Menstrual migraines are migraine headaches that occur specifically during the period of menstruation in women. The cause of this condition is usually attributed to the low levels of an estrogen called estradiol during the period of menstruation. Dealing with this problem requires that the estrogen levels are brought back to normal or that the headache itself is dealt with using painkillers and analgesics.
A migraine headache, when compared to a regular headache, has separate triggers that can include menstruation, noises, allergies and other types of triggers. The established theory of migraines is that there is a serotonin imbalance in the body, or some kind of disturbance, that causes the migraine. Stress, cigarette smoke, odors, altered sleep patterns, alcohol, monosodium glutamate and chocolate also contribute to creating a migraine headache. A migraine headache is usually accompanied by nausea and dizziness though this may not be the standard for many migraine headache sufferers. A migraine can also be preceded by an effect called an aura. An aura is some kind of a visual, audio or olfactory anomaly that occurs to indicate that a migraine is on its way. Some of the types of aura include seeing bright colors, tunnel vision, seeing odd, brightly lit lines, hearing sounds and voices, smelling strange smells that do not actually exist, numbness and tingling in the body, salivation, language difficulties and unsteadiness and weakness.
Menstrual migraines, being a product of low estrogen levels, should be treated with the intake of estrogen containing substances. Medically, there are estrogen supplements that are available that are synthesized from animal sources. These can only, however, be administered on prescription from an endocrinologist. Home remedies for menstrual migraines that specifically can be used for estrogen supplementation do exist. The best method is to increase the amount of phytoestrogen in the body. Phytoestrogen is plant estrogen and can be acquired from a whole variety of foods but the most potent ones are nuts. As phytoestrogens can be acquired from a wide variety of plants, it basically boils down to eating vegetarian meals during the time of your period. To combat the potency of a migraine headache specifically, the best home remedy is feverfew tea. This herb is a powerful analgesic and should be had through the day to avoid the onset of a headache. It is believed, but with little medical evidence, that eating the papaya fruit during the ebbing phase of a menstrual cycle also helps to push up estrogen levels and is worth a shot.