If you're one of the many folks in the Foothills who get migraines then you're probably not too excited for the chinook that's rolling in over the mountains this week.

Migraines aren't quite your typical headache.  They're often accompanied by side effects or symptoms like disturbed vision or visual auras, tingling or numbness in hands, and sometimes nausea.

Dr. Beatrice Du Prey is a physician with the Foothills Family Practice in Okotoks and she says that there are usually a number of migraine triggers and chinooks are among them.

"Weather is one of the probable triggers of migraine headaches from the best evidence that we have, including things like stress, menstruation, lots of visual stimulation.  Even nitrates or not eating have been associated with them." Dr. Du Prey says "Absolutely I think we can expect quite a bit more people getting migraine headaches over the next little bit."

While there's a few different treatments out there, some more far fetched then other's it's still difficult to find something that works and every migraine sufferer is different.  

There are some things you can do to prepare your body in an attempt to avoid migraines before they hit though.

Here are some of Dr. Du Prey's suggestions.

"So often we recommend that people do headache diaries to actually identify what exactly there triggers are. In addition to that, getting a good night's sleep, proper hygiene, eating meals on a regular basis, and exercising seem to be the best things we can recommend to try and prevent them from happening."

Once you have a migraine it's important to limit the screen time, and Dr. Du Prey says that rest and peppermint oils can actually help as well.

"Peppermint oil can sometimes be used as well,  it's kind of more of a naturopathic way of trying to treat headaches but some people have received quite a bit of relief from that." Dr. Du Prey adds "Obviously avoiding visual and auditory stimulations is also helpful."

The best thing migraine sufferers can do is rest in a cool dark and quiet room when they feel the migraines coming on.  If you experience severe migraines a visit to a family doctor might be in order as Dr. Du Prey says there are plenty of medications on the market that can relieve the migraines and your doctor can help you find the right one for you!


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