Topic Overview
Triggers of
are different for each
person. Triggers include changes in daily routine, foods, hormones,
medicines, lights, odors, or other things in the environment.
The most
common migraine triggers are:1
- (either during a stressful time
or right after stress subsides).
-
in women.
- Changes in your routine, such as how much you
exercise or how much you sleep.
- Fasting or skipping
meals.
- Changes in the weather, heat, or high
humidity.
- Bright lights, glare, or reflected sunlight.
- Foods, such as chocolate.
- Alcohol—all alcohol, or one type of alcohol in particular, like
beer or wine.
- Odors such as perfume, paint, dust, and certain flowers.
Other migraine triggers include:
- Strong emotions, such as
or
.
- Pushing yourself too hard when you exercise.
- Aspartame.
- Monosodium glutamate
(MSG).
- Nitrates, which are found in cured meats such as hot dogs,
bacon, and cold cuts.
- Tyramines, which are found in pickled or
marinated foods, aged cheeses, and yeast.
- Smoking or being around
someone who smokes.
- Excessive caffeine or caffeine
withdrawal.
- Birth control pills and hormone
therapy.
- Medicines that expand (dilate) the
blood vessels (vasodilators), such as nifedipine, and nitrates.
- Overuse of headache pain medicines, leading
to
.
References
Citations
Evans RW (2003). Migraine. In Saunders Manual of Neurologic Practice, chap. 11, pp. 421–430. Philadelphia:
Saunders.