Contents:
- Medical Video: What Causes A Migraine?
- What is a migraine?
- Migraine is different from the next headache
- The most common causes of migraine
- 1. Genetic factors
- 2. Certain foods and drinks
- 3. Menstruation
- 4. Changes in weather and a pungent aroma
- 5. Stress
- How do you know what triggers migraines yourself?
- Various natural migraine drugs that you can try at home
- 1. Acupressure
- 2. Apply mint leaf oil on the forehead and temples
- 3. Inhale the scent of lavender
- 4. Drink warm ginger
- 5. Do yoga regularly
- 6. Pay attention to your food intake
Medical Video: What Causes A Migraine?
Have you ever experienced a migraine? It feels very sick beyond ordinary headaches, right? One in five women and one in 15 men reported frequent migraines. Migraines can even be felt from childhood, you know! Apparently there are many things that can trigger migraine attacks. Knowing the various things that cause migraines can help you control this disease.
What is a migraine?
Migraines are headaches that arise due to changes in activity in the brain. This change causes pain in the head with a very painful throbbing sensation. Often migraines are also followed by:
- Increased sensitivity of the body to light, sound and smell.
- Pain that can last several hours to days.
- Some other symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, pain behind one eye or ear, loss of temporary vision ability, and only occur on one side of the head.
- Symptoms of aura. Aura is a sensation that you will usually feel before or when you experience a migraine. This aura itself usually occurs for 10 to 30 minutes. Conditions that will occur during the aura are vision problems (such as seeing bright light, lines, or "stars"), feeling tingling in the neck, face, or hands. In addition, sufferers may experience difficulty speaking or other basic abilities (such as writing or reading).
Migraine is different from the next headache
Migraines are attacks of recurrent headaches followed by pain that is usually severe and often makes it helpless. The pain is throbbing intensely or in the form of extreme pain like being hit by a hard object. Migraines often occur on one side of the head. However, this condition is classified as a neurological disorder due to a lower resistance to stimulation of migraine causes.
While the headache is next to, akacluster headache, is a type of headache characterized by pain that suddenly appears behind the eyes or the area around the eyes, but only on one side of the head. Pain can last at least 15 minutes to three hours. Unlike migraines, the next headache is not a hereditary nerve disorder.
The most common causes of migraine
By knowing the various causes of migraines, you will also find it easier to take precautions to avoid migraine attacks. Here are some things that can cause migraines:
1. Genetic factors
Now researchers have been able to determine that swollen blood vessels are one of the many chains of causes of migraine attacks, but this is not the main cause. What they know for sure, migraines are hereditary neurological disorders.
Reporting fromHow Stuff WorksIf one of your parents has a history of migraine attacks, you have a 50 percent chance of having the same condition. If your parents have this history, your chances increase by 70 percent.
2. Certain foods and drinks
Eating foods and drinks that contain certain ingredients such as MSG and caffeine are believed to be the cause of migraines. Both MSG and caffeine can both affect the central nervous system and blood vessels in the brain. As a result, blood vessels in the brain constrict and contract.
Other foods such as cheese and chocolate can also be migraine triggers. Chocolate has several substances that are suspected of causing migraines such as phenylethylamine, flavonoids and tiramin. Unlike the other two substances, tyramine is a migraine trigger substance that is important because it can cause changes in brain hormones and affect blood flow.
Just like chocolate, cheese is a food that has tiramin. As a result, this one food has the potential to trigger migraines in someone who is sensitive to tiramin or tends to experience changes in the bloodstream.
3. Menstruation
Changes in the hormone estrogen close to or after the menstrual cycle are believed to be the cause of migraine in a woman. This is supported by a study that reported that 62 percent of participants experienced migraines after their menstrual cycle was completed. Some literature even adds that the cause of migraine due to changes in the hormone estrogen may also be experienced by women after menopause.
4. Changes in weather and a pungent aroma
Weather changes and a pungent aroma can cause migraines. A study of several Brazilian teenagers revealed a changing weather between blazing, hot, cloudy, or suddenly cold can trigger migraine attacks. The study participants also reported that a strange or stinging aroma could also cause a migraine to recur. Perfumes, sharp food scents such as durians, and cigarette smoke are among the most common examples of recurrent migraine headaches.
5. Stress
An increase or decrease in a person's emotional condition suddenly can trigger migraines. When stressed, a person's brain will release chemical compounds that cause several changes in the body and brain, such as muscle tension and blood vessel dilation.
Uniquely, stress can occur both in happy and frustrating moments. In some cases even, new migraines are felt after the stress moment has passed or is over, or when you have entered a period of relaxation.
How do you know what triggers migraines yourself?
Every day, everything around you and everything you experience and consume can be the cause of your recurrent migraine. However, it is not easy to detect the cause of your migraine. Because the trigger factor for your migraine may be a combination of several things or only at certain times.
In some cases you may even experience a prediction. When you want to eat chocolate, but you have a migraine, you might assume that chocolate is the cause of your migraine. But at other times, you have already experienced a migraine even before you eat chocolate.
The cause of this migraine is generally working in the body 48 hours before the migraine attack approaches. One way you can deal with this problem is to keep a record of what triggers before your migraine recurs. Good luck!
Various natural migraine drugs that you can try at home
Although migraines are one of the common health conditions, this one disease can hinder your daily activities if not handled properly. In addition to taking painkillers that are sold without a prescription at a drug store or pharmacy, you can also use natural remedies to relieve migraine attacks.
Even so, it's a good idea to consult a doctor first to ensure the safety of natural migraine drugs below. Because the natural migraine drug may react differently to everyone. Remember, what is naturally not always safe.
In general, here are some choices of natural migraine drugs that you can try at home:
1. Acupressure
Acupressure is the practice of alternative medicine by pressing certain body points with fingers to relieve pain.
According to a 2014 study, acupressure was effective for treating chronic headaches. Another separate study also says that acupressure can help relieve migraine accompanying symptoms, such as nausea and vomiting.
2. Apply mint leaf oil on the forehead and temples
Menthol in mint leaf oil can relieve symptoms of relapsing migraines. According to a 2010 study from the Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Iran, applying mint leaf oil rubbed onto the forehead and temples was more effective in relieving migraine pain and nausea than using placebo migraine drugs (empty drugs without any substances).
3. Inhale the scent of lavender
Based on a study published in the journal European Neurology in 2012, it is known that inhaling the scent of lavender essential oil can relieve migraine headaches, especially those triggered by stress. The study states that people who breathe the scent of lavender oil when a migraine relapse can heal faster than people who use an empty drug (placebo).
Not only that, lavender oil is also commonly used to relieve stress, help sleep soundly, to overcome symptoms of anxiety and depression. Lavender oil can be used by inhaling or by rubbing it on the skin.
4. Drink warm ginger
Ginger is a natural spice that is widely used as an alternative medicine for various conditions, one of which is migraine. According to research from Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, drinking ginger steamed tea and taking sumatriptan migraine drugs afterwards can quickly relieve migraine symptoms.
5. Do yoga regularly
Yoga is a natural migraine drug that is rarely known to many people. Yoga movements that involve regulating your breath, meditation, and the accuracy of your posture can improve your mental and physical health.
Some studies show that yoga can reduce the frequency, duration, and intensity of migraine symptoms. Yoga is also reported to reduce anxiety and tension in the area of the head affected by migraines.
So far there have been no medical studies that can really prove that yoga can cure migraines. Even so, the benefits of yoga for overall body health need not be doubted.
6. Pay attention to your food intake
Magnesium deficiency can lead to headaches and relapsing migraines. Research shows that taking magnesium oxide supplements can help prevent migraines that appear with the aura. Taking supplements containing magnesium can also prevent migraines triggered by menstrual pain, aka PMS.
Even so, you can also get natural sources of magnesium from the foods you consume everyday. There are many sources of magnesium that you can consume, namely:
- Avocado
- Banana
- Dark green leafy vegetables, like spinach, broccoli, and mustard greens
- Nuts
- Soybeans
- Whole wheat seeds
- Some types of fish, like salmon
- Milk and dairy products
In addition to magnesium, you also need to fulfill your intake of omega-3 acids. Because, some headaches that cause migraine may be caused by inflammation. Well, foods that are high in healthy fats with omega-3 acids have been known for a long time to reduce the effects of inflammation in the body. Indirectly this one healthy fat can also be your natural migraine drug.
This was also proven in a study of migraines published in the Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research. In the study, it was known that people who rarely ate omega-3 fats, migraines recur more often than those who regularly eat omega-3 food sources.
Healthy fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, sardines and mackerel, as well as eggs, olive oil, avocados, spinach, almonds and walnuts, and soybeans are examples of high omega-3 food sources that can be natural migraine drugs.
