Researchers think that people who suffer from migraines are hypersensitive to migraine triggers. A trigger can be a certain food, an environmental condition, or a hormonal factor, and your migraine triggers may not be the same as someone else's.
No matter how many migraine triggers you avoid, some migraine attacks will occur. However, staying clear of your known migraine triggers and following a migraine treatment plan may minimize your chances of future migraines.
Triggers are specific causes or incidents that can cause a migraine attack to happen, even though they are not the actual cause of the migraine. Most people can handle one, two, even three triggers but when a threshold is crossed, a migraine attack can occur.
Triggers are wide and varied but they fall into 6 general categories:
Emotional Stress
This could include anger, worry, tension, excitement, shock, depression, the release/relief at the end of a stressful or busy time, (post-stress activity) and anxiety.
Physical Stress
This could include over-exertion, tiredness both mental and physical, a change in your sleep pattern, (lack of sleep or too much sleep), tension in your neck/shoulders from traveling, the end of the week, a change in work shift, your posture (bending or stooping from housework, gardening, sitting for long periods of time, etc.), a change in your routine (holiday/vacation, new job, etc.), change in sexual activity, irregular sleep patterns, napping, head trauma, physical exertion, fatigue, vigorous activity (for instance, exercise), sudden or intense exertion, irregular meal patterns and skipped meals. |
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Diet and Food
This could include lack of eating (fasting) or infrequent meals, long periods of time between eating, food additives sodium-nitrite-laden meat (hot dogs, deli meats, etc.), MSG (monosodium glutamate) (food additive found in some processed meats, soups, salad dressings, etc.), aspartame (artificial sweetener), chocolate, citrus fruit, tyramine (chemical found in aged cheese), caffeine (chemical found in coffee, tea, soda, chocolate, etc.), nuts, onions, beans, pickled herring, dried smoked fish, dairy products, sour cream, yogurt (yeast extracts), fatty foods, alcohol (especially red wine), canned and processed foods, dehydration.
Environmental and Sensory
This could include fluorescent lighting, repetitive visual patterns (stripes, zigzags, etc.), air pollution, secondhand smoke, chemical fumes, motion or travel, change of climate or weather, seasonal changes, change in altitude level, barometric pressure or time zone, bright lights and glare (super market, office, headlights), flickering or flashing lights (computer screen, TV), loud noises (especially high pitched), intense and penetrating smells (cigars, pipes, cigarettes and other smoke, certain foods, perfumes, flowers, chemicals), and stuffy atmospheres.
Hormones
This could include for every one man that suffers from migraine attacks, there are two or three women that also suffer. Many women report they experienced their first migraine when they started puberty or their menstrual cycle. Many women experience migraine attacks every month and with the changes in their menstrual cycle such as PMS or menopause, or during the first trimester of pregnancy. The connection between estrogen/progesterone and migraine is still very undefined but birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy can worsen the frequency and severity of an attack. |
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Other
This could include certain medications or drugs, sleeping pills, high blood pressure, toothache caused by food or infection, teeth grinding, clenched jaw, eye strain, congested nose or sinus problems, a new or different hat, anything that causes discomfort to the face, neck and head. Nitroglycerine, histamine, reserpine (hypertension drug), diuretics and anti-asthma medications.
Not every single trigger listed here will cause an attack in every single migraine sufferer. This fact is what keeps migraines such a mysterious disorder, because it can be so different from person to person, and even from one attack to the next.
Individual Triggers
Many scientists think migraine is a vascular disorder caused by a tightening (constriction) and sudden opening (dilation) of the blood vessels in the head, neck or scalp.
Others believe that the throbbing pain of migraine is caused by an abnormal release of neurochemicals in the brain, such as serotonin or noradrenaline.
Migraine sufferers may be born with a hypersensitive nervous system that makes them prone to the headaches. Then, a lifestyle or environmental "trigger," such as a hormonal change or a certain food or chemical, can provoke an attack.
A simple change in lifestyle to avoid personal triggers may minimize the frequency of migraines in some patients.
For this reason, experts say that keeping a personal "headache diary" may help in determining the best treatment approach. The diary should include characteristics of each attack, including triggers as well as the date and length of the attack, pre-headache symptoms, level of pain (on a scale of 1 to 4, for example), sensitivities during the headache, medicine taken within 48 hours before the attack started, and other observations. |
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