Have trouble with migraines?
We did some digging across some academic journals that provide insights that might help you manage migraines.
But first, here are a few things we need to get out of the way:
- This blog post is for entertainment purposes only. It should not be taken as a substitute for advice from medical professionals. None of the tips here are guaranteed to help mitigate migraines.
- None of our products are intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or condition (including migraines).
- We are not affiliated with the brands or products listed on this page, nor do we stand behind any claims these brands may make about their products in relation to migraines or other medical conditions.
Plus, at the bottom of this blog post, we’ll have a full list of sources for the information used to make this article.
So without further hesitation, let's get started!
1. Talking To Your Doctor
As you read through this blog post, you'll find a lot of interesting findings from various studies.
However, the absolute best place to start when figuring out how to deal with migraines is talking with your doctor.
No amount of "advice" that you'll find online will amount to anything close to the perspective of a highly educated medical professional.
So please, if you are suffering from migraines and you need help, make an appointment with your doctor. They'll give you better advice and tips than any online article (including this one) can provide.
2. Keeping a Diary
Migraines are an incredibly "vast" medical issue. Different people may have different triggers along with varying effects.
But taking some time to jot down triggers, duration, the location of the pain, and even relief measures can go a long way.
A study conducted in 2005 found that 72% of participants who kept a migraine diary found it easier to communicate to their doctors about migraines.
70% were also either more or much more satisfied with the quality of medical care they receive from their doctor after keeping a diary.
If you're looking for a logbook specifically designed for recording migraines, then you can check out this one that includes:
- Diagrams of pain location
- Triggers
- Relief measures
- Day/time
3. Cooling Your Neck
Cold therapy has been one of the oldest and most well-known forms of self-care for people dealing with migraines. However, the exact reason why this works has remained elusive.
So in 2013, a group of researchers set out to uncover this mystery. They provided participants with a wrap containing ice packs that targeted carotid arteries in the neck.
Carotid arteries are blood vessels located on both sides of the neck responsible for delivering blood to the brain and the rest of the head.
The study revealed applying the neck wrap at the start of a migraine helped reduce the record pain of participants.
Here is one frozen neck wrap that you can get right away.
4. Green Light Exposure
In the fall of 2020, there was a study on the effects of green light on migraines. They took 29 patients who had episodic migraines and 22 patients who suffered from chronic migraines.
In their experiment, subjects were exposed to diodes emitting white light for 1 to 2 hours per day for 10 weeks. Then, after a two-week break period, they received 1 to 2 hours of green light-emitting diodes for 10 weeks.
They found that exposure to green light-emitting diodes reduced the number of days with a headache in both groups.
You can find sunglasses designed explicitly for migraines and light sensitivity that only allow for green wavelengths to pass through.
5. Managing Caffeine Intake
Did you know that behind a lot of headaches (let alone migraines) in the United States is coffee?
To be more accurate, it's a lack of coffee…as in caffeine withdrawal.
For years, many have seen caffeine as both a trigger and a source of relief when it comes to migraines.
Researchers in 2020 reviewed different studies on the relationship between caffeine and migraines to find that:
- 17 studies found that caffeine and caffeine withdrawal can be a migraine trigger in a small percentage of participants
- All treatment studies found caffeine to be a safe method of acute migraine treatment, especially when used with analgesics.
They found that overuse of caffeine may lead to the chronification of migraines. However, withdrawal may trigger attacks.
If you're a coffee lover but want to cut down on your caffeine intake, you might want to look into "half-caff" coffee blends.
Featured Products
Headache Diary: Migraine Log Book
Stone Street Mayan Water Half-Caff
Conclusion
We hope you found this blog to be interesting and informative.
But please keep in account that we are not medical professionals, and the best advice you'll ever get on this subject will come from talking to your doctor.
And again, our products are not FDA approved, and they are not meant to treat, cure, diagnose, or prevent any disease.
We are also not affiliated with any of the brands linked to or featured in this post, so we cannot claim to stand behind any claims they may or may not make.
And that's about it!
Sources
Diary:
Baos, V, et al. "Use of a Structured Migraine Diary Improves Patient and Physician Communication about Migraine Disability and Treatment Outcomes." International Journal of Clinical Practice, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Mar. 2005, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15857323/
Neck cooling:
Sprouse-Blum, Adam S, et al. "Randomized Controlled Trial: Targeted Neck Cooling in the Treatment of the Migraine Patient." Hawai'i Journal of Medicine & Public Health : a Journal of Asia Pacific Medicine & Public Health, University Clinical, Education & Research Associate (UCERA), July 2013, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3727573/
Greenlight:
Martin, Laurent F, et al. "Evaluation of Green Light Exposure on Headache Frequency and Quality of Life in Migraine Patients: A Preliminary One-Way Cross-over Clinical Trial." Cephalalgia : an International Journal of Headache, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 9 Sept. 2020, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32903062/.
Caffeine:
Nowaczewska, Magdalena, et al. "The Ambiguous Role of Caffeine in Migraine Headache: From Trigger to Treatment." Nutrients, MDPI, 28 July 2020, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7468766/.
