Know The Cause Of Your Migraine To Treat It Holistically

One of my friends Shamita had severe migraine problem. We were in college, and I remember one thing that really made her go crazy was when other people claimed that their headache is/was a migraine headache. She hated when people said, “Oh, I know what you must be going through; I always get such headaches,” or “I went out with friends last night, today morning I woke up with a massive hangover migraine.” I asked her once what was it about such comments that triggered angry response from her. What she told me was really something I never knew. I thought migraine is just like any other headache. If you think so too, believe me, you have never met someone who suffers from migraine!

 In Shamita’s words, “There have been times when during or after a migraine attack, I had to spend time just lying down in a room which is completely devoid of light and noise too. I am unable to bear even the noise of two people talking. And, what is hangover migraine? A migraine is a medical condition; hangover is not. Migraines are listed as the seventh most disabling disease in the world and there is at present no known cure. Is hangover the same? Can’t it be avoided quite easily? Hangover rarely lasts longer than a few hours, while some migraine sufferers can have attacks that last over 72 hours. Some sufferers have reported migraines which have lasted for months and even years! Is it just like any other headache?”

Headaches usually don’t stop you from functioning, whereas a migraine most definitely does. So, what is it that causes migraine? What can be the possible triggers for migraine? This post is for all those who want to know the causes of migraine so that it can be treated holistically from the root. 

WHAT IS MIGRAINE?

Migraine is a type of headache. There can be severe throbbing pain or a pulsing sensation, usually on just one side of the head. It's often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound.

Migraine attacks can cause significant pain for hours to days and can be so severe that the pain can affect person’s day to day functioning and quality of life. There can be some symptoms occurring before the start of actual pain attack. These symptoms are known as warning symptoms. These are also known as aura. They can occur before or with the headache. The warning symptoms or aura include flashes of light, blind spots, or tingling on one side of the face or in your arm or leg. The symptoms vary from person to person and individuals may have different symptoms during different attacks. Your attacks may differ in length and frequency too. Migraine attacks usually last from 4 to 72 hours and most people are free from symptoms between attacks.

The most common types of migraine are of two types. These are migraine with aura and migraine without aura.

MIGRAINE CAUSES AND TRIGGERS

Several factors make you more prone to having migraines, namely:

Family history - If the patient has a family member with migraine, then they have increased chances of developing a migraine.

Age – Migraine can begin at any age, but the attack usually starts in adolescence. They may become intense during the age of 30 and above, and gradually becoming less severe and less frequent in the 40s.

Sex - Women are three times more likely to have migraine. Although headaches tend to affect boys more than girls during childhood, at the time of puberty and beyond, more girls are affected.

Pregnancy - Some women report that migraine attacks begin during pregnancy, or their attacks have increased during pregnancy.

Migraine triggers

Hormonal changes in women - Fluctuations in the estrogen hormone may trigger headaches in many women. That could be the reason why many women experience migraine attack before or during their periods.

Foods - Certain foods like cheese, salty foods and processed foods may trigger migraine. Skipping meals or fasting can also trigger attacks.

Food additives - Sweeteners and certain preservatives used in many foods may trigger migraine.

Drinks - Alcohol, especially wine, and highly caffeinated beverages may trigger migraine.

Stress - Emotional stress of any type may trigger migraine.

Changes in the wake–sleep pattern - Missing sleep, and conversely, sleeping too much may trigger migraine in some people. Jet lag is also a common migraine trigger.

Physical factors - Intense physical exertion, including sexual activity, may trigger migraine pain.

Changes in the environment - A change of weather can trigger migraine.

Medications - Some medicines, such as oral contraceptive pills, can trigger migraine pain.

Other factors - Bright lights and bright sun glare can cause migraines. Loud sounds, strong smells such as perfume and paints, secondhand smoking among others are all common migraine triggers.

Now that you know the causes of migraine , try to treat your migraine holistically where treatment focuses on individual triggers, and also considers physical, emotional and mental symptoms of the patient.

Homeopathic medicines for migraine have proven to be effective in treating migraine holistically from the root. Homeopathy applies the concept of individualisation, which means that even if two people are suffering from the same type of migraine, they would not be given the same homeopathic medicines for migraine.

A homeopathic doctor will study the whole case history of each of the patients — their exact nature of symptoms, temperament, feelings, likes and dislikes — and then suggest a homeopathic medicines for migraine suitable for each of them to ascertain deep-rooted and permanent cures.