Migraine is a neurological disease that causes headache attacks. They can be so intense that a person may temporarily lose their ability to work. To improve the condition, it is important to take timely measures to relieve headaches. In this regard, people have a question: is it possible to drink coffee for migraines? This drink has different properties, both positive and negative. Therefore, it is important to understand whether coffee is allowed for intense headaches.
Is it okay to drink coffee when you have a headache?
When a headache occurs, there are not always medications at hand that will quickly get rid of it. A person often begins to look for ways to quickly restore performance using what is at hand. It is a fairly common belief that coffee will definitely help with headaches, which is what people use without taking into account the causes of the disease.
Before you go to brew a drink, you should try other ways to relieve pain:
- Go out into the fresh air or ventilate the room;
- Take a deep breath and exhale, repeating several times;
- Close your eyes and take your mind off everything.
If you have a choice between drinking coffee and tea for a headache, you should choose the latter drink. The reason for this choice is the fact that tea, like coffee, contains substances that stimulate the nervous system, but its effect on the body is milder and more gradual. After drinking a cup of tea, blood circulation improves, more oxygen reaches the brain, due to which vascular spasm goes away and the headache subsides. Green tea has advantages over black tea, since the positive effect after drinking it is achieved faster.
Chinese restaurant syndrome
Everyone has heard about monosodium glutamate. True, most are sure that this flavoring additive is found only in cheap fast food: bouillon cubes, crackers and chips. In fact, you can get a fair amount of glutamate in an expensive restaurant. Chinese and Thai establishments are especially prone to addiction to this additive. However, this is not such a big sin. After all, the Chinese and Thais extract their glutamate from natural products (usually from fermented fish and shrimp), while Europeans use a chemically synthesized product. In principle, monosodium glutamate is not harmful, unless, of course, you eat it in excess (that is, more than 9 g per day). But still, in 10% of people, even a pinch of this spice causes a headache (as well as excessive sweating and difficulty breathing). It is these symptoms that have earned the name “Chinese restaurant syndrome.” For those who cannot tolerate glutamate, it is better not only to avoid restaurants serving south-eastern cuisine, but also to carefully read the ingredients of the products you buy (sometimes glutamate is hidden under the name of hydrolyzed vegetable protein).
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The effect of drinking coffee on migraines
A migraine attack is a sharp and unbearable pain in one part of the head, sometimes it happens on both sides at the same time. The disease is not caused by any injuries or pressure surges; it appears due to vascular spasms. This is a neurological disease that requires periodic medical supervision.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to relieve the pain of a migraine when it is not at the very beginning; all that remains is to wait for it to end on its own. At the first onset of symptoms, it is quite possible to prevent severe headaches by doing the following:
- Immediately lie down in a dark room, preferably with fresh air entering the room;
- Move away from any sharp sounds and noise, be in complete silence;
- Relax completely, self-massage your temples, try to fall asleep.
These methods will prevent pain or significantly reduce its duration, but it does not always come at the moment when it is possible to perform these actions.
Coffee is consumed quite often for migraines; some doctors even recommend drinking a small amount of this drink when attacks occur. Indeed, thanks to its high caffeine content, it can prevent the development of a migraine or ease the course of an attack so that you can continue working calmly. Migraines and coffee are quite compatible, but it will not bring any effect if a person regularly drinks large amounts of the drink.
When you need medical help
When do you need to see a doctor due to attacks of cephalalgia? If you have headaches:
- belong to the category of severe pain;
- mild, but repeated several times within one month;
- last more than a week;
- appear suddenly (in the forehead, temples...), accompanied by vomiting or other symptoms such as blurred vision (immediate examination is required); this may indicate the onset of a migraine, but also more serious conditions (cerebral hemorrhage, meningitis, etc.).
Coffee for hypotension
Hypotension is called low blood pressure in humans. Young people often encounter this. When pressure drops sharply, a person is forced to look for quick ways to return it to normal, because the sensations in this state are not the most pleasant:
- Severe dizziness and headache;
- Nausea;
- Mild lack of coordination of movements;
- The inability to perform not only physical, but also mental activities.
There are not always medications on hand that can bring blood pressure back to normal. There are many folk ways to stabilize your condition, among which coffee comes first. Its positive effect is associated with the high content of caffeine, which dilates blood vessels. Increased blood circulation increases blood pressure, due to which headaches and other symptoms of low blood pressure go away. In addition, coffee lifts your mood and gives you vigor, which is useful when restoring strength after a faint state.
If you are predisposed to frequent decreases in blood pressure, you should be attentive to the state of the body and its signals. At the first symptoms of hypotension, you need to take a comfortable position, relax and drink a cup of strong coffee slowly, in small sips. People who regularly use this method note that the feeling of weakness goes away almost instantly. As you drink the drink, your normal state returns, your head stops spinning, your hands become warm.
It should be noted that if a person has normal blood pressure, exposure to caffeine will not increase it. Vasodilation occurs, blood circulation improves, but the pressure remains normal.
Amines against joy
In first place among the foods that provoke migraines is food that contains amines (biological active substances that cause brain vessels to first contract and then dilate). When the blood vessels dilate, a painful spasm occurs. Tyramine belongs in particular to the class of amines. This ingredient gives a spicy taste and aroma to expensive cheeses, ham, smoked fish, crabs, sausages and other meat and fish products.
Tyramine in the body competes with one of the important neurotransmitters of the brain - serotonin, displacing it from the body. Whereas it has been scientifically proven that it is a violation of the metabolism of serotonin (which is also called the hormone of joy) that is the cause of the development of migraines in a large number of people. Amines are found not only in cheeses and sausages, but also in marinades, sauces and pickles, and even in some fruits (citrus fruits, pineapples, bananas) and nuts.
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In what cases does the influence of coffee worsen a headache?
Drinking coffee for headaches is only possible in cases where a person is absolutely sure of the cause of the illness. If during an attack of migraine and hypotension the effect of caffeine has a positive effect on the body and helps cope with pain, then in some other diseases drinking a cup of coffee can lead to serious consequences.
- Drinking coffee is strictly contraindicated for people prone to hypertension, that is, increased blood pressure. Even if you feel good at the moment, drinking a cup of this drink can lead to unbearable and sharp pain caused by a sharp increase in blood pressure in hypertensive patients. In this case, caffeine consumption can even lead to the need for hospitalization.
- When very tired, a person often drinks a cup of coffee to finish the work he started. When the effect of the drink ends, the exhausted body, which remained alert under the influence of the stimulant, gives up. Fatigue sets in and a severe headache appears.
Before trying to help yourself get rid of a headache with coffee, you should find out the cause of its occurrence and consult a doctor to choose the best option for quickly getting rid of discomfort.
Life without salami, but with sugar
Nitrites (substances used to preserve meat and give it a special flavor and pinkish color) can also cause migraines in some people. By the way, not only expensive meat products, but also affordable sausages can lead to a headache. It is not without reason that they even distinguish a special “hot dog headache” (manifested by throbbing pain in the temples half an hour after consuming nitrites).
And finally, we can’t help but mention the artificial sugar substitute – aspartame, which can also cause headaches. Therefore, it is safer to add real sugar to your tea (a little at a time), and also be careful when buying gum, fruit juices, low-calorie ice cream and desserts that contain sugar substitutes.
Application
You need to use coffee correctly during attacks of pain. You should not make it very strong or drink too large volumes, and you should not combine it with any medications unless this is permitted in the instructions for the tablets.
When possible, it is recommended to drink one cup of strong tea instead of coffee. It is less harmful, but its caffeine will have a similar effect for a migraine or other illness. This is especially true for green tea. You should also try to relax and distract yourself from everything extraneous, and only then drink your favorite drink.
If you still want to drink coffee, then it is best to take it not in its pure form. It would be most correct to use one of three combinations:
- With milk - just add a little fresh milk to a cup of ready-made coffee.
- With lemon - you need to throw one slice of lemon into a cup with the prepared drink.
- With cognac – you should add a very small amount of cognac to the coffee.
The latter option is especially effective for hypotension, because perfectly stimulates increased blood pressure and dilation of blood vessels.
Caffeine can be obtained from painkillers. They will have a greater effect, and you won’t have to waste time brewing the drink. The most popular means are:
- "Midol";
- "Paracetamol";
- Excedrin.
They should be taken without drinking coffee. Take the tablets only with clean water to get the maximum effect without causing harm to your health.
If coffee doesn't help with your pain, then you shouldn't drink an extra cup. Often such actions lead to the opposite effect.
Preventing problems
People with the problem “I get a headache if I don’t drink coffee” are side by side with individuals wondering what if coffee gives me a headache. In this case, it is important to know about the caffeine content in other drinks:
- If used in excess, the stimulant drink can cause headaches (cephalalgia often occurs in a person who has had too much coffee). Therefore, migraine patients should limit its consumption (drink it maximum 2 times a week).
- For patients suffering from particularly severe migraine attacks, complete elimination of caffeine is recommended. However, this should not happen suddenly, from day to day, but gradually, by reducing daily doses - this will prevent withdrawal symptoms (such signs are familiar to a person who has quit, for example, smoking cigarettes).
- Remember that the stimulant is not the only cause of pain. This is just one of the factors, and it can be easily eliminated.
Chicory based drink
An alternative to regular coffee is chicory root, which provides excellent taste and good effects on the body. Chicory is a source of inulin, it helps with urinary tract infections, constipation, loss of appetite, and will be a good helper for many pregnancy problems.
Cafein free
Decaffeinated coffee is a drink from which at least 97.5% of the stimulant has been removed. It is recommended for migraine sufferers.
With milk
The fact of the adverse effects of coffee with milk has recently become very widespread among people. But here the world is not black and white, the view of this drink is not monochrome. Many experts have the opposite opinion. According to their findings, intolerance to milk and dairy products has an adverse effect.
According to some experts, milk should be added to coffee, especially for people with stomach problems and ulcers.
Instant drink
Do you eat instant soups, cereals and similar chemically modified foods? If you're trying to eat healthy, then of course not. So why wash down your healthy food with industrially processed extract? What grains do you think are used to make instant powder? Obviously, the grains are of minimal quality.
The required aroma and taste are subsequently provided by adding substances that have nothing to do with real coffee. You can drink this “remedy” once a year, but with constant use it will become the enemy of your health.
