Migraines aren’t typical headaches. If you experience them, you’ll likely understand just how this particular fresh shade of hell experience, including pounding cranial pain, nausea, neck and upper back tension, and sensitivity to light and sound can be. You’ll also know that when a migraine strikes, you’ll do almost anything to make it go away.
I am also a fervent believer in trying to find a drug-free way to reduce migraine symptoms. Including natural at-home treatments that help prevent migraines, or at least help reduce their severity and duration. Keeping in mind, severe migraines may require treatment with prescription or over-the-counter (OTC) medication.
As with any serious medical treatment, you should always speak to your doctor about a treatment plan that works for you. But for those looking to help alleviate your at-home migraine symptoms, here are few tips to help you get started.
Tips for preventing migraine symptoms at home
Avoid foods that may trigger migraine symptoms
Diet plays a vital role in preventing migraines. Many foods and beverages are known migraine triggers, such as foods with nitrates including hot dogs, deli meats, bacon, sausage (cured and dried), as well as chocolate. Other foods including cheese contain the naturally-occurring compound, tyramine, such as blue, feta, cheddar, Parmesan, and Swiss cheese, as well as other dairy products including buttermilk, sour cream, and yogurt. Chemicals commonly found in red wine, that have been known to accelerate migraine symptoms.
Other foods to avoid are that containing monosodium glutamate (MSG), a flavor enhancer, commonly known to increase migraine. Other foods to avoid include extremely cold products, such as ice cream or iced drinks, and heavily processed foods.
A quick rule of thumbs when it comes to helping to alleviate migraine symptoms at home by way of food is to strategically start omitting specific foods, such as the above-mentioned varieties, from your diet as a method in helping you to decipher which foods and beverages trigger your migraines.
A great way to do this is by keeping a daily food diary. Record everything you eat and note how you feel afterward. Then, omit foods on a more consistent basis to help you further limit debilitating migraines at home.
Try holistic measures
When it comes to alleviating migraine symptoms at home, there are numerous natural, holistic methods to try. Including the use of lavender essential oil. As it has been found that inhaling lavender essential oil may ease migraine pain.
In a 2012 research study, people who inhaled lavender oil during a migraine attack for 15 minutes experienced faster relief than those who inhaled a placebo. Lavender oil may be inhaled directly or applied diluted to the temples, alongside a carrier oil, such as sweet almond oil, olive oil, or coconut oil. Ginger and peppermint essential oils have been known to help in a similar capacity as well.
Acupressure is another great migraine preventative. Acupressure, the practice of applying pressure with the fingers and hands to specific points on the body to relieve pain and other symptoms, has been used. Helping relieve stress, tension, anxiety, improve sleep, reducing digestive issues, helping to minimize headaches, and alleviating chronic pain.
According to a 2014 systematic review, acupressure is a credible alternative therapy for people in pain from chronic headaches and other conditions. A separate study found acupressure may help relieve migraine-associated nausea symptoms at home.
Consuming ginger products can help as well. Ginger is commonly known to ease nausea caused by many conditions, including migraines. It also has other migraine benefits including decreased migraine severity and duration as well as the prescription drug sumatriptan, and with fewer side effects.
Adding magnesium to your diet can also help. Magnesium deficiency has been linked to headaches and migraines. Providing evidence that a diet rich in magnesium oxide can help prevent migraines with aura and also prevent menstrual-related migraines. Foods rich in magnesium include almonds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, Brazil nuts, cashews, peanut, oatmeal, and eggs.
Practice yoga
Yoga utilized applied, varied methods of utilizing breathing, meditation, and body postures to promote health and an increased sense of well-being. Research shows yoga may relieve the frequency, duration, and intensity of migraines. While also thought to improve anxiety, release tension in migraine-trigger areas, and improve vascular health.
While it’s far too soon to say with complete accuracy that yoga could be a go-to, singular treatment for migraines, many who practice yoga believe it to be beneficial as a complementary therapy to existing migraine-relief methods at home.
Try biofeedback
Biofeedback is a relaxation method that teaches you to control reactions to stress. Biofeedback may be helpful for migraines triggered by physical reactions to stress such as muscle tensing.
While this therapy is generally given under the guise of a trained therapist, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a biofeedback device, Resperate, for reducing stress and lowering blood pressure. Resperate is a portable electronic device that promotes slow, deep breathing. However, the FDA doesn’t regulate many biofeedback devices marketed for home use to date. But such measures can certainly be worth discussing with your physician.
For those looking for a more techie route, there are also several app-based biofeedback methods available including:
- Belly Bio: A great app that uses the iPhone’s accelerometer to monitor proper diaphragmatic breathing.
- eSense Temperature: This app provides skin temperature feedback with guided practice for Android and iPhone. To use the app, the monitoring instrument, which connects to the phone, must be purchased.
- My Calm Beat: A very nicely designed, inexpensive app for the iPhone or Android that personalizes and monitors paced breathing practice. Including relaxation-based games.
- Breath Pacer: A simple, inexpensive, paced breathing app available for iPhone or Android devices.
- Inner Balance: An app and a heart-rate sensor that plugs into your iPhone or iPad and guides you through paced breathing while providing you with feedback about your ongoing heart rate variation and stress levels.
Self-Massage
A weekly massage can help reduce migraine frequency, improve sleep quality, and aid in lowering cortisol levels that can trigger migraine symptoms at home. But often migraine symptoms occur at home without a window of opportunity to booking a massage. Which is why self-massage can be of help during the onset of early migraine symptoms at home. A few techniques to try include:
- Using your thumbs, press firmly onto the bridge of your nose, just underneath your forehead. Point your thumbs in opposing directions (meaning one is a thumbs up, and the other is a thumbs down) Hold firmly, but gently, for 10 seconds, breathing deeply. Repeat the process 2-4 times as needed.
- Place thumbs upwards, like in a thumbs up position, just below your eyebrows. Hold firm but not enough to cause pain. Take deep breaths and hold for 10 seconds. Repeat as necessary.
- Using both hands, pinch skin tissue just below your eyebrows away from your face and hold. Hold for 5-7 seconds and repeat.
- Use your middle three fingers and press firmly into the sides of your temple. Then slowly rub in a circular motion. Then hold still for 7-10 seconds using steady pressure.
- If you’re suffering from sinus pressure, press into the sides of your nose and move your fingers firmly away from the nose, towards the cheekbones. Work on both sides at once and work multiple points along the bridge of your nose. Direct the pressure towards your face and move away towards your cheekbones. Flush away fluid as you go.
When a migraine hits my world seems to halt to a stop. But many of these natural methods have helped me to greatly reduce my migraine symptoms at home and may be of use to you as well.
As always, the best source for advice on treating your migraines is your own migraine specialist. These descriptions of natural remedies are provided only for informational purposes. You should begin no medication or supplement without first checking with your physician.
No, friends, I want to ask, do you utilize any natural methods to help control migraine symptoms at home? Share your methods in the comments below!