these migraine headache symptoms even weaker. The pain itself can weaken the body to the point where it can no longer function without being horizontal and this low blood pressure just adds to it.

Irritability

With all of this torture happening within the body, this migraine headache symptom would be quite expected. Usually people that have a migraine do not want to talk because it makes the pounding worse and can stir up the nausea. It is best to not expect too many answers from a person with a migraine. If you need to ask them a question in order to give them some help, it is better to ask them to raise their hand if the answer is yes and leave it down if the answer is no. This way you won’t be upsetting them too much by making them talk, but you’ll still be in a position to offer assistance when needed.

Fortunately, there are continuous studies being conducted on this mysterious phenomenon called the migraine. Researchers have been able to get closer to an answer by realizing that there may not be one single cause for these headaches. It is recommended that anyone experiencing migraines keep a running diary of their exercise routine, their daily routine and food intake. Every attack as well as the migraine headache symptoms should be noted as well. After a few migraines, the person may be able to see some type of pattern and be able to see what is triggering the headache. For example, one person may notice that he gets a migraine every time he eats chocolate while another might notice that these constant headaches only appear during a full moon. Yes – that can happen!

Migraines come in numerous forms and many people experience a variety of other migraine headache symptoms on top of the classic ones listed above. Some people, for instance, can’t be near heat while others can’t stand the feeling of being cold. It all depends on the person, since there are really no set rules when it comes to the individual headache symptoms a person may have.