Naturopathic medicine is a system that uses natural remedies to help the body heal itself. It embraces many therapies, including herbs, massage, acupuncture, exercise, and nutritional counselling. The goal of naturopathic medicine is to treat the whole person -- that means mind, body, and spirit. It also aims to heal the root causes of an illness -- not just stop the symptoms. A naturopathic doctor may spend 1 to 2 hours examining you. He’ll ask questions about your health history, stress levels, and lifestyle habits. He may order lab tests.

Naturopathic medicine is used for most health issues. Some of the more common ones include allergies, headaches, fertility issues, digestive problems, obesity, hormonal imbalances, chronic pain, chronic fatigue syndrome etc. You don’t have to be sick to try naturopathy. You may just want to boost your overall health or prevent an illness. 

Migraines are the cause of distress to many. 

Migraines are painful, often debilitating headaches and are a common concern in primary care practices. Migraine pain is typically described as pounding, throbbing and sharp. Some people report having a warning before a migraine comes on, and nausea and vomiting are commonly experienced during a headache. Sufferers generally become sensitive to light and noise and must lie down in a quiet, dark room until the pain resides (usually hours, but these can last days). A migraine is not a random occurrence, it is the body reacting with the environment. Migraine has trigger points, it is important to determine what is upsetting the internal balance, and how a migraine can be controlled by preventive measures and stop them from ever recurring. 

Naturopathy treatment of migraine begins with identifying and treating the underlying causes that contribute to headaches. Headaches and migraines, like any other disease, is a result of multiple factors adding up to the cause of a headache. Naturopathy looks at the plausible cause and the trigger points. A naturopathic doctor takes a complete medical history of the family, menstrual cycle, bowel problem, vitamin deficiencies, hypertension and diet before considering the cause of the migraine.

Stress

Anger, tension, worry, depression are major trigger points causing sleep disorder leading to system imbalance.

Physical Stress

When we do not respect our body it revolts in the form of disease. For migraines, physical stress is also a trigger point, like over exertion, tiredness, improper sleep pattern, neck sprain and travel.

Diet, food and allergy diet

It is important to check food allergies or intolerance or sensitivities. Food allergies happen when the body reacts to foods in the same way so as to a foreign bacteria and are many times immediate cause of headaches and migraines.

Change in the environment such as weather, seasons, altitude and barometric pressure. 

Migraineurs are sensitive to loud noises, bright lights and strong smells. 

Long gaps between meals and insufficient food, fasting or dieting are also cause of migraines. 

Dehydration

Widely overlooked cause but insufficient water is one of the major triggers for a migraine. A thumb rule is that one must drink at least eight glasses of water. 

All these trigger points for a migraine can generally be treated without drugs. While a drug heals the man for a day a healthy body heals him for a lifetime. Naturopathic practitioners use natural methods to cure migraines and reduce their duration, intensity and frequency. The methods include the following:

  • Lavender Oil: Lavender oil is well-known for its medicinal value, and can also be used for curing migraine headaches. It is low-cost, and can be used safely. Only pure Lavender oil should be used for the cure. You need to use pure lavender oil immediately on sensing an impending migraine attack. You can pour just one drop of unadulterated lavender oil behind each ear or on each temple. You may even put 2 – 3 pure lavender oil on the pillow that you would sleep on.
  • Balanced diet: Naturopaths often advise patients to stick to a balanced diet, in order to get cured of a wide variety of ailments – including migraines. You should select foods such as whole grains, like oats, barley, quinoa and brown rice, and sweet potatoes.
  • Higher water intake: You should also consume lots of water every day, at least 8 – 9 glasses of water. This is due to the fact that hydration is an integral part of the recovery process.
  • Reducing excessive light/sound exposure: As a migraine is often triggered by loud noises or bright light, you need to avoid both of them as much as possible. Try to stay away from direct sunlight when you face an onset of acute migraine problems.