Everyday pain management ideas

A recent study by the American Gut Project has uncovered that a new link to migraine headache may lie in the amount of nitrates, nitrite, and nitric oxide in the mouth/GI tract of an individual.  In their publication, entitled " Migraines Are Correlated with Higher Levels of Nitrate-,Nitrite, and Nitric-Oxide-Reducing Oral Microbes in the American Gut Project Cohort ", study authors report that the amounts of these substances may be linked to the microbes in the mouth and gut.  Higher levels of nitrates seem to be present in migraine sufferers than non-sufferers. It has been known for a long time that nitrates are common headache triggers. For example, headaches can be a side effect of nitroglycerin, a pharmaceutical commonly used to treat angina. For this project researchers collected over 2,000 oral and fecal samples from people with and without migraine issues. They discovered lower levels of nitrates, nitrite, and nitric oxide reductase genes in the samples from...

There are certain things we've known for a long time about migraine headache sufferers: Migraines are common in women than men. There are many "triggers" of migraine headache, including foods, MSG, hormonal factors, stress levels, weather conditions, etc. There are many subtypes of migraine. Here are some examples:  classic migraine, chronic migraine, and menstrual migraine. Medical research in the field of migraine has made it possible to prevent or reduce migraine occurrence, or abort a migraine shortly after onset! A new finding, recently published in the journal,  Neurology, suggests that there is a relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI)  and the likelihood of migraines.  According to the study that was published, migraine is more likely to occur in individuals whose BMI is above or below the normal range.  If you are a migraine sufferer and have reason to believe this may be a problem, you can determine if your BMI is in the n...

Source:Axonoptics

According to the Cleveland Clinic, seventy percent of migraine sufferers are women. About sixty to seventy percent of these women report a correlation between migraine attacks and the menstrual cycle.  Most commonly this is attributed to the fact that a woman's hormones levels fluctuate throughout their cycles. This change in hormone levels over time is said to be what precipitates migraines. Red Blood Cells A new study points to the idea that this is not the only mechanism by which a menstrual migraine can come about.  According to researchers at the Carolina Headache Institute, cyclic "end menstrual migraine" (EMM) can be the result of anemia. This anemia is the result of dropping ferritin levels due to blood loss of menstruation  The authors go on to say that more study is necessary to firm up this theory.  The good news is that the affected women in the Carolina study responded favourably to iron supplementation.   Here again, more study is ne...

I have been a migraine headache sufferer for most of my adult life.  It always seemed like when I had a day off of work, or a day where I could simply relax, I could not really do so because that's when I was most apt to have a migraine.  Now if that doesn't stink to high heaven, I don't know what does... An article from March of 2014 has recently helped me to understand why this has been the case.  A study conducted at Yeshiva University concluded that persistent stress followed by relaxation is actually a trigger for migraine headache. The study authors came to this conclusion after examining headache diaries of migraine patients. According to study authors, this finding emphasizes the importance of stress reduction and healthy lifestyle habits for migraine sufferers. In the US there are reported to be 37 million migraine sufferers,  of which almost 5 million experience attacks at least once monthly.  More women are affected than men, and the average ...

Piercing is a form of self expression these days, along with tattoos of every shape and size. I try not to judge--and here is one good reason why. Have you ever seen someone with a piercing like the one above?  This is known as Daith piercing .  It is not just someone trying to be stylish! This is actually an acupuncture practice that has been in existence for thousands of years.  There is no scientific evidence to support this practice, but many migraine sufferers who have this piercing report a reduced frequency in migraine attacks. Migraine headaches are a complex neurological event. More than 3 million persons in the US experience a migraine attack every year. The pain can be so severe as to cause nausea and vomiting, and can incapacitate a person for hours to days.  If you experience severe headache, typically a throbbing on one side of the head, accompanied by sensitivity to light and/or nausea/vomiting, it just might be a migraine.  There are man...