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Preventing Migraine

Methods for preventing migraine include avoiding those things that trigger the headache and establishing other healthy habits. Suggestions include:

Maintain regular sleep patterns.
Learn stress management techniques.
Do not skip meals.
Avoid red wine and other alcohol.
Exercise regularly.
Avoid foods known to trigger migraines. These may include:
- Yogurt
- Nuts and peanut butter
- Beans (eg, lima, navy, pinto, and others)
- Aged or cured meats
- Aged cheese
- Processed or canned meat
- Caffeine (intake or withdrawal)
- Canned soup
- Chocolate
- Buttermilk or sour cream
- Meat tenderizer
- Brewer's yeast
- Avocados
- Onions
- Pickles
- Red plums
- Sauerkraut
- Snow peas
- Soy sauce
- Anything with MSG (monosodium glutamate), tyramine, or nitrates
- Food triggers are often very dependent on the individual. Using a food diet can help you identify migraine triggers that are specific to your migraine disorder.
Ask your doctor if acupuncture is right for you. Acupuncture may help you to have more headache-free days, as well as lessen the intensity of headaches when they do occur. *¹ *²

RESOURCES:

American Council for Headache Education
http://www.achenet.org

American Headache Society
http://ahsnet.org

The National Migraine Association
http://www.migraines.org

CANADIAN RESOURCES:

The College of Family Physicians of Canada
http://www.cfpc.ca

The Migraine Clinic
http://www.migraineclinic.ca/

References:

American Academy of Family Physicians website. Available at: http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home.html .

American Academy of Neurology website. Available at: http://www.aan.com/professionals/index.cfm?a=0&fc=1# .

Cephalalgia: An International Journal of Headache . 2004; 24(suppl 1). Available at: http://216.25.100.131/ihscommon/guidelines/pdfs/ihc_II_main_no_print.pdf . Accessed November 15, 2004.

Gladstone JP. Migraine In: Gilman S, ed. MedLink Neurology. San Diego, CA: MedLink Corporation. Available at: http://www.medlink.com . Accessed February 23, 2008.

Griffith's 5-Minute Clinical Consult . Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 1999.

The International Headache Society. International Classification of Headache Disorders . 2nd ed. 2003.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke website. Available at: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/ .

Silberstein SD, Lipton RB. Headache in Clinical Practice . London, England: Martin Dunitz Ltd; 2002.

Textbook of Clinical Neurology . WB Saunders Co; 1999.

The Vestibular Disorders Associationwebsite. Available at: http://www.vestibular.org/migraine.html . Accessed November 15, 2004.

*¹12/16/2008 DynaMed's Systematic Literature Surveillance DynaMed's Systematic Literature Surveillance : Jena S, Witt CM, Brinkhaus B, Wegscheider K, Willich SN. Acupuncture in patients with headache. Cephalalgia. 2008;28:969-979.

*²2/5/2009 DynaMed's Systematic Literature Surveillance http://www.ebscohost.com/dynamed/what.php : Linde K, Allais G, Brinkhaus B, Manheimer E, Vickers A, White A. Acupuncture for migraine prophylaxis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2009;CD001218.

Last reviewed February 2008 by J. Thomas Megerian, MD, PhD, FAAP

Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Talk about it in the:
Migraine Support Group

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