Some Factors In Migraine Prevention
Migraine prevention is one aspect of the whole migraine phenomenon that has been getting more research and attention in recent years. One reason for this is that it’s difficult to know how to treat a migraine if you don’t even know what causes it. But once you’ve found even a few of the causes, this not only helps you in your quest to try to treat or even end migraines altogether, but it can help you learn how to prevent them from coming on in the first place. So the research into causes, treatments, and prevention have all fed off each other and aided each other.
One of the biggest advances in the research has been with regard to migraine triggers. A great many of these have been discovered, falling into two categories: controllable and uncontrollable. Uncontrollable triggers might be things like changing weather patterns. For example, big swings in barometric pressure, a high humidity, and certain types of wind can all trigger a migraine. One might think migraine prevention would be impossible when it comes to these factors, but they might at least be mitigated to some extent.
Another type of migraine that some feel falls into the “uncontrollable” category would be the menstrual migraine. After all, a woman can’t very well just stop menstruating to prevent a headache. Yet the trigger here seems, at least in part, to be either too much or too little estrogen. Menstruating women can’t entirely control their estrogen levels, yet they might be able to alter the dosage to some degree in their birth control pills. And post-menopausal women can certainly adjust dosages in their hormone replacement therapies. So migraine prevention might even be possible in these cases.
But there are definitely triggers that people can detect and do something about. For example, if they realize that certain foods appear to trigger a severe headache, over and over again, then they can take those foods out of their diet. Some of the more common examples of this are chocolate, cheese and dairy, or citrus. But foods aren’t the only controllable triggers. The person might react to strong fumes and smells as well, so they might be able to avoid places where a lot of painting is going on. Migraine prevention can be possible when people learn what their controllable triggers are, and do whatever they can to get those things out of their lives.
A generally healthy lifestyle will automatically contribute to someone’s personal program of migraine defense. For example, if they make sure they get enough sleep, keep stress to a minimum, exercise and eat regular healthy meals, then those will all be factors in keeping migraines away. However, migraine prevention can also be greatly helped if the person can learn what their own triggers are, whether foods, smells or even glaring light, and take as many steps as they can to do away with them.
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