How To Manage Migraine Pain at Home
According to the latest data approx 30 million Americans suffer from headaches related to migraine. There is a significant difference between common headaches and migraines.
What is a common headache?
Headache is a common condition of pain in the head or face, the pain can be different, like throbbing like pain while walking, constant fluctuating pain which gets sharp and dull. The most common headache among Americans is a throbbing headache.
According to data, more than 75 % of American adults have had a headache during lockdowns. People treat headaches very lightly, they don’t realize the toll it takes on their work school, social and family life.
Types of headache
Spasm-like headache.
More than 42 % of adults worldwide suffer from spasms like headaches, Spasm headache feels like a rubber band around your head putting pressure from different points on your head.
According to the doctors, spasm headaches happen between the cycle of 10 to 15 days, sometimes it gets severely painful.
Some primary triggers of spasms in the head are
- Sleep deprivation
- Depression
- straining while any physical activity
- poor posture.
Clustered headaches
As the name suggests, these headaches occur multiple times every day. It comes and goes like waves, and could happen for several weeks. According to the National Institute of health, Clustered headaches normally last 6 to 12 weeks.
Hemicrania continua
people often refer to hemicrania as migraine, because it causes constant pain in one side of the face and head. Even doctors get confused between hemicrania and migraine because it doesn’t get triggered by environmental and lifestyle factors, many people also complain about side symptoms of migraine-like sensitivity towards sound and light and nausea.
The key difference between hemicrania and migraine is, hemicrania affects only half of the face or head, and the pain is constant.
Whereas migraine pain comes and goes and can affect any part of the head.
What is migraine?
A migraine is a disorder that is predominantly related to headaches. It can cause severe pain in different patterns all around your head and face. People suffering from migraine often complain about different patterns of attacks or episodes of pain.
Don’t get confused between migraine and headaches. headaches are only one symptom of migraine, and they come in different ranges of severity and intensity.
The attacks of migraine are classified into 4 different phases. But it is important to know, each individual is different is it is not compulsory that every person fell all 4 phases.
Phase 1
This is like a budding phase, where a person starts feeling the non-painful symptoms before the headaches, these symptoms can include.
- Sensitivity to light and sound
- Frequent yawns
- Mood swings
- Digestive issues
Sensory phase
Also known as the aura phase, auras affect the different organs like eyes and muscles, in this phase persons start to feel differences in touch, movements of limbs, and visual quality. The symptoms of the aura phase can include.
- Fluctuation of light intensity in eyes
- Zig-zag lines
- Blindspots and blurred visions
- Difficulty in speech
- Difficulty in writing words
- Unable to think clearly.
Phase 3
This is the phase when headache arrives, these headaches can be of different intensity, they could be in the range of mild to severe. patients suffering from severe headaches may need to seek emergency medical treatment.
The pain of migraine gets severe with physical activities or even exposure to light, some patients also reported episodes of migraine without the headaches.
Phase 4
This is the phase of aftershocks, where the headache subsides and the patient feels exhausted, confused, or generally sick from digestive disorders.
This phase can last from several hours to days.
Types of migraine.
Asymptomatic migraine.
Also known as migraines without aura, in this condition, the patient only suffers from intense throbbing pain in the side of the head, the duration of pain can vary from person to person,
The most common duration of such headaches usually lasts between 5 to 72 hours. Migraines without auras do not show symptoms before the onset of migraine attacks.
Patients of this type of migraine primarily have the severity of phase 1.
Migraines with aura.
In this case, people feel the symptoms of phase 2 before the onset migraine attack. According to the national institute of neurological disorders and strokes, about one in every three people with diagnosed migraine reports experiencing the symptoms before the headache arrives.
Migraine in children.
Children’s migraines are totally different from adult migraines. Children’s migraines are also known as abdominal migraines because abdominal migraine causes abdominal pain and digestive issues in children.
So what can you do to ease or prevent migraines.
Internet is filled with remedies for symptomatic migraines, like acupressure, essential oils, etc. but what can you do to stop the onset of migraine even in phase 1.
We must understand that migraines are linked to different psychiatric conditions, and each individual who experiences migraine are at an increased risk of major depression and anxiety problems.
Do you know according to the journal of headache pain, people with migraine had 1.5 times higher risk of dementia. 1.5 percent may not sound convincing, but the sensitivity analysis shows the real magnitude of the problem.
Migraine and poor mental health can be linked to different genetic and environmental factors, but you can really mid the onset of migraine with the help of mind strengthening exercises.
Deep breathing or guided meditation.
One of the simplest home remedies for migraine is simple breathing exercise or yogic breathing. Breathing can actually heal many head-related ailments, and according to the group of migraine patients in an American clinic situated in new york, daily stress is the key factor of migraine triggers in them.
Deep breathing can help in reducing stress and anxiety, the correct way of breathing helps in calming the nervous system
How to do breathing exercises.
The best time to receive mind strengthening energy is between 3:30 AM to 5 AM, If your routine cannot comply with waking up at 3 then you can do it in the evening.
- Sit on the mat with a straight spine.
- Take a deep breath and feel the breath passing through your nostrils to your forehead. Feel the expanding chest, inhale deeply for minimum 5 seconds.
- Hold till you can then release with your nostrils again in 5 seconds
- repeat 5-10 times daily.
Yoga for stress relief
many research has shown positive and significant effects of yoga on the mind, in fact, many doctors are now prescribing yoga as a complementary practice for fast recovery and delays in the frequency of attacks. But make sure not to do vigorous yoga that generates heat in a body or any pose that stresses the neck region.
Train your mind to respond instead of reacting.
Practice mindfulness: To deal with stressful situations a well-trained mind can do wonders. Mindfulness can train your brain to control emotional surges and respond to the situation in a calm manner.
As it is proven that high levels of stress have been implicated in migraine attack onset, I think practicing mindfulness or any stress management tool could be useful for migraine.
