Miserable Yet Mighty Things

There are many things a person can say about migraine headaches. Those that suffer from chronic migraines may say that they are miserable, painful, intense, blinding and excruciating.  A migraine headache is caused by an enlargement of blood vessels that creates a series of chemicals to be released and attack arteries in the brain. Once the chemicals have been released to wreak their havoc, the enlarging of the arteries begins to send painful symptoms that only magnifies until the arteries have stopped expanding or migraine relief has been found.

Symptoms of a migraine headache can vary from moderate to intense and can affect people differently, however, listed below are the more common symptoms associated with and described by migraine headache sufferers.

• An intense throbbing, pounding feeling typically located on one side of the forehead
  • Pain can also generate in the back of the head
  • Pain can formulate right above one  eye
• The pain is often described as  unilateral meaning the pain is typically felt or experienced on one side  of the head.
  • Reports have shown that about one  third of most migraine headaches are described as being felt on both  sides of the head also referred to as bilateral.
  • The pain felt from the migraine on  one side of the head can alternate to the other side of the head during  the next migraine attack. If you frequent migraine attacks on the same  side of the head please speak with your doctor immediately this could imply  something more serious is occurring.
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Paleness
• Coldness in the hands and feet
• Sensitivity to light and sound

Start Off Slow

The pain and symptoms of a migraine do not happen all at once but in fact take several days to reach their full painful capacity. The migraine sufferer may actually begin to experience preemptive warning signs several hours and even several days before he or she feels any pain from the migraine itself. A few preemptive warning signs one should be aware of would include: The warning sides that tell if a migraine is on the verge of breaking through may be overlooked or explained away, however if these warning signs are noted and charted migraines can be stopped before they get started.

• Sleepiness is often explained away by  an overactive brain, bed discomfort and a million other reasons but  drowsiness is a sign that a migraine might be in the near future.
• Sudden irritability or changes in  mood. Irritability can often be chalked away as not having had a good  night’s rest, be cautious of overlooking unexplained irritability.
• Fatigue
• Bouts of depression
• Obsessive yawning
• Cravings for foods high in sugar of lathered  in salt

Symptoms such as the ones mentioned might go unnoticed by most, but those that suffer with frequent migraine headaches should take note of the warnings signs, chart them and prepare for the onset of a migraine headache.

Treatments To Help Lessen The Blow

Migraine headaches are incurable at this point in time, however there are several treatments that one can implement to help lessen the length and intensity of the migraine attack. Two option would include the use of acupuncture and massage therapy, both treatments are safe, natural as well as effective.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture as a therapy originated as traditional Chinese medicine. Acupuncture is based on the premise that there are patents of energy that flow through the body are and essential to total body health. Acupuncture uses stimulation of specific acu-points on the skin by inserting needles that range in length from 1 cm to 10 cm. A typical treatment involves the use of 5 to 15 needles and the generally the acu-points vary during each treatment session.

Massage Therapy

The two main symptoms that are presented by the condition of chronic migraines are fatigue and pain. Massage therapy can aid in lessening both of these symptoms by helping the suffer to be able to experience less pain, obtain more sleep, and also to help relax some of the tightened and stiff muscles that can contribute too much of the pain. Research has proven that the use of massage therapy as a form of treatment can help migraine sufferers experience deeper levels of sleep and lessen levels of pain and fatigue. The way that massage therapy accomplishes this is by using the different forms of massage to help oxygenate the body as a whole which can decrease the severity of symptoms that a migraine sufferer will experience. Massage therapy can help sufferers find relief from their symptoms specifically by:

1. Improving Sleep
2. Decreasing Anxiety & Stress
3. Increasing Blood Circulation

Tags: migraine headaches, migraine symptoms, migraine treatment, migraine triggers, Migraines, natural treatment, symptoms of migraines