Migraines

Definition of Migraines:
The word "migraine" comes from words meaning "half the head",and sounds like "demi-cranium", because migraine headaches oftenhurt on only the left or right side of the head. However, manypeople with migraines always have pain on the whole head. A migraine headache is caused by hormonal fluctuations whichcause blood vessels in the head and neck to contract and thendilate.

The first phase, or contraction phase, may last minutes,hours, or days. During this phase, symptoms can be spots infront of the eyes, difficulty concentrating, and cold fingertipsand hands. This is called an "aura". Many people recognize thisphase of their headaches; many others don't notice any symptomsat this time. Some people who think they don't have an "aura"can learn to recognize it. When the blood vessels dilate, the headache pain starts. Apparently the hormones over-react. Instead of just going from acontracted state back to normal, the blood vessels dilate muchwider than normal, causing pain.

Other things also happen aboutthe same time: swelling of the brain, release of certainchemicals, and perhaps muscle tension. These things add to thepain. There are a number of different processes that can cause theinterplay of hormones leading to contracted and then over-dilatedblood vessels. It's not always the same hormones that areinvolved. Some of the natural treatments listed here focus on asingle process.

Different things work for different people. Some people may need to use several treatments at the same time. Some people who think they have "tension headaches" are actuallyhelped by migraine treatments. Many headaches are probably acombination of muscle tension and migraine. Because migraines occur in a two-phase process, with levelsof certain hormones high in one phase and low in the otherphase, a lot of treatments can either help or make the headacheworse, depending on timing. For the same reason, treatments that help one person can make a headache worse for another person.

This section describes things you can do whenyou're in pain, to reduce the pain.
-- Have a bath or shower.
-- Lie down to rest in a dark room.
-- Avoid bright or flashing light.
-- Put something cold on the back of your neck, such as a cold, wet cloth; or alternate hot and cold cloths where the pain is.
-- Put a cold compress on your forehead and your feet in a container of warm water.
-- Have a drink of water or natural juice, especially tomato juice.
-- Have some food, or a nutritious drink, if you haven't eaten for a while.
-- Massage your own face, head, neck and shoulders, or get someone else to do those and your back. Relax your muscles.
-- Press on two pressure points at the back of the neck. These points are about two inches apart, just below the base of the skull. Press for a minute or two. This releases endorphins that help against pain.
-- Massage or press on the fleshy area between thumb and forefinger.
-- Gently lean the head to left or right to stretch the neck muscles. Massage and relax any tense muscles.
-- Avoid sources of stress. Cancel activities so there's less to worry about.
-- Avoid exercise during a headache if it makes throbbing pain in the head and neck worse. On the other hand, generally exercise improves health, and it may help you relax during a headache.
-- Take some niacin (a form of vitamin B3). Taking enough niacin to cause a flush (blood rushing to the skin) can provide relief from headache pain, but this much niacin can also have side effects (flush, nausea, heartburn, liver damage, etc.) Niacinamide doesn't have such bad side effects, but isn't as much use against migraines, either. Smaller, safer amounts of niacin are also helpful. Niacin can trigger a migraine, though.
-- Take some vitamin C, vitamin B6, choline, tryptophan and niacin and/or magnesium.

Other Helpful Links :

Nociceptive Applianceshttp://www.nti-tss.com
Medicinal HerbFAQhttp://ibiblio.org/herbmed/faqs/medi-cont.htmlor http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/medicinal-herbs
Medline searches for titles/abstracts of medical experiments http://www4.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/
Migraine Association of Canadahttp://www.migraine.ca/default.htm
Migraine Action Association (UK)http://www.migraine.org.uk/
Migraine and Magnesium Deficiencyhttp://www.execpc.com/~magnesum/migraine.html
Light Therapy for PMS, Migraine, SAD...http://www.lightmask.com/