13 Holistic Treatments for Migraine (2023)

FAQs

What relieves migraines instantly? ›

Feverfew May Prevent and Treat Migraine Pain

The herb known as feverfew became popular as a migraine remedy in the 1980s, when a landmark British study showed that more than 70 percent of participants had less migraine pain after taking feverfew daily.

Magnesium, riboflavin (vitamin B2), and coenzyme Q10 may all help reduce the frequency of migraine attacks. Magnesium is a mineral involved in many different processes in the body. It may help prevent migraine aura, decrease pain, and prevent blood vessels from narrowing.

Research on magnesium has found it to be a potentially well-tolerated, safe and inexpensive option for migraine prevention, while it may also be effective as an acute treatment option for headaches including migraines, tension- type headaches and cluster headaches, particularly in certain patient subsets.

The union valley (LI4) points are located on the web between your thumb and index finger. To treat headaches: Start by pinching this area with the thumb and index finger of your opposite hand firmly — but not painfully — for 10 seconds.

Reach for a banana rather than highly processed foods like granola bars or candy, suggests Brown. “Bananas are a great food for quick energy recovery, and they're high in magnesium, which can be helpful when people have headaches,” she says.

Vitamin B2 Deficiency

The B vitamins help to protect from headaches, according to the National Headache Foundation, but it is B2 (riboflavin) that really stands out and where a deficiency may lead to headaches.

Magnesium. Research on the use of magnesium supplements to prevent or reduce symptoms of migraine headaches is limited. There is some evidence that magnesium supplementation may provide modest reductions in the frequency of migraines.

Does apple cider vinegar stop migraines? ›

Takeaway. There's no definitive scientific evidence that apple cider vinegar can help treat headaches or migraines. But the positive health effects it has on other parts of the body could help reduce or prevent headache symptoms.

Caffeine has vasoconstrictive properties, meaning that blood vessels narrow to restrict blood flow, thereby alleviating the pain.

Magnesium oxide is frequently used in pill form to prevent migraine, usually at a dose of 400-600 mg per day. Acutely, it can be dosed in pill form at the same dosage or given intravenously as magnesium sulfate at 1-2 gm.

The American Migraine Foundation suggest taking a 400–500 milligram (mg) supplement of magnesium oxide daily to prevent migraines. Some researchers think that magnesium's effectiveness as a preventive against migraines increases when a person takes higher doses — over 600 (mg) — for at least 3 to 4 months.

If you and your doctor agree that magnesium might be worth a try for preventing migraines, be patient. It could take 3 or 4 months before you notice any benefit.

Cold compress

A study in Hawai'i Journal of Medicine & Public Health found that applying ice packs to the neck for 30 minutes significantly reduced pain in people with migraines.

Self-massage or massage therapy may help ease the tension that causes ongoing headaches. You may also benefit from reducing stimuli and resting in a dark, quiet room. Your doctor can help you address your stress, anxiety, or mood disorder through a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy and medication.

Pressure point LI-4 is also called Hegu (her-goo). It is found on the back of your hand. It is between the base of your thumb and index (pointer) finger (see Figure 1). Doing acupressure on this point can help with pain and headaches.

How to get rid of migraines. As of now, there is no cure for migraines—but there are many strategies to reduce their frequency and severity. “One of the best ways of identifying triggers is keeping a headache diary."

How do I deal with a migraine everyday? ›

Foods rich in magnesium include dark leafy greens, avocado, and tuna. Omega-3 fatty acids. Research indicates that increasing omega-3 fatty acids may help people with migraine. Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids include fish such as mackerel and salmon, and seeds and legumes.

alcohol. caffeine products, such as tea and coffee. specific foods, such as chocolate and citrus fruit. foods containing the substance tyramine, which include cured meats, yeast extracts, pickled herrings, smoked fish (like smoked salmon), and certain cheeses (such as cheddar, stilton and camembert)

Chicken and Brown Rice Soup

This hearty soup will bring back childhood memories of canned chicken soup, but without all the chemicals and preservatives that are bad for you in general, and even worse when you have migraine. Plus, it's gluten- and dairy-free.

Cut allergies

Quercetin, a plant component that gives fruit its color, often acts like an antihistamine and anti-inflammatory, according to the University of Maryland. Quercetin is found in onions, grapes, dark cherries and, you guessed it, apples.

The study revealed migraine patients who were given 2 mg of folic acid in conjunction with vitamins B12 and B6 achieved greater success in reducing their migraine symptoms than patients who received 1 mg of folic acid in combination with vitamins B12 and B6.

Conclusion: We conclude that lower vitamin B12 levels than 400 pg/mL may be associated with tension- type headache, migraine, and unclassified headache.

Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) can cause the brain to receive less oxygen than it needs to function optimally, leading to basic headaches. IDA has also been associated with migraine, especially in women who are menstruating.

“[Vitamin D supplementation] may be beneficial in selected patients to reduce the frequency of headache, mainly in migraineurs, especially in those with vitamin D deficiency,” authors said.

Does zinc help with migraines? ›

Results. Compared with the placebo, zinc supplementation resulted in a significant reduction in headache severity (− 1.75 ± 1.79 vs. -0.80 ± 1.57; P = 0.01) and migraine attacks frequency (− 2.55 ± 4.32 vs. -0.42 ± 4.24; P = 0.02) in migraine patients.

Our study found that a larger number of monthly days with headache was related to vitamin D deficiency among migraineurs. Future studies should attempt to confirm the causal relationship between vitamin D deficiency and migraine.

Researchers think pickle juice helps maintain steady blood sugar levels and in some sufferers, unstable blood sugar levels can be a trigger for migraines. Stabilizing blood sugar can curb the severity of a migraine.

Ginger has been found to reduce both pain and nausea and has therefore also been studied in the context of migraine headache. One randomized controlled trial (RCT) found that ginger was no better than placebo for the prevention of migraine episodes.

There's currently no cure for migraines, although a number of treatments are available to help ease the symptoms. It may take time to work out the best treatment for you. You may need to try different types or combinations of medicines before you find the most effective ones.

Migraine is a treatable disease. Treatment cannot “cure” Migraine but the headache could be significantly reduced or completely removed with proper treatment. It constitutes of prophylactic treatment and rescue treatment. A Prophylactic treatment is given on a daily basis in order to reduce “attacks” of Migraine.

How to get rid of migraines. As of now, there is no cure for migraines—but there are many strategies to reduce their frequency and severity. “One of the best ways of identifying triggers is keeping a headache diary."

There's no cure for migraines, but a number of treatments are available to help reduce the symptoms. These include: painkillers – including over-the-counter medicines like paracetamol and ibuprofen. triptans – medicines that can help reverse the changes in the brain that may cause migraines.

What is the latest treatment for migraine? ›

The Food and Drug Administration approved the most recent, atogepant (Qulipta), in September 2021. Lasmiditan (Reyvow) is a separate type of treatment that targets the serotonin receptors on brain nerve endings to halt migraine attacks as they occur.

The exact cause of migraines is unknown, but they're thought to be the result of abnormal brain activity temporarily affecting nerve signals, chemicals and blood vessels in the brain.

Migraines can begin at any age, though the first often occurs during adolescence. Migraines tend to peak during your 30s, and gradually become less severe and less frequent in the following decades.

Anxiety, stress, and mood disorders can trigger headaches that linger for more than a day. Specifically, those with panic disorder or generalized anxiety disorder tend to experience prolonged headaches more often than those without.

For migraine relief, the most important pressure point to know to relieve headache pain is the space between the base of your thumb and your index finger. For those who want to be acupressure experts, it's called LI-4 (a.k.a. Hegu).

The headache portion of an attack can last from four hours to three days. An entire migraine attack—including prodrome, aura, headache and postdrome—may last anywhere from a bit more than one day to slightly more than a week at its very longest, though this is not typical.

Without effective treatment, migraine attacks usually last for four to 24 hours. When you're suffering a migraine, even four hours is far too long — and that's why early treatment for a migraine is so important.

One aspect of migraine pain theory explains that migraine pain happens due to waves of activity by groups of excitable brain cells. These trigger chemicals, such as serotonin, to narrow blood vessels. Serotonin is a chemical necessary for communication between nerve cells.

Conditions that might cause nonprimary chronic daily headaches include: Inflammation or other problems with the blood vessels in and around the brain, including stroke. Infections, such as meningitis. Intracranial pressure that's either too high or too low.