Not Naturally Healthy

Migraines headaches hurt… For some people, it’s actually more fun to ram your head into the wall. In fact, I’m willing to bet that some people actually end up doing that to distract themselves from the rolling and burning agony that migraines bring. Fortunately migraine headache treatment is readily available and migraine symptoms are relatively easy to recognize.

Unfortunately, there’s more than one kind of migraine headache running amuck. It isn’t entirely surprising, due to the way migraines happen. Migraines occur in large part due to changes in your brain. Unlike most headaches, this can last from a quick two hours to a horrendous and troubling three days. Some people can suffer from this condition daily, or if they’re lucky, just once a year.

Kinds of Migraine Headaches

The common migraine headache, luckily, represents the vast majority of the migraines that actually occur. If it came without an aura or a premonition, it’s probably a common migraine headache. The classic and ever remembered migraine has the decency to warn you that it’s coming, the way a freight train gives a hoot before decimating and dismembering you, except that you can’t step off the metaphorical tracks when a migraine’s going for you. That warning comes in the form of the aura, or visual issues or disturbances. It varies from person to person, but this is generally a sign to wrap up your work and get ready for a terrible day.

If you’re really unlucky, you’ll suffer from status migrainosus – as the name suggests, it’s your status, your condition. It’s just not going to go away.

It isn’t just a simple headache – identifying whether you’re suffering from a migraine can be the difference between lolling around in bed and suffering and acting fast enough to minimize all the suffering.

Migraine Symptoms

Migraine symptoms can vary depending on the person involved, but luckily there are five stages to it. Well, not really luckily, but categorizing the phases can help you figure out how far along you are and what to expect as it comes along.

The first part is called the Prodome, where the warnings start. A mood swing is generally involved or your senses twitching or acting up. A sudden onset of fatigue or some unwarranted muscle tension can also be part of the prodome. The aforementioned aura follows the prodome stage, which appears as a strange visual distortion. This can manifest itself as a strange blind spot or even flashing lights – it’s pretty obvious and even if it isn’t a migraine symptom, it’s something you should probably pay attention to.

The migraine headache itself then comes and ruins your day. Luckily, the migraine usually decides to nest in only one hemisphere of your head – if you’re unlucky, you can run into that unique whole head migraine. It causes your head to throb painfully and imposes wave after wave of nausea. Some even end up being overly sensitive to both light and sound. The most horrid and unfortunate part of this is that this is the part of the migraine that sticks around anywhere between a few hours to three whole days of stunning pain.

Luckily, the fourth phase is the simple fact that the migraine abates – sleep usually does wonders for it, even without actually treatment. Postdrome, the last phase, can hang around and cause trouble even if the headache itself isn’t there anymore.

Migraine Headache Treatment

Luckily, even moderately severe migraine attacks can be treated with some tender loving care in your very own home. You can take care of yourself in this tender time, but having someone coddle you – quietly and in the dark – would probably be more relaxing. A cold compress on the part of the head that hurts is the first thing that you should do.

Next, you should make sure that you’re in a place that limits the sensations you experience. That means minimal light, very quiet and, well, as few smells as possible. Migraines cause your body to overreact to a the most basic sensations with pain, which is why migraine headache treatment revolves around making sure that few things trigger this aspect. Make yourself as comfortable as possible and don’t strain yourself.

Keeping Your Head

A migraine is usually no real cause for concern as you can take care of yourself if you happen to come under attack from it. However, there are some times wherein you should get a professional to take a glance at your noggin. A migraine headache provoked by strenuous physical activity should also provoke a trip to the doctor’s, as well as a migraine headache which has a postdrome effect of paralysis.

Migraine headaches can take a lot out of a person, no matter how tough they are. Some people can power through the pain, but the best option is to get some rest, close those eyes and make sure the world is quiet. No sense in causing yourself more pain – the migraine’s ready and willing to do that for you.