Contents:
- Medical Video: Chronic Daily Headache - Mayo Clinic
- Causes of frequent headaches during menstruation
- How to deal with headaches during menstruation?
Medical Video: Chronic Daily Headache - Mayo Clinic
When a woman is menstruating, various complaints are often felt by the body, ranging from nausea, abdominal pain, to headaches or migraines. This condition is actually reasonable, and symptoms can still be dealt with in easy ways. But, what causes frequent headaches during menstruation?
Causes of frequent headaches during menstruation
Headaches can basically be caused by many things. However, headaches during menstruation are generally caused by hormonal changes in a woman's body.Experts find that headaches or even migraines usually appear between two days before menstruation, up to the first three days of your menstruation. Headaches during menstruation are also usually more severe than other times when not menstruating.
The reason is none other than the hormone estrogen which drops suddenly during PMS and menstruation so that it can trigger headaches. The hormone estrogen also functions to activate parts of the brain that regulate pain. The lower the estrogen, the less the brain resources to relieve pain or kill pain.
According to experts at the National Migraine Center, more than half of women who regularly experience migraines will experience more severe migraines before or during menstruation. Research shows that the risk of headaches increases 25 percent in the five days leading up to the first day of menstruation, and that the risk increases to 71 percent in two days before menstruation begins. The highest risk of headache occurs on the first day and two days after menstruation.
How to deal with headaches during menstruation?
Headaches during menstruation can be treated by taking painkillers. Other methods include:
- Put a bag of ice cubes wrapped in a towel on your head that hurts.
- Practice relaxation to reduce stress.
- Acupuncture therapy can help make you relax and relieve headaches.
- Take triptans. Your doctor may prescribe triptans, this drug can block the pain signals in your brain. Triptans are often used to relieve pain from headaches within two hours and help control vomiting.
- Take painkillers and triptans. Some women may use a combination of NSAIDs and triptans to relieve pain due to menstruation.
- Note when headaches when menstruation begin to feel. This can help doctors find patterns and treatments.
