Remedies For Migraine!

Migraine is a burning health problem of modern age affecting more than 1 in 10. It is a widespread, chronic and intermittently disabling characterized by recurrent headaches with or without aura.

In Ayurveda, this condition is referred to as ‘Sooryavarta’. Surya means ‘Sun’ and avarta means ‘affliction’ or ‘blockage’. It is caused by excessive stimulation of the brain and blood vessels.

What causes migraine?

The pitta dosha obstructs the flow of Vata dosha in the brain. This causes throbbing and pulsating pain and the pain increases with every pulse. Since the pitta is dominant in the afternoon, the intensity of the headache is at its peak and it slowly reduces by evening.

Some of the things you need to incorporate in your daily life in order to avoid migraine:

• Drink a lot of water
• Make improvement in the posture
• Sit in the dark room
• Get enough sleep but don’t oversleep
• Stretch yourself and relax as much as possible
• Hold an icepack on your forehead to reduce the pain
• Exercise regularly
• Try to avoid spicy food as much as possible
• Wear sunglasses while you go out in the sun
• Reduce the intake of tea and coffee
• Drink milk with a pinch of cardamom, saffron or turmeric

Here are some of the easy home remedies to treat initial stage migraine:

• Soak around 5-6 resins and almonds each at night and eat them in the morning. You can also drink the water in which they were soaked.
• Take a teaspoon of coriander seed powder and mix it in a cup of water. Leave it overnight. Drink it the next morning on an empty stomach.
• The fresh and tender leaves of jasmine or pomegranate are great to cure migraine. Crush the leaves well and mix with a pinch of salt to make fresh juice.
• You can drop a few drops of paste of saffron and ghee into each of your nostrils and inhale deeply. This can give you amazing results and can reduce your intolerable pain.
• Applying sandalwood on the forehead or a paste of black pepper, rice with bhringraj juice on your forehead will do wonders to your migraine pain.
• Take a fist full of doorva grass and blend it to obtain its fresh juice. Add a pinch of licorice powder to the juice and mix it well. Drink this solution in the afternoon continuously for a month. This will help in reducing the severity of the illness.
• Drink Ginger Tea as it helps in coping with other symptoms of migraine-like nausea, vomiting, etc. Include 2-4 grams of ginger in your diet daily, as it is considered as a superfood and helps in promoting over health.
• Inhaling Essential Oils like rosemary, lavender and jasmine helps reduce pain and ease the tension by attacking the triggers directly. Add 5-10 drops of the essential oil in hot water and take deep breaths so as to inhale the steam
• Use Sesame oil as a nasal drop. It relieves the gases that are causing the head pressure and relaxes the body. Put around 4-5 drops of sesame oil in your nostrils once in a day and inhale deeply.
• Apply Nutmeg Paste by adding crushed nutmeg powder with some water, and massage on your forehead. This can help in relieving a headache makes you calm, relaxed and helps you fall asleep.
• Yoga can be of great help in calming the mind and relaxing the blood vessels.

Few therapies to treat migraine attacks as recommended by Ayurveda are:-

Shirolepa 

It is considered as the most effective way in curing migraines and mental exhaustion. In this certain herbs are mixed to form pastes, which are then applied on the head of the patients.  Before applying the herbal paste, a medicated oil is applied to the head and body. The paste is kept over the vertex (head), and is covered with the help of a plantain leaf for an hour. Then, the paste and oil are wiped off followed by a warm water bath.

Shirodhara

In this ayurvedic therapy, a thin stream of warm oil is poured in a continuous stream over the forehead. When the oil is poured continuously, the pressure of the oil creates a vibration on the forehead, which allows our mind and nervous system to experience a deep state of mental rest. The feeling is almost similar to that of meditation.

Kavala Graha

Kavala Graha or oil pulling has a very powerful detoxifying effect, and its health benefits range from whiter teeth to increased relief from migraine headaches.

Shirovasti

In this, the outer area of our head is covered by a leather cap. There is a hollow space inside the cap so that the medicated oil can be held in that gap for a certain period.

This therapy helps in curing diseases related to the brain such as migraine, throbbing pain, and depression.

Sneha Nasaya

In this ayurvedic treatment, medical oils such as shidbindu taila or anu taila are put in the nostrils in the same way as you put nasal drops. It helps in the treatment of the pain above the shoulder area.