Migraine headaches can be disabling. I know; I get them regularly.  Migraines are vascular headaches in which the blood vessels within the skull constrict and increase blood flow to the head. Often described as a dull throbbing on one side of the head, migraines can be intensely painful and last from a few hours to several days. Three quarters of the people who suffer migraines are women, and migraine pain mostly afflicts women who are between 20 and 45 years of age. Some people who get migraines get them chronically; for others, migraines occur rarely, if ever. Some folks get classic migraine--with the aura and the visual disturbances--while others get common migraine. I've gotten common migraines all my life, with the occasional classic migraine, and some of the alternative treatments below work for me. Check with your doctor about trying a natural remedy for migraine.

Treatment for a migraine typically involves:

• taking anti-inflammatory or pain medications specially formulated for migraine headaches
• resting in a dark, quiet room
• applying a cold compress to the head

Some people take NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) such as

• ibuprofen (brand name, Advil)
• acetaminophen (brand name, Tylenol)
• naproxen sodium (brand name, Alleve)

Others take prescription medications such as ergotamine or triptans either for migraine prevention or for migraine attacks.

Many over-the-counter migraine remedies, such as Excedrin Migraine, are a mix of pain relievers and caffeine.

A possible natural remedy for migraine and alternative treatment is acupuncture. An acupuncturist will examine you and ask you questions about your eating habits to discern the origin of the problem. Acupuncture for migraine commonly involves needles placed in the "web" of the hand (between forefinger and thumb) and the corresponding area on the foot, adjacent to the nose, and at the base of the skull. Controlled studies have shown acupuncture treatments to be effective in 75 percent of headaches, migraines among them.

Treat migraines using biofeedback with the help of biofeedback specialists.  According to The Natural Health Guide to Headache Relief (Pocket, 1997), biofeedback can help you monitor the thermal changes in your body during a migraine. As the blood moves toward the head during a migraine attack, the relaxation techniques of biofeedback can help you visualize your hands and feet warming up. With practice, you should be able to use this technique to restore your normal circulation in about 15 minutes. If your migraine includes an aura, which can "announce" a classic migraine, begin using biofeedback when the aura begins.

You may have noticed you get cold hands or feet when you have a migraine.  This occurs because with a migraine, the blood flows toward your head.  This is a bad thing, generally, for pain. To ease the inflammation in your head, hold a cold compress, cold wet washcloth or ice pack to the side of your head that hurts.  Don't apply heat to your head unless told to do so by a health professional; it will make a migraine worse in most cases.

To get the blood flowing away from the head, take a shallow hot bath (called a sitz bath) and immerse your hands, but don't lower your head into the water or dip your head down too low.  Hot water will help your blood circulate away from your head and to your body.  This cold-to-the-head, hot-to-the-body therapy works for me especially when I do it early on in the stages of a migraine headache.

Feverfew is an herb whose common name is "headache plant."

As an herbal migraine remedy, taking 1 to 2 cups feverfew tea daily over the course of several months may help prevent chronic migraines from developing.

Feverfew is not for pregnant women, those taking anticoagulants, or those allergic to chamomile and other plants in the ragweed family--and I happen to have a ragweed allergy.

Talk to your doctor if you plan to take feverfew.

Lastly, to treat my migraines naturally, I also changed my diet. Removing refined sugars and salts, nitrate-containing foods, and very greasy foods tends to work for me. Adding omega-3 fatty acids in the form of wild Alaskan salmon (which I ordered online before I moved to the Pacific Northwest) seemed to help me get fewer migraines after several months of eating it--and I even began to enjoy the taste and crave it, though I'm not exactly what you'd call a fish-lover. 

You can find fresh, wild sockeye or king salmon at restaurants, in local fish markets depending on where you live, and online.  (Try Fresh Reef Net Sockeye Salmon Fillets at SeaBear.com)