A migraine is a form of headache that has intense pain and usually occurs on just one side of the head. While it can happen to anyone, some people experience migraines more frequently than other people.

Chronic migraine is when a person encounters prolonged migraine spells for more than two weeks in a month with a minimum of eight days of headache with migraine features. With having this condition, you can expect a person to be in excruciating pain often. If you’re experiencing chronic migraines all the time, you can look for an informative blog post about the condition and how the government can possibly lend a hand in your situation through state-sanctioned living allowances and the like.

Suffering from sustained chronic migraines for days is inconvenient and painful. However, you can manage this ailment in various ways. Listed below are just some of the tips you can consider to take control of chronic migraines.

1. Create A Sleeping Schedule

It’s said that a migraine is like a burglar in the middle of the dead of night. You can never know when it’ll hit you. With that, you need to do preventive measures to not get them or at least minimize the pain it inflicts. Creating a sleeping schedule is said to be a popular non-medical way on how you can lessen your headaches.

Some people might think that having plenty of sleep can help eliminate any headache since you’re maximizing the rest you need. However, if a person sleeps too much, they can still cause headaches along with sleeping too little. Ideally, you should have at least seven to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep a day.

To allow yourself to rest properly, you should train your body to have a sleeping schedule in which you need to go to bed and wake up at the same hours every day. Practice this even if it’s a non-work day to let your body get used to it. In this way, your body will automatically go into a drowsy mode during your sleeping hours which makes you sleep in full until your usual daily waking hours.

2. Consider Temperature Therapy

If you’re experiencing a migraine, you might want to consider having temperature therapy if you have an ice and hot pad nearby. In this way, you don’t have to drink your pain reliever right away but go for a non-invasive approach instead.

For your migraine, you should identify if you’ll need a cold or hot compress for your head and neck. If you’d like to numb the pain sensation in your head, you may go for an ice-cold pack. On the other hand, if you’d like to calm your muscles, you can go for a heat compress to make yourself feel better.

Apart from using a cold or hot compress, a warm shower and bath may work wonders as well. Just try to avoid adding scents into your bath especially if they can trigger your migraine episodes.

3. Practice Relaxation Exercises

It’s believed that one of the reasons why people develop headaches is due to stress. Avoiding stress, however, may be impossible to some especially if it’s family or work-related. With this, to relieve yourself from migraines, you should address your stress first in hopes of minimizing or eliminating the frequency of your headaches and pain.

To free yourself from stress, you may practice relaxation exercises that can help to calm your body and mind. Before you do them, ensure that you put yourself out of a stressful situation and go to a calming environment wherein you can focus on attaining peace and relaxation. You can practice:

• Yoga,
• Meditation,
• Tai Chi,
• Biofeedback,
• Breathing exercises,
• Music and art therapy, and
• Hydrotherapy

As you do those exercises, try to surround yourself with what makes you feel calm and tranquil. While it may be challenging, try to avoid thinking about your problems and look for positive things to direct your focus on.

4. Limit Caffeine Intake

Too much caffeine is said to trigger migraines. While you can’t live without your daily cup of coffee or tea, you should practice limiting your caffeine intake amount to lessen your migraine events.

Eliminating caffeine out on a single day isn’t advisable since you’ll be more prone to developing withdrawal symptoms which can impose more significant side effects. With that, it’ll be best if you practice gradually decreasing your caffeine intake and hopefully eliminate it in your diet completely moving forward.

If you drink at least five cups of coffee in a day, you should consider cutting it back to three cups for a week and then down to only just a single cup the following seven days. In this way, you’re giving your body an adjustment period by minimizing your caffeine intake, developing fewer chances for caffeine withdrawal.

If you miss the taste of coffee but would like to quit, you should consider having decaffeinated coffee instead. In this way, you can still enjoy a cup without the migraine-inducing caffeine ingredient in it. Don’t worry, teas have decaffeinated versions as well.

5. Avoid Smoking

Apart from damaging your lungs and body, smoking can also trigger migraines. If your stress reliever is through smoking, you should look for other relaxation techniques like the ones from above.

You can communicate with your doctor about different ways on how you can quit the habit of smoking. You could join support groups, visit a smoking counselor, seek the company of your non-smoking friends, and more. It’s advised not to be impatient for the road to a smoke-free life is arduous and lengthy.

To keep you going, always keep in mind the health benefits that you’d get once you completely stopped reaching for a new stick of cigarette. Apart from keeping yourself healthy, you could live a longer life which allows you to maximize your time with your family and loved ones. Moreover, you can finally be free from having frequent migraine attacks for good.

6. Stay Away From Food Triggers

Apart from caffeine and smoking, there are plenty of triggers that may offset a migraine episode. You also need to examine your diet and see if any food you eat causes migraines.

Usually, people get migraines from alcohol, caffeine, artificial sweeteners, foods with MSG or monosodium glutamate, aged cheese, salty and frozen foods, and the like. With that, you should try to avoid those kinds of foods and try to look for healthier alternatives instead.

If you’re currently avoiding food triggers but still experience migraine spells, you should keep a food diary with you and take note of every food you consume, including the quantity and where you get it. If you cooked the meals yourself, you could also write every ingredient that you add to be more specific about any possible food triggers.

Conclusion

Having chronic migraines is never a treat for anyone. Not only that you’ll be having intense pain all the time, but it can happen at the most inconvenient time in your day. If you’re in unbearable pain, it’s advised for you to consult with your doctor so they can provide you with remedies and prescriptions in case you need pain relievers and other related medications right away.

By taking good care of your health, you can help eliminate your migraines and have a healthier lifestyle. Be consistent with avoiding any triggers and you should be having more harmonious and fun-filled days without any headaches.