How to Treat Migraines Without Medication

Do you suffer from migraines? Don't have ready access to pain killers? Can't take pain relievers for health reasons? Find out how to alleviate the pain.

There are many reasons you might not want to take medication, even if you're suffering from debilitating pain because of a migraine. Maybe you're breastfeeding and your doctor told you to stay away from any drugs, even over-the-counter pain relievers. Perhaps you're traveling or out camping and you don't have access to stores that could sell you some ibuprofen. Or maybe you're taking other medications that preclude the possibility of taking pain relievers, like muscle relaxants. Whatever the situation, if you're a migraine sufferer, it's good to know what to do if you feel a bad headache starting and you can't simply take a pain reliever.

Acupressure

Though it might seem a little too metaphysical for many people, there is an acupressure point in the hand that is one of the few to have been studied by western scientific medical research and to be found valid. To access this point, squeeze deep in the web of the hand between the thumb and index finger, just where the metacarpal bones are with your other hand. It doesn't matter which hand you choose. This should help alleviate some of the pain from headaches, whether it's a migraine or a stress-related headache.

Dim the Lights

Migraine sufferers are more sensitive to light than others. If you feel a bad headache coming on, lie down in a dimly lit room and you might be able to relieve the migraine before it gets worse.

Coffee

While migraines and caffeine-related headaches aren't the same thing, the initial pain can feel very similar. Having a cup of coffee can help because caffeine is a mild analgesic and the heat can help blood vessels dilate. If you are having a caffeine-withdrawal-related headache, this should take care of that, too.

Hot Tea

If you aren't a coffee drinker and you don't want caffeine, even drinking hot tea can help dilate blood vessels and relieve some migraine pain. If it turns out the headache isn't a migraine but a bad stress-related headache, relaxing with a cup of hot tea can help alleviate that, too.

Migraine sufferers are in a difficult position because migraines are painful, ubiquitous, yet poorly studied. There are no available animal models in which scientists can study migraine relief. How does a mouse tell you if it has a headache? Since scientists can't test drugs out on human beings, finding non-drug-related pain relief techniques for migraines is a saving grace for those among us who suffer from this awful malady.