Things You Need To Know About Migraine Treatment

When trying to find a cure for a chronic condition such as migraines, you have to look in the right places. Physician advice can be helpful yet you must consider other sources as well. Your doctor may only prescription pills and other meds to help combat the symptoms of the migraine attack but you can also use natural treatments to better stifle the symptoms in a more successful and safer way. One of the migraine treatment options you could consider is chiropractic adjustment. Many illnesses in life can be effectively healed by adjusting the spine and relieving tension from off of the nerves. The chiropractor will ask many questions to determine where to adjust and focus on versus just aligning the spine generically and not having the problem abated. This treatment can also help you sleep better as fatigue will delay your healing.

Different Than Other Headaches

Some forty million people put up with headaches throughout a given year making headaches a very common complaint, the concern is not that a headache has occurred but the frequency of the headache as well as the length in which the headache last. If frequent headaches (not migraines) occur and last longer than a few hours, medical attention might be needed in order to insure that the pain being felt is truly a headache and not something more. It is important to understand the differences between a migraine and a normal/tension headache; in doing so, you can better equip yourself toward preventative means than just focusing on the temporary remedial work. Pay close attention to the next few points as they should explain in more detail what a headache versus a migraine looks like.

• A headache attacks quickly and with no warning where as a migraine we learned has preemptive warning signs.
• Migraines can last up to three days headaches a few hours.
• A headache though bothersome does not typically result in a loss of productivity and the inability to function.
• Headaches feel more like a pulsing feeling inside your head; migraines on the other hand tend to be felt only on one side of the head.
• Some level of irritability might occur with a headache but typically subsides after some over the counter medicine has been taken, sadly those suffering with a migraine do not bounce back as quickly.
• Feelings of nausea, dizziness, sensitivity to light and sound are all characters of a migraine and will not be present with a headache.

The Symptoms

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
• Coldness in the hands and feet
• Pain can also generate in the back of the head
• Vomiting
• Pain can formulate right above one eye
• Nausea
• The pain is often described as unilateral meaning the pain is typically felt or experienced on one side of the head.
• Paleness
• 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.
• Sensitivity to light and sound
• 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.
• Diarrhea

The Effect Of Prescription Medications

It is important that migraines sufferers realize that medication prescribed for migraine relief is not a cure for migraine headaches themselves but are used for one of two purposes:

1. Relieve Symptoms
2. Prevent Attacks

There are a variety of medications used to treat migraines and each treatment comes with their own side effects so it is important that the migraine sufferer be made aware of the effect prescription medications can have on them. The use of prophylactic medication can be somewhat helpful as well in reducing the reoccurrences of migraine headaches. Prophylactic medicine is taken daily as a preventative medication. Prophylactic medication is not effective when taken once a migraine has developed its job if to help reduce migraine frequency not the pain associated with migraines. A few examples of Prophylactic Medication are:

• Beta Blockers
• Calcium-channel Blockers
• TricyclicAnti-depressants
• Antiserotonin Agents
• Anticonvulsants

Speak with your doctor about prophylactic medication and if whether or not he or she feels you would make a good candidate for prophylactic medication treatment.

Tags: Acetaminophen (a.k.a. Tylenol), migraine pain, migraine relief, Non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), over the counter medication, treating migraines