Natural remedies for migraine should always be the first line of treatment for this chronic recurring condition. Using home remedies to cure a migraine is effective and safe and should always be preferred over allopathic meds.
Migraine treatment as explained is with drugs and medicines, which may have to be taken periodically, as this is a chronic condition and these drugs are not without side effects.
Secondly, they do not cure but only offer relief from symptoms. Recurrence of migraine attacks does happen even after treatment with meds.
There are many causes of headache and migraine is one of the most common cause. Natural migraine remedies will help stop your headache, are very safe, and therefore, should be tried first before starting out on medication.
First and foremost, there are certain factors that trigger an attack of migraine. You must try to avoid them.
The following are some time-proven natural cures for migraine. Some work while some do not. The effectiveness of each varies from person to person. You should try these and identify which of them works best for you.
For optimum effects, these home remedies should be resorted to immediately at the onset of a headache or its preceding symptoms. Do read migraine symptoms to know how a migraine presents.
Home remedies for migraine
Home remedies are those that you practice on your own. You can call them self-care tips
1. Avoid the trigger factors
First and foremost, there are certain factors that trigger an attack of migraine. You must try to avoid them.
These triggers could be certain foods such as chocolates, some medications, hunger, thirst, prolonged exposure to the sun, and more.
A study published in The Lancet reveals that dehydration and sensitivity to certain foods are the two top triggers of migraine.
There are certain factors you may not be able to avoid such as mental stress, and change in weather. While meditation helps to handle mental stress, you could also try relaxation techniques to manage stress and get adequate sleep. You could handle weather changes risk by staying cool in summer and warm during winter.
2. Drink adequate water spaced out throughout the day
Dehydration is a common cause of migraine headaches. Drinking water helps to flush the waste from the body through the kidneys, skin, and bowels. As a result of proper flushing of the kidneys and the gall bladder, the toxins from the blood are eliminated.
There are some toxins that cause a headache and their removal prevents the headache. Form this as a daily habit throughout life.
3. Sleep
Make sure you get adequate sleep. Sleep is a great natural remedy. It is best to use a quiet dark room to lie down and get proper sleep. Sound and bright light trigger and aggravate a migraine headache.
If you do not fall asleep when you lie down, keep the stressful thoughts away. Think of something that keeps you happy. To cure your migraine symptoms and also to prevent them, it is important that you get good sleep.
4. Take deep breaths
During a migraine attack, take deep breaths slowly and exhale slowly. This is a good technique to relieve stress and has helped to get relief to some migraineurs.
5. Tie a headband around the head
How it works is a mystery but tying a headband does give relief to some people.
6. Take a shower
Taking a hot shower followed by a cold one will give some relief from your headache.
7. Hot/Cold compresses
For some, the application of cold compresses works, while for some hot compresses give relief. Take a wet washcloth and keep it in the deep freeze of the fridge for a while or in a microwave for a few seconds, depending on whether you get relief with a cold or hot compress. Apply on the area of headache pain.
8. Caffeine – Drink hot tea or coffee
Caffeine is a mood elevator and also has a vasoconstrictor effect (constricts the blood vessels). Vasodilatation is the main cause of a headache and vasoconstriction will help to get rid of the headache.
9. Use a Q-Tip.
Take a Q-tip (stick with a cotton swab) and gently insert it into your nose and rub it gently around. This helps to soothe the nerve endings in the nose. A few doctors do practice this in their clinic when a patient presents with a headache.
10. Gentle head massage with peppermint oil
Gentling rubbing your temples and the back of your head with peppermint essential oil will make you feel better.
11. Magnesium
People with a migraine usually have lower magnesium levels. Studies reveal that taking 200 mg to 600 mg of magnesium as magnesium oxide or magnesium sulfate daily reduced the frequency of attacks, especially in those women whose attack is triggered by menstrual periods. Diarrhea may present as a side effect.
12. Vitamin B12
Studies also revealed that taking 400 mg of Riboflavin (Vitamin B12) per day helped to reduce the frequency and duration of these headaches.
Herbal Cures
Besides the home remedies explained above, you could try some of the herbal preparations that have helped many people.
1. Ginger
Chew a little ginger and swallow its juice. Alternatively, you could drink ginger tea. This is a popular home remedy. Avoid ginger if you are on blood thinning medication or have an acidity problem.
2. Butterbur root
Butterbur root is a herbal preparation available under the brand name, Petadolex. It is prepared from the plant butterbur, which is grown in Germany. You should take a 50 mg capsule twice a day.
3. Fewerfew
Fewerfew is a herbal preparation, which has been used to treat headaches for a long time. It is even given prophylactically.
One study indicates that in people who took fewerfew daily for four months, there was a substantial drop in the frequency and severity of symptoms. The dose is 50 to 80 mg per day. However, women should avoid it during pregnancy.
Other natural remedies for migraine
Besides the home tips and herbal preparations, acupuncture and chiropractic care have acted as effective natural remedies for migraine.
1. Acupuncture
Acupuncture has been used to treat headaches for more than 20 years. Some people do benefit from this form of treatment.
Some acupuncturists also advise certain lifestyle measures such as diet, qi gong exercises, and specific breathing techniques.
2. Chiropractic care
Quite a few migraine sufferers are now turning to chiropractic care for relief. Chiropractic is “the diagnosis and manipulative treatment of misalignment of the joints, esp. those of the spinal column”.
Chiropractors believe that some migraines are due to misalignment of the vertebrae, which irritates and inflames the nerves that travel from the spine to the brain.
This therapy relies on the fact that proper realignment of the vertebrae of the spine with proper massaging technique reduces the pressure on the inflamed nerves giving relief from a migraine headache.
