Hydration: It Could Be Your Cure to Migraines

For any migraine sufferer, the summer is the worst.  Oppressive heat and temperature spikes have long been thought to cause worse attacks on any chronic headache victim.  But, new studies show that there is an easy step to prevent this, staying properly hydrated.

A migraine is a very common, but very severe headache.  It is normally accompanied with other symptoms such as nausea and sensitivity to light.  The headache can last anywhere from 4 to 72 hours and can be fairly debilitating.  Most people have some sort of signal that the migraine will be coming and thus are able to hopefully prevent it.  Migraines are about three times more common in women than they are in men.

Dehydration causes blood volume to drop, which leads to less blood and oxygen flow to the brain.  Some experts believe that this large loss of electrolytes to the brain causes a pain trigger, thus creating a headache.  A migraine sufferer may simply be more prone to the effects of dehydration.

A study was done with two groups in which one took placebo pills and the other was asked to increase their water intake.  At the end of the study it was shown that those who increased their water intake had 21 hours less pain a week than those taking the placebo pill.

So, even though the summer may be over and the heat may go away it is still very important to hydrate!

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