Originally published July 27 2005
Herbal remedies ease migraine pain
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Migraine headaches, usually caused by stress or certain food triggers, can be treated with herbal therapies.
The two most common are classic migraine and common migraine.
They may first appear in childhood, but usually in the late teens or early twenties.
Classic migraines start with warning signs (called the aura by medical folks).
Before the headache begins, you may temporarily lose some of your vision, see flashing lights and feel very strange altogether, maybe even feeling a burning sensation or muscle weakness.
The pain usually begins on one side of the head, but can spread.
The headache may take hours to develop and several days before it goes, leaving a desire to sleep (replacing the desire to die!).
You may experience nausea and sensitivity to light and noise.
The common migraine may begin more slowly and last longer than the classic type.
Except for the aura, the symptoms are the same.
The exact range of mechanisms producing migraines isn't well understood, but is believed to be an upset in serotonin metabolism that causes dilation of cerebral arteries, followed by vascular spasm in extra-cranial blood vessels.
Migraine triggers are as varied as the individuals afflicted by them.
Some of the most frequent food triggers are anything aged, canned, cured, pickled or processed or that contain tyramine or nitrites.
There's a hormonal trigger for some women, causing migraines prior to or during menstruation or when using birth control pills or estrogen replacement therapy.
There seems to be an association with sluggish liver function from eating too much fatty food or heavy drinking.
If you can catagorize your migraines as being related to physical stress or emotional upheaval, stress reduction techniques, meditation and biofeedback have been found to be helpful, as have acupuncture and bodywork.
Chiropractic or Osteopathic treatment may help if there is a structural problem in the neck.
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