by Jennifer Moll

Created on: July 29, 2010

Migraine headaches are a serious condition that is often debilitating for the many people that suffer from migraines.  Even the simplest task can become quite difficult to complete when you are suffering from piercing pain radiating through your head, the nausea and sensitivity to light and sound.

A migraine attack may be triggered by many factors such as certain foods, nerve damage, injury, stress or not enough rest.  The good news is that there are things migraine sufferers can do to try to minimize attacks.

Avoid any known triggers.

If a certain food or beverage triggers your migraine attacks, avoid it as much as possible.  Some known food triggers to migraine sufferers are foods such as pizza, potato chips, peanuts, peanut butter, cheeses, caffeine, and artificial sweeteners.  To find your trigger, keep a migraine diary and outline what you ate or what activity you were doing prior to the onset of the attack.  You can then look back over your diary to notice any patterns and find your triggers based on those patterns.

Go dark.

If you are suffering from light sensitivity along with your migraine, turn off the lights or go into a dark room with the curtains closed.  If this is not possible, wear sunglasses.

Go quiet.

If you suffer from noise sensitivity with your migraine, try to avoid noises by going in a quiet place.  If this is not possible, try wearing ear plugs to drown out as much noise as possible.

Get plenty of rest.

The onset of a migraine attach is more likely to occur in people that do not get regular sleep.  Migraine sufferers should not sacrifice sleep.

Avoid stress.

Stress is a major factor in the onset of migraine attacks and affects the severity of pain.  While avoiding stress may be difficult, try to as much as possible.  When stress is unavoidable, be sure to have ways to cope with your stress to help you minimize the stress and therefore avoid or reduce the affects of a migraine attack.

No one has to tell you that living with migraines is difficult and sometimes seems impossible, but there are ways to cope the best you can while living a productive life.  By following these simple tips, you will not eliminate your migraines, but will minimize them and be able to cope with the pain better.  Migraines don’t have to put your life to a stop anymore.

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