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Everything to Know About Migraine Triggers

Everything to Know About Migraine Triggers

Migraine is a type of headache that may result from a neurological condition. It causes severe pulsating pain, usually on one side of the head. If you regularly have migraine attacks, consult a neurologist who can treat your chronic migraine. The doctor will help you identify the factors that trigger your headaches and treat the pain accordingly. A person’s age, family history, sex, and hormones make them more prone to migraines.

Migraine triggers
Though the deep-rooted cause of migraines remains unknown, specific triggers can cause the onset of migraines. Some of them are:

Food and food additives
Particular food and chemical additives may set off migraine attacks. Fasting is another meal-related trigger that is responsible for this h ealth  condition. Caffeine, chocolate, cheese, pickled, fermented, and cured foods are associated with a migraine attack. Also, it has been found that food items containing more Tyramine may cause this condition. It has also been reported that Migraines may also be triggered by aspartame, an artificial sweetener, and Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), the flavor enhancer. Many people believe in this rational finding, while the experiments have led to conflicting results for aspartame.

Hunger and dehydration
Hunger or skipping meals is another factor that triggers this  health  condition. This results in lower glucose levels that can cause migraines. Dehydration is another factor that may contribute to this type of headache. Low hydration levels are the cause in forty percent of people. It also affects the overall body and leads to confusion and dizziness. Therefore, there is a need to stay properly hydrated.

Strong and unusual smells
Certain people have reported that migraine gets triggered by certain strong, unusual, and odd smells. Various smells, like the fragrance of perfumes, colognes, chemicals, and food odors, can cause the condition to set in. These triggers may lead to a migraine attack or worsen an existing one. The intolerance to smells is recognized as Osmophobia, a unique phenomenon in people with this type of headache.

Weather changes
It has been found that several climate changes have been linked with migraine attacks. Some reports suggest that weather patterns may lead to its onset, including hot, cold, clear, and sunny atmospheres. It has also been identified that thunderstorms followed by lightning cause this headache to develop. However, lightning has been considered the precipitator factor, although the researchers are unclear on how it is associated with this condition.

Emotional stress
Stress is a major causative agent of migraine attacks and is considered the most common triggering factor. It has also been reported that fifty to seventy percent of migraine cases are associated with stress. Other emotions like worry and anxiety may promote muscle tension and dilate the blood vessels. As a consequence, it makes the migraines more severe. Some people suffer from this kind of headache during a stressful event or after a strained situation.

Home remedies
Now, since the common triggers are known to all the readers, let us acquaint you with the home remedies to treat migraines.

Avoiding the triggers
Migraine triggers can lead to the onset or worsening of migraine. Certain foods and food additives, unusual smells, bright lights, and noisy sounds excite a group of brain cells that trigger the production of the hormone serotonin. Serotonin causes the blood vessels throughout the body to narrow, leading to the forceful pumping of blood, which, in turn, sets off migraine pain.  Skipping meals and water and stress prompt the release of the cortisol stress hormone, which causes constriction of blood vessels resulting in throbbing pain.  Therefore, after discovering the exact cause of your migraine, avoiding that particular trigger factor is essential to prevent the condition.

Take good sleep
Maintaining good sleep hygiene is essential to save one from migraine attacks because. Sleep deprivation triggers the production of arousal proteins, and their high concentration leads to the initiation of migraine pain. Therefore, getting undisturbed sleep for seven to eight hours is required.

Yoga
Vigorous exercise or physical activities may be headache triggers for certain people. Muscle tension during these actions leads to the release of a substance called histamine. This causes the muscles to tense up and trigger migraine pain. But Yoga is proven a safe alternative because of its slow movements. It has been found that Yoga enhances the activity of the vagus nerve, and this stimulation blocks the pain signals and relieves migraine pain.

Five cities that are migraine hotspots
The country’s five cities that are migraine hotspots:

Cincinnati
The local meal of this area is rich in some common migraine-triggering substances. The lifestyle of the residents, including overtime work, vigorous exercise, insomnia, and excess sun exposure, is also a reason for the prevalence of this condition in this city.

Nashville
Environmental factors like hot and humid summer, frequent storms, and high atmospheric pressure are the reasons for the high number of migraine cases observed in Nashville.

Madison
Lifestyle, as explained earlier, is the main migraine-triggering factor among the residents of this city.

Knoxville
In Knoxville, certain local foods are the trigger factors for migraine.

Chattanooga
The case of Chattanooga is the same as that of Knoxville. The local food choices that contain trigger factors are the reason for the prevalence of migraine in this city.

Conclusion
Migraine is a kind of headache with distinctive signs and symptoms. Certain items lead to this type of headache in the majority of individuals. Therefore, it is always best to learn about migraine-triggering factors to avoid them. This article aims to make all the readers learn about common migraine triggers and home remedies to treat them. Following all the home remedies after proper consultation with a healthcare professional is also suggested to follow them correctly. Besides, following a proper meal plan with sufficient sleep is also required to keep migraine episodes at bay.

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