The headache associated the chronic condition known as a migraine can be debilitating. An extreme migraine can put a person off her routine for hours, days and, in some cases, weeks. No wonder that so many different kinds of home remedies have erupted to go alongside the traditional pain relievers that may or may not work. It is the unpredictability of pain relievers to treat migraine headaches that usually sends suffers looking for alternative treatment; some people are willing to try anything to make the ache go away.
Magnesium
One of the physiological causes of migraine headaches is the spasming of blood vessels located in the head with the resulting pain that accompanies the firing of the nerves. Taking magnesium supplements serves to maintain vessel tone, while also ensuring that nerves don't fire. If the nerves don't fire, there is no pain. Patients with a known deficiency of magnesium who have been advised to take supplements have report fewer migraines and reduction in the severity when they do occur. Recommended dosage is 1,000 milligrams right before bed.
Riboflavin
Riboflavin is one of those vitamins commonly found in healthy amounts in breakfast cereals, which is how most people become familiar with it. By taking 200 milligrams of riboflavin in supplement form, or an equal amount consumed naturally on a daily basis( though that would a lot of cereal), people have reported the number of headaches suffered on a monthly basis to be much lower.
Feverfew
Feverfew is perhaps the hottest thing in herbal remedies for migraine headaches today. Interestingly, feverfew has always been hot stuff in the world of herbal healers for centuries and possibly millennia. Only now, however, is the full power of feverfew hitting the mainstream. Just 125 milligrams of feverfew leaf a day has been reported to significantly lower frequency and severity of migraine headaches in study participants.
Although there is no evidence that combining magnesium, feverfew and riboflavin increases the ability to stave off migraine pain, there is no reason not to experiment with certain combinations, either.
Relaxation Therapy
Migraine headaches are peculiar in the world of headaches because it is known that there are certain triggers specific to individuals. One of the most commons migraine triggers is stress, so many sufferers swear by a variety of relaxation therapies to relieve stress. Among the different types of therapies that have been proven successful are yoga, biofeedback and meditation.
Exercise
A person in the throes of a bad migraine is probably not inclined to suddenly go jogging, bike riding or swimming. However, exercise is a terrific way to work off a migraine. Although aerobic exercise works best, as a result of pumping oxygen into blood that in turn widens the vessels, there are some people who also swear by weightlifting as a way to battle back against the often crippling pain of a migraine.
Sex
Yes, believe it or not, but you can actually use the excuse of having a headache for having sex just as easily as using it for not having sex. Sexual relations of any kind are ideal ways to beat back a headache, in large part because of the psychological effects of distracting you from the pain. Sex may be seen in some ways as a placebo, only much more pleasurable to take than a sugar pill.
Peppermint Oil
Mix a diluted essence of peppermint oil with a combination of olive oil and rub across the temple, around the hairline and across the back of the neck at the first sign of an oncoming migraine attack. Then lie down in a dark room with a ice pack under the back of your neck and and across your forehead for about 15 minutes.
