How To Prevent Migraines

Prevention is always better than cure so they say and this is doubly true of migraine headaches. Once you've had your first few migraines you'll figure out that the smartest thing to do is stop them happening in the first place. Because migraines can last hours or even days it just makes more sense to invest a small amount of time and effort in preventing them than spending days in a dark room trying to recover.

The first big step in preventing a migraine is knowing your migraine triggers. Anyone who suffers from migraines has a trigger of some sort - too much caffeine, stress, red wine etc. Most people have more than one trigger so it can take a bit of experimentation to figure them out. One way of identifying a trigger would be to keep migraine journal so you can track what happens before, during and after each attack.

The next important bit is recognizing the symptoms you go through before a migraine strikes. Migraine aura are what most people notice before the headache starts. Aura are basically zig-zag, flashing lights or blind spots in your vision as a leadup to the migraine itself. Not everyone will see or feel migraine aura before the headache starts but they're an excellent early warning system so you can get ready to deal with the migraine or take extra steps to stop it from happening.

Apart from migraine aura there are other symptoms that will act as a warning for an oncoming migraine. You may find you're more sensitive to bright lights and sounds, you might feel unusually tired, stiffness in the neck and a sudden decrease in how much food you're eating. The symptoms vary from person to person so keeping a record of what happens in the lead-up to your migraines will be very important in helping prevent them.

There's a whole range of prophylactic (or preventative) medications that you can take but these are only available on prescription. You'll normally only be prescribed this type of medication if you're suffering from regular and severe migraines that normal painkillers have no effect on. Most of the prescription migraine prevention medication you can get have a list of side-effects so make sure you know exactly what risks you might be taking.

Some of the preventative medications you can look into are: atenolol,lisinopril,topiramate, valproic acid, Prozac and cannabis. Please note that cannabis is illegal in most areas so only use a medically prescribed supply if you want to stay within the limits of the law.

There are plenty of natural options for you to try too - if the risk from prescribed medication seems too high. Magnesium, feverfew, butterbur and Vitamin B2 have also shown some success with fending off migraine attacks.

Personally I do my best to avoid medication unless I have no other choice. At least then when I do take whatever my body needs it's more effective because my body and the migraines haven't built up a tolerance to it.

If you really want to prevent migraines then:

• Figure out exactly what your triggers are - use a journal for this.

• Avoid your triggers at all costs.

• The moment you feel the first symptom then take the appropriate action for your type of migraine.