What is migraine trigger? How can one identify migraine triggers?

Things that cause migraine headache such as drinks, foods, exercise, medications and stress are termed as triggers. Migraine is a condition that cannot be understood or identified readily. Still, 40% of people suffer from it.

Identifying migraine triggers

There are many factors that have been recognised and identified as migraine triggers. Identifying those triggers is an important step that helps to reduce the chances of the attack. These triggers belong to various categories such as stress, food additives, jet leg or lack of sleep, dehydration or hunger, medication overuse and the like. Only consulting with a migraine specialist can help you identifying the triggers of migraine pain.

Let’s make a brief study of these triggers of migraine pain

Stress

A dramatic upsurge and fall of physical stress can often trigger migraine pain. Some researchers have found that a major portion of migraine patients complain that stress is linked to their migraine attack and therefore, it is regarded as one of the most important migraine triggers. There are some patients who experience migraine at the end of a stressful event while others face the attack during the event.

Jet lag or lack of sleep

Lack of sleep is one of the common causes of migraine. Insufficient sleep has often been considered as one of the majormigraine triggers. At the same time, excessive sleep can also cause migraine attack in some cases. Researchers have confirmed from their studies that insomnia is one of the most common disorders related to chronic migraine pain. People who are suffering from a chronic migraine may face severe attacks from depression and anxiety.

Food items

Food that contains sweetener and added flavours may trigger migraine. Experiments with a sweetener like aspartame have produced only conflicted results and the issue that cause migraine pain remains unsolved. From some evidence, it has appeared that migraine patients may experience worse symptoms after consuming this kind of food.

Flavour enhancers which are found in some food items is termed as MSG. It is mainly used to impart a savoury flavour in the food. However, most researchers have failed to identify a link between consuming MSG food and headaches. But still, people who have migraine problems should avoid taking MSG contained food as it may trigger the attack.

Hunger

Migraine patients should not skip meals as research has shown that skipping meal is related to the major cause of migraine pain. However, the reason behind this has not been found till now. Still doctors believe it is related to a fall in glucose levels.

Like hunger, dehydration has also been considered as possible migraine triggers. If a migraine patient does not drink water properly, it may lead to migraine headaches. That is why migraine doctors always suggest that their patients drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration.

Strong smells

Some migraine patients often complain that an unusual or strong smell triggers headache. They often cite the example of a perfume that mainly triggers this pain. During migraine pain, a patient gets irritated with the smell of food, scents and cigarette smoke.

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