What is Migraine? Migraine is pain in head that starts from behind the eyes and is located in one side and afterward it may spread in other areas of brain. it can last from 4 hrs to 72 hrs and even after that there may be soreness feeling in head where it was located. Migraine pain can be mild or may be intense varying from person to person and even in same person for different attacks.
In allopathic system the cure is to give painkillers when it occur but in ayurveda doing regular pranayam can reduce its attack or may fully cure it. Also through acupressure migraine can be cured.
Symptoms of migraine
– Pain behind eyes that can be dull or intense and can affect daily activities.
– Nausea and vomiting
– Feeling tired
– Confused and impaired thinking
– Changing posture or bending increase pain
– Irritability
– Loss in interest and concentration
– More sensitivity for sound and light
– In some person pain with pulsating sound in the brain
Triggers of migraine
There are many factors that acts as trigger for migraine. Some of them are follows
– Working for the long hours without proper rest
– Mental stress
– Sleep deprivation and oversleeping
– Skipping meals or not taking at regular time
– Consumption of alcohol
– Some food items as red wine, chocolate, caffeine, paneer, cheese, maida, mono sodium glutamate
– Drinking less water
– Eyestrain
– In winters not properly covering ears
– Environmental factors like sudden change in temperature, decrease in air pressure, noise and odors
– Hormonal changes in women such as during menses because of decrease in estrogen, pregnancy
– Taking contraceptive pills
Home remedies for migraine
Many times the reason for migraine is disturbance in digestive system. The problem of constipation and acidity can promote migraine. So it is important to make digestive system healthy and avoid acidity and constipation. Start eating vegetables, fruits and salads. Guava, apple, cheeku, and papaya helps to remove constipation. Take fiber rich diet and take sprout in breakfast. Some other remedies are
– Regularly do anulom vilom pranayam for atleast 15 mins. This effectively cures migraine provided do it daily two times a day.
– Put 3 to 5 drops of badam rogan( oil of almonds) in each nostril and suck it.
– Peppermint, ajwain sat, and desi camphor take 10 gm each add 10 gms of eucalyptus oil and 2 gm laung ka tel, put all in bottle. This can be applied on forehead, smell it and if suffering from acidity consume with candy sugar, batasha or 2-3 drops of water.
– Take eucalyptus leaves and grind to make a paste and apply on the forehead.
– When empty stomach drink 2 to 4 glass of lukewarm water in morning and then vomit it by putting two fingers in the mouth this cleans the stomach of acidity and so cures migraine.
But please note that it must not performed by person suffering from high blood pressure, asthma ,any heart related problem or has undergone eye operation.
Acupressure points
By pressing acupressure points migraine can be cured. So it is better to try it before popping a pain killer as no matter how safe is the drug it always have some side effects on body or our body may get dependent on pain killers in long term to relieve any pain.
– Press top of ring fingers of both hands, if intense pain then may press all finger with pressure and then press the center of palm. Similarly the points are in feet.
– The region between eye brows and ears that is temple region, press it on both side.
– Press the point at nasal bridge
– At top of skull press and release.
– Head massage with some pressure.
– Press the web region between thumb and index finger
– Press medulla point or the region between lowest portion of skull and neck it feels like dimple, take deep breaths while applying pressure
Ayurvedic medicine
Ayurvedic medicine for curing migraine is as follows
– Take 2 goli of medhawati twice a day with cow milk.
– Take bramhi, shankhpuspi, Ustukhuddus, gajawan, jatamasi, mithi bach and saunf 50 gm each and grind coarsely take 1 spoon and soak this in night and boil in morning and then drain and drink, similarly soak in morning and use in evening.
Preventing migraine
Although it is difficult to control migraine but by taking certain steps its recurrence can be minimized.
– Do deep breathing exercise anulom vilom pranayam twice daily for 15 mins. This also reduces mental stress.
– Maintain a regular sleep cycle.
– In winter cover your ear to protect from cold air.
– Eat vitamin B rich diet as fortified breakfast cereals, baked potatoes with skin, bananas, beans, Carrots, Spinach, Peas, Whole grains, Peanut Butter, fortified breads. Body require this vitamin to properly use serotonin and dopamine.
– Do not skip meal as it drops blood sugar level.
– Eat foods rich in tryptophan which is precursor of serotonin like chocolate, oats, dried dates, milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, sesame, chickpeas, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, corn, and peanuts. Serotonin is a type of neurotransmitter, or “communication chemical” which passes messages between nerve cells. It helps to control mood, pain sensation, sexual behavior and sleep, as well as dilation and constriction of the blood vessels, among other things. Low serotonin levels in the brain may lead to a process of constriction and dilation of the blood vessels which trigger a migraine. During a migraine attack, serotonin levels become very low due to which the blood vessels become unusually large. this unusual expansions are thought to cause the throbbing pain in the temple or behind the eye. Also area around the expanded blood vessels becomes inflamed and irritates the nerve endings. These dramatic changes in serotonin level and reduced blood flow may be the cause of not only the head pain, but also the nausea and distorted vision or speech that often accompanies a migraine.