Migraine Versus Headache

Everybody will suffer from painful headaches in their lifetime. The only difference is in the frequency, the duration and the types of headaches that are experienced by each individual. In fact, it will be hard to find those very rare and lucky people who have never ever experienced a headache throughout their entire life.

However there are so many different types of headaches so how do you tell which types of headaches you are suffering from. The headache pain can range from mild to really excruciating pain depending on the type of headaches that you are experiencing. It is common knowledge that headache pains from a migraine can be really agonizing but then so does the pain that comes from cluster headaches. In fact, a lot of people rated that the cluster headache pains is worse than migraine headache pains.

If you are experiencing really painful headaches, it is actually very important to find out if you are suffering from migraines and not the other types of headaches. The reason is that migraines are treated differently than the other types of headaches. The other reason is that most medications comes with some side effects unless you are using natural remedies hence you may not want to load your body with the wrong medications and then have to suffer the side effects that comes with it unnecessarily.

How do you know you have migraines?

Here are some common symptoms of migraine:

• One of the classic trait of migraine sufferers is that they are sensitive to light even when there is no headache.

Migraine Headaches – 5 Methods to Relieve Them Naturally!

There are many new migraine headache treatments available that can be both safe and effective. Natural treatments for migraine headaches are usually safer and cheaper than traditional pain medications. And in many instances they can relieve pain just as well or even better than prescription or non-prescription drugs. The possibility of a negative reaction to a safe and natural migraine headache treatment is still there, but it is less with most natural treatment methods than it is with pain-relieving medications.

Every person on the face of the earth is unique. Their body chemistry is different than anyone else’s. One person may find relief from their migraine headaches with one type of treatment while someone else may try that same treatment and find no relief at all. No two people will experience the same reaction from the same treatment. But why is that?

Every body is made up of a mixture of chemicals. Every person produces certain chemicals in their body so that they will be able to function at their best. Histamines will increase gastric secretion and dilate the capillaries. Insulin is secreted by the pancreas and helps regulate the blood sugar levels. Hormones are produced by the body for many different functions. Adrenaline (epinephrine) is produced in response to stress. Every body is unique and produces different chemicals in differing amounts. When a person takes aspirin (a chemical) for their migraine headaches it changes the chemical make-up of that person’s body.

You’ve always heard that when two chemicals, in the same amounts, at the same temperature, etc. are mixed together they will cause the same reaction. That may be true, but when one chemical (such as aspirin) is taken by two separate people their reactions will never be exactly the same because no two people have identical chemicals in their body. One person taking aspirin will not have the same reaction as someone else taking aspirin. And it’s the same with natural migraine headache treatments. Since no two people are identical no two people will respond exactly the same to a treatment method for migraine headaches.

Migraine Headaches – Eight Prevention Steps

Anyone who has experienced a migraine headache knows how debilitating they can be. Migraine headaches are characterized by extreme pain and pressure, usually over one eye or concentrated on one side of the head; sometimes they are accompanied by nausea and sensitivity to light. An episode can last anywhere from a few hours to a few days, and render a person incapable of functioning.

The price one pays while having a migraine headache is not limited to physical pain. According to a recent study, fiscal pain can be an unfortunate consequence, since headaches often result in multiple trips to the doctor and missed days of work or school.

How can migraine headache suffers find relief for the pain without breaking the bank? The study’s author suggests taking more preventative approaches. Such as:

o Decrease stress

o Affirm yourself: “I relax into the flow of life and let life provide all that I need easily and comfortably. Life is for me.”

o Decrease Caffeine–drink decaffeinated tea/coffee and eliminate all other drinks with caffeine

o Discover any food allergies and eliminate those foods

o Eat Right for Your (Blood) Type

o Maintain healthy body weight

o 7 to 8 hours of sleep – preferably at least 1 hour of sleep before midnight

o Exercising at least 2 times a week

Resource: Stang, P.E., Crown, W.H., Bizier, R., et al. “The Family impact and costs of migraine,” American Journal of Managed Care, May 2004:313-320.

Migraine Headaches

Migraine headaches are one of the most common problems seen in doctors’ offices and emergency departments. Of the two types of migraines, common migraine accounts for about 80% of migraines. However, the classic migraines are usually the severer of the two. Yet another type of migraine headaches is Status Migrainosus, where the migraine does not go away by itself.

The body chemical serotonin is believed to be the primary cause of migraine headaches. Serotonin plays many roles in the body, and it affects the blood vessels. High levels of serotonin shrink blood vessels, while a fall in levels swells them. Although considerable research has already been done on migraines, the exact cause of migraines remains a mystery. Some experts believe that migraine headaches could be because of an expansion of blood vessels that results in the release of certain chemicals in the body.

Migraine headaches are not limited to adults alone. Children can also have stresses leading to headaches. Experts are of the opinion that migraine headaches that are associated with nausea and vomiting often begin in childhood, and the frequency increases as children pass through puberty. Usually, girls are the ones who are affected the most during their adolescent years. The pain during a migraine headache can be intense and can prevent people, particularly women, from living their daily life. However, the intensity of the headache varies from person to person.

Certain foods items and lifestyle factors, like stress, trigger migraine headaches. Therefore, it is advisable that individuals with migraine problems should try to limit or completely avoid certain foods and stressful lifestyles. For avoiding stress, you can seek the advice of your doctor on starting a program on relaxation skills. You can start eating a healthy diet and use prescribed medicines, although there were instances where excessive dependence on medicines were observed to cause a condition called ‘rebound headaches.’ It is advisable for children to start learning relaxation exercises, such as deep breathing, early on so that they are able to cope with migraines as they grow up. Children should not be given over-the-counter painkillers like aspirin since it increase their risk of Reye’s Syndrome, a problem in children that causes fever, nausea and severe vomiting, amongst other health problems.

Migraines and the Migraine Syndrome

“I feel tired. There I go yawning again. Why did I come into the bedroom anyway? I wish I could find that box of chocolates I stashed away. My neck sure is stiff today. That spot on my head is hurting again. It always starts hurting when I get one of those sick headaches! Oh, maybe it’s happening again! I can feel the throbbing pulsation on the side of my head and in my sinuses. I need to turn off that noisy radio and lie down. I believe I will draw the shades first. This room smells musty. Maybe that’s what’s nauseating me. I cannot think right now, so I might as well go to sleep. Oh my, my head is killing me.”

This patient has a common migraine headache. If presented with aura (usually visual disturbance or tingling of the skin prior to the headache), then this would be a classic migraine headache. A migraineur, a person who has a history of having migraines, may have variations on the presentation of headaches or other symptoms. Some headaches will not follow this pattern.

This person falls into the migraine syndrome [http://www.migrainesyndrome.net] profile. Let me explain what I mean by the migraine syndrome. It is the outward expression of the body’s sensitivity to light, sound, smell, food, and/or stress. Some people are more sensitive than others; therefore, their reactions to different stimuli are greater. This sensitivity can be manifested in the body as migraines, sinus headaches, neck aches, palpitations, irritable bowel syndrome, motion sickness or vertigo, reactive hypoglycemia, temporomandibular joint syndrome (TMJ), panic attacks, and/or fibromyalgia. Now that’s a mouthful! Understanding what is going on with you is very important in the healing process.

Migraine Headaches: Are Pain-Killing Drugs Worth the Risk?

All drugs are dangerous. Before a person suffering with a migraine headache takes an over-the-counter medication they should be asking the question “Is the possible benefit worth the risk of taking that drug?” William Osler, M.D. once said “The person who takes medicine must recover twice; once from the disease and once from the medicine.” Sadly, this can be all too true.

Dr. William Bennett, head of nephrology at Oregon Health Sciences University, estimates that over-the-counter painkillers are responsible for as many as 20% of the 125,000 cases of end-stage kidney disease in the United States.

Some medications have side effects that can be more serious than the painful migraine headaches themselves. Aspirin can cause internal hemorrhaging, or bleeding in the stomach. According to the Dec. 1996 issue of Health News and Views taking Tylenol once every 4 days increases the chance of liver damage by more than 400%.

The main pain-relief ingredient in Tylenol is acetaminophen which has been shown to cause liver disease. “Tylenol,” as reported in the January 1998 issue of Forbes magazine, “can be very dangerous in doses not much greater” than the recommended dose. In 1989, Lacy Keele, a 5-year-old, took four extra strength tablets in one day, or twice what a child should receive. The overdose destroyed Lacy’s liver. Within a week she was dead. A jury found Tylenol to be a cause in her death.

There have been hundreds of fatalities and serious liver injuries attributed to acetaminophen, Tylenol’s active ingredient, since Lacy’s death. The biggest reason for these deaths is because people “tend to use Tylenol in a casual fashion.” Think about it: You have a migraine headache so you take a few pills. The migraine doesn’t go away so you take a few more. The difference between a proper dose and an overdose is so small that dangerous amounts can easily be ingested accidentally. “No other over-the-counter drug has a more narrow range between therapy and toxicity than acetaminophen,” says Dr. William Lee, a professor of internal medicine at the University of Texas’ Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

Migraine Headaches – What Are They?

The possibility of a migraine headache can easily become the worst fear of anyone who has ever suffered from one. These debilitating headaches are believed to be caused by changes in the levels of serotonin in the brain. When the levels are too low, this causes the blood vessels to swell, and this swelling causes quite a bit of pain. The level of serotonin that your brain produces is determined by many different things, including foods, light, estrogen, and blood sugar levels.

Those who suffer from migraine headaches know that the pain can become incredibly intense, literally preventing them from going about their day-to-day lives. Different people experience different levels of pain with their migraines – no two are alike.

Symptoms of a migraine headache may include nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, spotty vision, sensitivity to light, sound and smells, intense throbbing pain in various places on your head, feelings of exhaustion, confusion, being too hot or too cold, having a stiff neck and shoulders, dizziness, or feeling light headed.

Many people also report that movement or being touched increases the pain dramatically. Some people suffer from migraines so often that they know when one is about to start – well before it starts. They may experience fatigue, have mood swings, crave certain foods, or they may even experience increased energy that is not ‘normal’ for them.

There are different types of migraine headaches. Classic Migraines are described as migraines that are signaled by changes in the way one sees. Feelings of depression, irritability, and restlessness may signal these migraines. Common Migraines usually start slowly and lasting much longer than Classic Migraines. Classic Migraines and Common Migraines are the two most common types of migraine headaches.

Migraine Headache — Causes And Cures

Oh, What Pain!

You know you have a migraine headache when your head is pounding so hard that it hurts to touch, you can’t stand light, and your stomach is queasy and upset. A migraine headache is one of the worst types of headaches people can get. They can cause missed days at work, depression, and a general sense of despair. If you suffer from them, or you think you suffer from them, you know that they are more than just some discomfort and a little inconvenience. With medical advances, there is no reason that you should continue to suffer from even occasional migraines. There are effective treatment methods that will bring you long-lasting and quick relief.

Be Aware Of The Symptoms

If you are not sure if what you are dealing with is a migraine headache or not, you should make yourself aware of the symptoms and get help if you need it. One of the key indicators of migraines is that you have nausea caused by the headache-also, a sensitivity to light. If you are experiencing frequent headaches accompanied by these symptoms you should talk to your doctor.

Create A Headache Journal

There are things that you can do that will help to prevent a migraine headache, but you have to understand what your “triggers” are. Keep a journal of everything that you eat, drink, and do and note when you get a migraine. If you notice a certain pattern of foods or activities that seem to happen before you get the migraine headache you may have found one of your triggers and you can find ways to possibly avoid it.