Hot Or Cold For Migraine

Myth : Its Okay To Leave Cold Or Hot Therapy Products On Skin Longer Than 20 Minutes

When icing or heating an injury, its not a good idea to leave an ice or heat pack on the affected area for too long because you can cause further damage to the muscle tissue youre trying to repair. Icing an injury for more than 20 minutes can also cause frostbite on the skin or even nerve damage. To counteract the cold, our bodies open blood vessels, which can increase swellingthe very thing youre trying to reduce. Comparably, heat application is commonly used for more chronic injuries. Although heat therapy can help provide comfort to an injury, if it is chronic in nature, you should consult a doctor prior to use or treatment.

What Symptoms Must You Have To Be Diagnosed With A Migraine

Migraine with aura . This is a headache, plus:

• Visual symptoms or vision loss.
• Sensory symptoms .

Migraine without aura . A common migraine is a headache and:

• The attacks included pain on one side of your head.
• Youve had at least five attacks, each lasting between four and 72 hours.

Plus, youve experienced at least one of the following:

• Nausea and/or vomiting.
• Lights bother you and/or you avoid light.
• Sounds bother you and/or you avoid sounds.

What Are The Treatments For Migraine

There is no absolute cure for migraine. However, lots of treatments are available to help ease the symptoms of a migraine attack.

When a migraine attack occurs, most people find that lying down in a quiet, dark room is helpful. Sleeping can also help. Some people find that their symptoms die down after they have vomited .

Most people affected by migraine will already have tried paracetamol, aspirin and perhaps anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen before they seek advice from their doctor. If ordinary painkillers alone are not relieving your symptoms, your GP might prescribe you a triptan to be taken in addition to over-the-counter painkillers . Triptans are available in different forms to suit individuals , although it is important to note that some people develop short-term side effects when taking triptans. Your doctor may also prescribe you anti-sickness medication. If your situation does not improve after treatment, you might be referred to a specialist migraine clinic.

It is important to avoid taking painkillers on more than two days per week or more than 10 days per month as this can in fact make things worse by triggering medication overuse headaches.

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Possible Side Effects Of Cold Therapy

Because cold therapy doesnt involve ingesting any medications or supplements, there are few side effects from using this method of treatment. People who have cold intolerance or sensitivity to cold may not be able to use cold therapy. These are not all the possible side effects of cold therapy. Patients should talk to their doctor about what to expect with treatment with cold therapy.

When To Use This Strategy

There are two times when I make use of comfort measures. First, I will use these strategies at the first sign of trouble. Most often, I will grab a wearable ice pack moments before I take one of my triptans to abort the attack. The cold eases my symptoms while I wait for the medicine to do its job. Second, on the rare occasion that acute treatment fails to abort the attack, I will use comfort measures to help me cope with symptoms until the attack subsides. The longer the attack, the more strategies I will use.

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History Of Cold Therapy

Cold therapy for migraine seems to have a longer history and broader scientific support than heat therapy. The first documented use of cold therapy for headache was in 1849. A 2013 research article in the Hawai’i Journal of Medicine and Public Health noted that cold therapy has long been the number one self-care treatment employed for migraine without aura and the second most common for migraine with aura.

A number of studies have examined the effectiveness of cold therapy in decreasing migraine pain. A 2006 study in the journal Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine asked migraine patients to don cold gel caps during two migraine attacks. Approximately 50 to 60% of patients reported increased comfort 25 minutes after putting on the cap. Eight to 11% of patients reported complete relief 42 to 50% needed pain medication to help their headaches because cold therapy alone was not enough to sufficiently diminish their pain.

Interestingly, 77% of patients who had a good response to cold therapy during their first trial of the gel cap also experienced relief the second time they used the cold gel cap to treat migraine. About 60% of the patients who did not experience relief the first time around did not find cold therapy helpful the second time either. These results suggest that cold therapy may be a helpful treatment for some people with migraines but not for others.

How To Treat A Migraine With Ice And Heat

Written and verified by Holly Hazen

At the same time! How to treat a migraine effectively is somewhat of a mystery even to doctors. Your doctor can prescribe a medication to reduce the pain phase, but there are no guarantees that medication will work with your unique body to stop the chain reactions that make up a migraine attack.

A change of diet and lifestyle promises a ‘cure’ or at least a good form of proactive prevention but what happens in reality?

What happens when the migraine is progressing and you need fast relief? This is a strategy you can read now and implement in a few minutes.

Every single person on the planet will experience a headache at some time in their lives.

I dont think anyone can escape a headache, or perhaps even a hangover at some point in their life.

But migraines are different, and chronic migraines are different again.

They are not just typical headaches, but they do fall under this medical classification which can cause confusion.

Migraine is a complex neurological condition that needs proper medical treatment. If you can get rid of your ‘migraine’ using an over the counter pain killer, then it is most likely not a migraine.The best natural treatment I have found on how to treat a migraine was from Dr. Christiane Northrup. She is/was a migraine sufferer herself, so she can advise patients the best way to treat a migraine and hopefully abort it before medications are needed.

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How Are Migraines Diagnosed

To diagnose a migraine, your healthcare provider will get a thorough medical history, not just your history of headaches but your familys, too. Also, they’ll want to establish a history of your migraine-related symptoms, likely asking you to:

• Describe your headache symptoms. How severe are they?
• Remember when you get them. During your period, for example?
• Describe the type and location of your pain. Is the pain pounding? Pulsing? Throbbing?
• Remember if anything makes your headache better or worse.
• Tell how often you get migraine headaches.
• Talk about the activities, foods, stressors or the situations that may have brought on the migraine.
• Discuss what medications you take to relieve the pain and how often you take them.
• Tell how you felt before, during and after the headache.
• Remember if anyone in your family gets migraine headaches.

Your healthcare provider may also order blood tests and imaging tests to make sure there are no other causes for your headache. An electroencephalogram may be ordered to rule out seizures.

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Myth : Its Okay To Apply Ice To Your Bare Skin

Regardless of how little time you leave ice on the skin, its not a good idea to place it directly on there in the first place. Using ice or an ice pack directly on the skin can cause severe frostbite in minutes with long-lasting effects. When ice comes in contact with skin, it forms ice crystals on skin cells and decreases blood flow, depriving the tissues of oxygen that produces underlying and permanent damage. Instead, use a protective layer such as a cloth or a sleeve into which you can insert your hot or cold pack. Alternatively, you could use direct to skin products such as clay wraps or oat bags that are made with a soft fabric.

What Can I Do To Prevent Migraines

One of the best ways to prevent migraines is to try to avoid the things that might trigger your attacks. Most people benefit from trying to get stable sleep, eating regular meals, drinking plenty of fluids to keep hydrated, and trying to manage stress. Taking regular exercise may also help prevent migraines since it helps with breathing, improving blood sugar balance and maintaining general wellbeing. Although you should take care not to engage in very strenuous activity that your body is not used to as this can sometimes act as a migraine trigger.

Keeping a diary of your migraines can be a useful way to record when and where you experience attacks, check for any patterns, and try to identify your triggers. Take the diary when you see your GP so you can communicate your symptoms with them and they can find the best way to help you.

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How To Treat A Migraine By Being Proactive

Avoiding food triggers is an everyday thing that mostmigraineurs are aware of if they have food triggers.

Taking high quality supplements might help you. The two mosthighly recommended supplements thought to help with migraines aremagnesium and fish oil.

1.Magnesium with its calming effect on nerves has been shownto help prevent migraines. As per Dr. Northrup the dose is between 400 800 mgs per day. As per the Nutrition Almanac a safe dose is 1000 mgsper day. Check with your doctor if you want to pursue this as a prevention strategy.

2.Fish Oil with its anti-inflammatory effects has shown asignificant reduction of headache when taken in these high doses dailyfor 3 weeks. As per Dr. Northrup the dose is a combination of 2.7grams of EPA and 1.8 grams of DHA. The Nutrition Almanac recommendstaking ginger with the fish oil to help reduce nausea and aid digestion.

The Nutrition Almanac says that this kind of migraine helpin the form of vitamin therapy can take from 6 months to 2 years insome migraine sufferers to become effective at reducing episodes.

Making lifestyle changes will serve you well.

I cover a lot of alternative treatments in my workshop. Here’s the link…

Cold Comfort: Help To Relieve Migraine Pain

While medications certainly have their place in the treatment of migraine, its also good to have a toolkit full of natural options to try at the first sign of an episode. Reducing your need for rescue medication when possible helps you prevent developing rebound headache , a serious complication of frequent medication use.

A favourite among migraine sufferers is using a cold compress, and for good reason! Continue reading to find out why cold compresses are such a good option and different ways to use cold therapy.

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How To Treat A Migraine Headache

Sometimes your migraine may come even if you are doing everything that you can to prevent it. Maybe you have a bad day and forget to keep up with your routine. It happens to all of us, after all, we’re only human. When you find yourself facing another migraine, you need to treat it as soon as possible.

Can This Trick Really Help

I had a chiropractor suggest something similar many years ago. Frankly, it was the only helpful thing he offered. His version included wrapping my feet in a heating pad while lying down with an ice pack on my head. I cant explain why it helped, but it did. The attack was not aborted, but the pain did ease up. Since that first attempt, I have always included this strategy as a comfort measure.

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How Does Heat Help Pain

Heat stimulates nerve endings called thermoreceptors, which may block the pain signals from that area to the brain. Heat therapy also increases blood flow to the area and relaxes muscles. The increased blood flow is believed to help with pain because it increases oxygen, proteins and other nutrients to the area.

Myth : You Should Use Only Ice Or Only Heat On An Injury Not Both

Generally, the type of therapy used on an injury will depend on the injury itself. For acute injuries or single-traumatic-event injuries such as fractures, sprains, or dislocations, use ice to reduce pain and inflammation. Heat is most effective for muscle pain or stiffness to release tightness and relax muscles. Moreover, according to Harvard Health, injuries such as muscle strain can benefit from heat and ice in an alternating pattern to reduce swelling and then increase circulation.

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What Medications Are Used To Relieve Migraine Pain

Over-the-counter medications are effective for some people with mild to moderate migraines. The main ingredients in pain relieving medications are ibuprofen, aspirin, acetaminophen, naproxen and caffeine.

Three over-the-counter products approved by the Food and Drug Administration for migraine headaches are:

• Excedrin® Migraine.
• Advil® Migraine.
• Motrin® Migraine Pain.

Be cautious when taking over-the-counter pain relieving medications. Sometimes overusing them can cause analgesic-rebound headaches or a dependency problem. If you’re taking any over-the-counter pain medications more than two to three times a week, report that to your healthcare provider. They may suggest prescription medications that may be more effective.

Prescription drugs for migraine headaches include:

Triptan class of drugs :

Drugs to relieve migraine pain come in a variety of formulations including pills, tablets, injections, suppositories and nasal sprays. You and your healthcare provider will discuss the specific medication, combination of medications and formulations to best meet your unique headache pain.

Drugs to relieve nausea are also prescribed, if needed.

All medications should be used under the direction of a headache specialist or healthcare provider familiar with migraine therapy. As with any medication, it’s important to carefully follow the label instructions and your healthcare providers advice.

Alternative migraine management methods, also known as home remedies, include:

How To Treat A Migraine Or Severe Headache: Strategies For Pain Relief

When you find yourself dealing with a migraine or severe headache, it can be difficult or impossible to focus on anything else until the pain subsides. Aside from taking medication, there are several ways to help relieve migraine pain and symptoms like light sensitivity, nausea, or dizziness. Here are five strategies for migraine relief that can make a huge difference.

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Myth : Its Okay To Use Hot And Cold Therapy For My Children

While were not ones to hand out parenting advice, we dont recommend using hot and cold therapy for an injury on children under two. However, thermotherapy and cryotherapy can be great treatments for stomach discomfort, fevers, and growing pains in children over the age of two. Remember, when using heat or ice on a child, always be present to monitor the application.

Which One To Choose: Hot Or Cold

There is nothing wrong with alternating between the two treatments. Sometimes heat therapy is used in conjunction with cold therapy. Patients can apply something heated for a time and then switch to a cold compress or ice pack. These therapies are non-invasive, so theyre safe when done in moderation. For some patients, combining both therapies eases tension and aches. You may try alternating a heating pad with an ice pack or take a cool shower and then soak in a warm bath.

Got a question, or anything I can help with? My name is Steve Stretton, and Im the owner and manager at Gelpacks.com. You can drop me a line here. Good luck!

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Cold Therapy With A Gel Pack Or Ice Pack

The use of Ice packs to provide cold therapy is one of the most common self-care treatments for migraine. In 1849, James Arnott used ice packs to treat migraine and for 150 years people suffering from migraine have been using the same treatment. Several research studies such as this one report that cold therapy can decrease inflammation and provide pain relief. This study found that cold packs were helpful in about 71% of headache cases. Ice packs can help numb the pain as they reduce the swelling. The Huggaroo Ice Comfort has nine ice packs and provides cool relief for headache pain. It has an adjustable hook and loop fastener closure for a perfect fit. It is reversible with a silky, extra cold side and a fluffy, cozy side for lighter, more gentle cold therapy.