Monday, September 1, 2008

Remedies for Menstrual Migraines

Menstrual migraine is almost a normal thing for most women. The changes in the hormones causes imbalance and therefore causes menstrual headaches.

A woman needs to consider different approaches before deciding to opt for medications. These approaches are categorized into three. The following are arranged from the least risky approach to the one not much recommended.

Lifestyle changes

As mentioned above, Lifestyle Changes carries no risks. However, this can be the hardest way for some people. The terms “Lifestyle Changes” are just to make the original term “Restriction” seem lighter. A woman needs a string mind and positive perspective of things to be able to adapt to changes appropriate for her. The approaches involved consist of diet, stress management, and regular exercise. For some women, one or two lifestyle change approach can be enough. The three approaches included are all strongly recommended as these also help one become healthier.

The approaches in lifestyle changes may seem easy, but not for everyone. It takes a lot of self discipline to be able to manage and adapt to changes. The best way for these approaches is to not force one’s self; single step at a moment until one’s body can fully adapt to the changes.

Alternative Medicine

While most claim that alternative medicine carry no risks, it is best to say that alternative medicines carry little risk. Even though considered “alternative”, these are still medicines, which make them the best, and also the safest, remedy for menstrual headaches. This approach includes acupuncture and herbal medicines. Acupuncture is a little complex and it somewhat scares some people. Most women opt for herbs.

Herbal medicines for menstrual migraines have two classifications: phytoestrogen and non-estrogen. Phytoestrogen is a good option for those who are nearing the menopausal stage. However, it causes one’s body to become less reactive in producing its own estrogen. This causes further decrease in hormone levels. Non-estrogenic herbal medicines nourish hormonal glands, making them become more efficient in producing natural hormones.
Drugs and Surgery

This approach involves high risks, and even costs so much compared to alternative medicine. Hormone replacement therapy is the most common menstrual headache treatment in the United States. Indeed, this therapy is not only the quickest way but also the most effective. However, it has been noticed that it also increases the risks of cancer and this is just one of its side effects.

A consultation with a physician is the recommended first step in fighting menstrual migraines. The physician will be able to suggest the best remedy applicable, including all the advantages as well as disadvantages an option may cause. Remedies for menstrual migraines used to be a simple matter of option of medicine's. With the approaches presented above, the consideration a woman takes will lead her to a safe treatment.

The above mentioned approaches can be combined, and can be a stand-alone option. Lifestyle changes and alternative medicine are usually best when combined. Even when combined, these carry almost no risk at all. Also, the combination of these two approaches costs less than the third approach.

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Monday, August 25, 2008

Migraine Remedies

Migraine headache is a particular type of headache which generally attacks women. Almost 18% of women face this headache compared to the 6% men who suffer from the same. The children under 18 years also get affected by migraine headaches.

The general symptoms of migraine headaches are excruciating pain on either side of head, vomiting, photophobia and over-sensitivity towards sound and noises. This can stay from 4 hours to 72 hours and the pain is felt unilaterally.

The migraine headache can get intensified due to regular physical activities like climbing staircases or walking. There are various remedies of migraine and this includes both medication and home remedies.

Conventional migraine remedies

The common migraine remedies include the painkillers and other types of tablets that the doctors prescribe to their patients. The tablets that are generally recommended to the patients suffering from migraine are codeine, paracetamol, ibuprofen, diclofenac and aspirin.

Now the problem with these migraine remedies is that they are not really effective in banishing the pain for good. Some of them might give you temporary relief from the pain but the pain will not go away completely even after taking the tablets. There are certain drawbacks of these painkiller drugs.

They have various side effects like constipation, indigestion and nausea. The other drugs which are prescribed to take at the commencement of the migraine attack are Imigran and Zomig. But long term usage of these will again cause serious side effects.

Home migraine remedies

The first thing that a migraine patient should do is to change his or her diet chart. They should cut down the amount of carbohydrate that they take on a regular basis while they increase the fat content. The reason is that there are many people who report to have a migraine attach just after consuming a large amount of carbohydrate rich food.

The inclusion of olive oil and food rich in oil content like Mackerel and sardines will lower the chances of migraine attacks. Butterbur or Petasites hybridus is a herbal migraine remedy which is popularly used in Germany. The vitamins of the “B” group are considered to be the most effective ones to ward off the migraine pain.

There are many physicians according to whom the mineral magnesium is something really important to keep away migraine. This is the reason why magnesium supplements are used to treat the patients suffering from migraine pains.

Migraine has been bothering people for a long time now and many researches have been conducted to know formulae that can reduce the pain or cure it completely. The general surveys say that the home remedies for migraine are far more effective than the artificial medicines. Certain lifestyle changes can cure migraine easily without any side effects.

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