Migraine Headaches Criteria and Non Drugs Migraine Treatment

Not all headache cause by migraine; the migraine term refers to a vascular spasms syndrome of the cranial blood vessels. Symptoms of a migraine attack may include heightened sensitivity to light and sound, nausea, auras (loss of vision in one eye or tunnel vision), difficulty of speech and intense pain predominating on one side of the head. Migraine symptoms can be divided into four phases. In migraine with aura, the visual disturbance usually precedes the headache. The aura usually begins near the center of the visual field as a small gray area with indefinite boundaries. According to HIS (International Headache Society), a common migraine headaches with aura can be summarized into below criteria, you may find later recommended non drug migraine treatment.

Frequency

Knowing migraines frequency is very important. The patient must have at least five headache attacks lasting 4 - 72 hours, which has at least two of the four following characteristics: (a) unilateral location, (b) pulsating quality, (c) moderate or severe intensity, and (d) aggravated by walking stairs or similar routine physical activity

Duration

Migraine headache with aura should has at least one aura symptom develops gradually over more than five minutes, or two or more symptoms occur in succession; none of these aura symptom lasts more than 60 minutes. If more than one aura symptom is present, accepted duration is proportionally increased. And headache follows aura with free interval of at least 60 minutes (it may also simultaneously begin with the aura

Pain Descriptors

In order to be classed as a migraine, headaches must include at least two of four different qualities of pain:

• The pain is one-sided; the headache is primarily on one side of the head with throbs, pounds, or pulsates moves.
• The pain must be of moderate or severe intensity, to the point where the sufferer is inhibited in daily activity, potentially to the point of being temporarily disabled.
• The pain is increased, sometimes only slightly, by routine physical activity like bending over, climbing stairs, or moving quickly.

Side Effects

Migraine headaches pain must be accompanied at least one of four common side effects:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Photophobia – sensitivity to light
• Phonophobia – sensitivity to sound

These simplify aura migraine headaches criteria will help to diagnose of your migraine category since people suffering from moderate to severe migraine may not realize that is what they are experiencing.

Migraines can be treated with two approaches: acute or abortive treatment and preventive. Abortive approach usually requires prescriptive drugs as well as non-drug treatment. Prescriptive drug are taken during migraine attacks has more instant result but the long run the effect is still unknown. For further drug migraine treatment you should consult to your personal doctor.

The non-drug migraine treatment has slow effect and probably you have to follow the pain. There are several most common non-drug treatment options:

• Temperature therapy. This treatment requires application of a warm or cool compress eases pain for many. Apply the hot or cold pack to the area of greatest pain, taking care to insulate it so no damage to the child’s skin occurs.
• Sleep through it in dark room eases the suffering of adult migraineurs. A nap taken in a dark, quiet, area can eliminate some migraines altogether.
• Relaxation training, including yoga, self-hypnosis and guided imagery, these migraine treatment are becoming good alternative treatment for migraines relief. As people understand the migraine stages and criteria, relaxation and yoga will prevent the later phase to become severe and painful.
• For Phonophobia using white noise might help. White noise is a combination of all audible frequencies. The sounds are spread evenly across the frequency band so that no one single sound or frequency stands out, the white noise will help soothe the sensitivity long enough to allow a migraineur to fall asleep.
• Other treatment that may be useful in preventing migraines is acupuncture.