How to Cure Headache during Menstruation
Headaches during menstruation can certainly make you feel uncomfortable and can interfere with your activities. If you often experience headaches during menstruation, you are not the only one experiencing them. About 60% of women who have a history of headaches outside the menstrual cycle also experience headaches during menstruation. How to cure headache during menstruation can be overcome by compressing using ice, doing relaxation to taking pain relievers.
Headache is a common complaint of women during menstruation. However, headaches don't always appear right when you're menstruating. Headaches can appear before or after menstruation, usually appearing two days before menstruation to three days after menstruation ends. In terms of age, headaches during menstruation can be felt by women since adolescence, during their productive age until before menopause.
Before discussing further about how to cure headaches during menstruation, it is also necessary to know some of the factors that cause headaches during menstruation.
Causes of Headaches during Menstruation
For more details, the following is an explanation of the causes of headaches during menstruation.
1. Hormonal changes
Hormonal changes during menstruation can trigger headaches. The decrease in levels of the hormones progesterone and estrogen before menstruation can affect chemical compounds in the brain. This is what causes some women to experience headaches during menstruation. Also read articles about: How to Deal With Hormonal Headaches.
2. Low iron levels
The amount of blood that comes out during menstruation can trigger headaches. When you lose a lot of blood, your body is prone to iron deficiency. Low iron levels can trigger headaches during menstruation.
How to Relieve Headache during Menstruation
To relieve headaches during menstruation, there are several things you can do, including the following:
1. Compress using ice
To help relieve the headache you feel during menstruation, you can compress it with ice on the neck or forehead area. The trick is to wrap an ice cube in a soft towel or cloth, then place it on the area.
2. Do massage therapy
Doing massage therapy can relax muscles and reduce tension in the neck, shoulders and back. In addition, massage therapy can also help relieve headaches that you feel during menstruation.
3. Do relaxation
Doing relaxation such as meditation, yoga and deep breathing exercises, can relax muscles, reduce tension, and relieve headaches. In addition, relaxation can also help control blood pressure and heart rate.
4. Manage stress well
In order for headaches during menstruation to subside, you can try to manage stress properly. You can do this by doing various activities you like, talking with friends, just taking a walk around the house to taking a vacation to a place you like. This is good to do to prevent the headache from getting worse.
5. Reduce salt consumption
Consuming too much salt can increase blood pressure so this will trigger headaches. Therefore, limit the amount of salt you consume before or during menstruation.
6. Limit consumption of certain foods and drinks
To prevent and reduce headaches during menstruation, you should limit the consumption of foods and drinks that contain caffeine, alcohol and foods that contain MSG. In addition, also limit foods that contain high tyramine, such as bananas, avocados, dried fruit, chocolate and smoked fish because they can trigger headaches during menstruation.
7. Avoid strong scents
To relieve headaches during menstruation, you should avoid exposure to strong-scented ingredients, such as perfumes, cleaning products, air pollution, and food flavors made from chemicals.
8. Do exercise regularly
Regular exercise can reduce the risk of headaches during menstruation. Before exercising, don't forget to drink enough water, consume foods that are high in protein and warm up.
9. Get enough rest
Lack of rest can make headaches during menstruation worse. Therefore, try to get enough rest by sleeping between 7-9 hours. So that you can sleep well, make your room as comfortable as possible.
10. Taking magnesium supplements
Magnesium supplements can be taken to relieve headaches during menstruation, but these supplements can trigger diarrhea. Therefore, it is best to consult a doctor before taking this supplement.
11. Taking pain relievers
Taking painkillers can also relieve headaches during menstruation, and can even relieve stomach cramps during menstruation. However, before taking painkillers, you should consult a doctor first.
If you have tried how to cure headache during menstruation, but the headaches you feel do not go away, you should consult a doctor. The doctor will find out the cause and treat it appropriately.
