You might be surprised to learn that many students suffer from migraines. These can strike at any time, including at school, which can cause stress and anxiety. It can be very difficult as a parent to understand why your child has migraines, but this article can offer some guidance. Below you’ll discover more behind common migraine triggers and a few ways you can help your child prevent them.

What are Migraines?

Migraines are a type of headache that mainly affects one side of your head. Its intensity will vary with some attacks being mild and others debilitating.
Migraines can form for a variety of reasons. Some of the most common causes of them include:
● Strong smells
● Bright lights
● Stress
● Your diet
● Loud sounds
● Weather changes

In addition to this, they could be caused by an underlying condition like hormonal imbalances, brain tumors, or intracranial pressure.

Types of Migraines

 

This issue comes in many different forms.

Common Migraine

As its name suggests, a common migraine is one of the most frequent types. It usually affects one side of your head and can cause nausea and light sensitivity. Unlike other migraines, the common migraine occurs without an aura.

Hemiplegic Migraine

A hemiplegic migraine is somewhat rare, but it can cause scary side effects. When it strikes, this migraine will cause temporary numbness on one side of your body. This could make it hard for you to move and speak. A hemiplegic migraine can last anywhere from one hour to one day.

Chronic Migraine

A chronic migraine is one that happens for more than two weeks throughout the month. Most of the time, a chronic migraine is caused by poor sleep or stress.

Cluster Migraine

Believed to be one of the most painful types of migraines, a cluster migraine will create pain around one of your eyes that radiates throughout your head and upper body. Most cluster headaches occur during the night and can last up to three hours.

Migraine Symptoms

Unfortunately, migraines can result in many symptoms.

• Numbness
• Dizziness
• Temporary blindness
• Nausea
• Scalp tenderness
• Light flashes in your eye

When Should I Be Concerned About Migraines?

Migraines can be painful and create uncomfortable symptoms. However, there are a few times when you should be concerned about them. If you notice your child having sudden speech problems, seizures, vertigo, or fever once the migraine strikes, it’s crucial you immediately take them to a medical professional.

 

 6 Ways to Prevent and Treat Migraines in Students

Watch Their Diet

Some migraines are the result of poor diet choices. Some items you’ll want to encourage your child to stay away from are caffeinated drinks, aged cheese, cured meat, and MSG. While it’s not known why these specific items cause them, it’s thought that they could result in dehydration or have excessive amounts of caffeine that could irritate the body.

There are plenty of other options your kid can enjoy that will both prevent and treat migraines. These include:

• Sweet potatoes
• Spinach
• Cherries
• Brown rice
• Salmon
• Figs
• Kale
• Quinoa

You could also suggest your child drink herbal tea. Many times, tea can help reduce pain and calm other migraine symptoms like nausea. Some of the best options to drink for this purpose are ginger, chamomile, and peppermint.

Apply an Ice or Heat Pack

A cold pack can help numb throbbing sensations. Your child can apply one to their forehead every 15 minutes for a few hours or until their migraine subsides.

If the migraine is caused by stress or tension, a heat pack is best to use. A heat pack can be applied to the neck or forehead every 10 minutes every couple of hours.

Make an Appointment with a Chiropractor

Chiropractic care can be very useful at combating migraines. This form of holistic medicine works to ensure that your central nervous system (a portion of the body that can trigger migraines) is aligned. It will also release tension in your muscles that might be pressing on nerves and making the migraine symptoms worse.

After a chiropractic treatment for migraines, a chiropractor might also use massage therapy to provide extra relief. A massage has been proven to release tension and boost endorphins and serotonin which are natural painkillers.

Practice Meditation

Many students suffer from intense stress. Because of this, it can overwhelm their brain making them more likely to suffer from a migraine.

Meditation calms the nervous system. This will prevent it from overreacting during stressful times. It will also improve your pain tolerance, reduce insomnia, and even enhance your immune system.

There are plenty of ways you can meditate. One is by sitting in a quiet room and spending about five minutes focusing on your breathing. If you notice your mind wandering during the session, focus on counting your breaths or drawing shapes in your mind.

Exercise

When you suffer from a migraine, the last thing you probably want to do is exercise. However, exercising could reduce your migraine symptoms. By moving your body, it will flush it with endorphins which can significantly reduce your migraine pain. It can also calm stress, a common migraine trigger.

Exercise can range from a simple walk around the block to yoga. No matter what you do, just getting up and moving your body can help to treat and prevent this terrible problem.

Get Enough Sleep

Students tend to stay up late hours either studying or browsing through their phone. This can be problematic because it’s not giving their body time to rest. In fact, it’s thought that a lack of sleep could trigger migraines because it lowers your pain threshold. This makes it easier for migraines to form and be much more intense.

Ideally, students should get at least 10 hours of sleep per day. They should also stick to a sleep pattern. This way, their body will get used to a sleeping routine, something which can lower the amount of migraine attacks they have.

Migraines are a painful problem that can make it difficult for your child to live life normally. By using the information above, you can better understand and teach your child how they can treat and prevent them.

 

References

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24037443/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1447303/

 

About Dr. Wells

 

Dr. Brent Wells, D.C. founded Better Health Chiropractic Juneau and has been a chiropractor for over 20 years. He is currently leading 10,000 Alaskans to more active and pain-free lifestyles with a progressive and highly innovative approach to chiropractic care, massage therapy, and physical rehab therapy.

 

 

 

 

 

Image Credits

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