Migraines

There isn’t just one cause for the headaches and that is a problem with migraine prevention. There are very many triggers for migraines and trying to avoid them all would be an exercise in hermitry. There are a few things you can do to avoid migraines and here are the top ten.

1) Cut the caffeine. Taking in too much can lead to a headache of monstrous proportions. Cut it back slowly.

2)While we’re talking about caffeine, let’s also talk about NutraSweet. Aspartame has been the culprit for many people who have complained of migraines. Avoid it and you may well avoid a horrendous headache.

3) There are more reasons to give up smoking than you can count, but avoiding migraines is another reason to put on the list. Secondhand smoke is just as likely to cause a migraine headache as actual smoking. You do have the right to not have to be around their smoke, especially if their smoke is causing your headaches.

4) Establish a regular pattern of sleeping and waking. In fact, get as anal-retentive as you can about this. A regular pattern of going to bed at the same time and getting up at the same time, on weekends as well as weekdays, can do wonders.

5) Give up the pill and try another form of contraception. Birth control pills and their effects on hormones can be a major hazard when it comes to migraine pain. You may look on other forms of female contraception if you and your partner don’t mind. continue…

For More articles and information on migraine and migraine treatments visit Treatment-for-Migraines.com

Herbalists tend to regard the headache as a symptom of some underlying disorder rather than an illness in its own right. Those that seem centered behind the eyes suggest a digestive disturbance while headaches that seem to start at the back of the neck and creep forward are generally tension headaches. Pain and sensitivity around the eyes or above the nose can be due to a sinus problem. Muscle strain in the shoulders and neck can also contribute to head pain. Sitting or working awkwardly hunched over a desk or computer keyboard can easily lead to headaches. Massage neck and shoulders with a mixture of 5 drops each of thyme, lavender, and juniper oil in 1 tablespoon of almond oil. Take a 600 mg tablet of Siberian ginseng each day to improve stress tolerance and thus reduce the risk of tension headaches and try yoga or t’ai chi classes to improve relaxation skills. Some sorts of headaches are best relieved by a hot towel on the head in these cases use a massage of 10 drops of rosemary oil to 1 teaspoon of almond oil on the temples and forehead. Migraine is typically preceded by visual disturbances jagged lights to the edge of the visual field or a sense that there is a strange out of focus area in what one sees. Occasionally the attack may simply comprise these visual upsets, although more typically a severe headache will follow, with increased sensitivity to light so that sufferers want simply to lie down in a dark room. Migraines can be associated with gastric disturbances or pins and needles in one hand or arm. Foods can often trigger an attack or an attack can be associated with stress or bright sunlight. Flickering lights, as when driving past trees on a bright sunny day, can also trigger an attack. Many sufferers find that chewing feverfew leaves can help prevent attacks. Try two to three leaves in a daily sandwich or else use a strong lavender oil rub (1 teaspoon of lavender oil with 2 teaspoons of almond oil ) massaged into the temples at the first hint of a migraine. Drink cups of lavender and St. John’s wort infusion (1 teaspoon of each to a cup of water) during attacks.

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There comes a time in every laser eye surgical procedure when leaving the battlefield is the best of two (or more) evils. When is it best to reposition the flap, abandon the procedure and possibly attempt the LASIK procedure at a later time…?
Obtaining adequate suction to certain globes is occasionally an elusive target. This includes small hyperopic eyes, flat or small diameter corneas, narrow palpebral fissures… If the level of myopia permits, one has to remember that PRK is always an available option and patients must be made aware of this alternative and be consented for it prior to the procedure. A surgeon might be tempted to extend an incomplete flap with a crescent blade or similar instrument . This might lead to an uneven bed and scarring. The closer the hinge to the visual axis the riskier this maneuver will be. If the bed is large enough (not more than 0.5 mm of unexposed stroma at the hinge) laser treatment may be applied (with adequate protection to the underside of the flap).
A thin flap with an underlying shiny bed probably indicated an uncut underlying Bowman’s layer. It is not clear if performing laser in this situation has similar or higher risk of haze formation as PRK. Until more is known about this issue, it is probably safest to reposition the flap and abort the procedure especially in high levels of correction. An irregular flap indicates an irregular stromal bed and is best allowed to heal back in position rather than risk inducing irregular astigmatism.
If a buttonhole occurs, immediate laser ablation of a central epithelial island by scraping or by the laser was reported to lead to uneven ablation and loss of BCVA.
The Free Cap
A free cap results from unintended complete dissection of the corneal flap by the microkeratome head. If the cap is trapped in the keratome head, it should be gently retrieved, stretched and kept in a dessication chamber if the diameter of the exposed stroma allows laser ablation.  A small cap (i.e smaller than the optical zone) should prompt the surgeon to replace it in position and avoid the laser ablation. If the cap cannot be recovered, the epithelium will grow centrally as after other “superficial” keratectomy procedures and may result in a significant hyperopic shift.
 Intraoperative factors leading to a free cap are the same as those leading to a thin or perforated flap, a poor blade to cornea coupling. This is especially true for flatter corneas which are more prone to a smaller cap. Other maneuvers such as malpositioning and/or misadjusting of the flap thickness foot-plate during assembly of certain microkeratomes can lead to a free cap.
In certain instances, the microkeratome can jam preventing head reversal. This might prompt the surgeon to release the suction thus lifting the instrument with an incarcerated flap resulting in a free cap.  
Placing corneal marks with gentian violet is time well spent prior to cutting a corneal flap. When recovered, a cap can be repositioned using the preplaced marks to allow proper orientation. A bandage contact lens is usually helpful to tamponade the cap and prevent slippage upon lid contact. Suturing is rarely necessary.
 If the cap is lost, the corneal epithelium is allowed to heal as in PRK with a more profound central applanation effect. Laser treatment is deferred until refractive stability is achieved.

<b>Author Bio:</b><br>Adapted from: “101 Pearls in Refractive, Cataract and Corneal Surgery”Samir Melki MD PhD and Dimitri T. Azar MD editors, Slack inc.www.slackinc.com Dr. Melki is a experienced <a href="http://bostonlaser.com/lasik-boston-vision-correction-lasik-affordable.php">Boston affordable LASIK surgeon, Laser Eye Surgery</a>, Vision Correction and <a href="http://bostonlaser.com/lasik-boston-cosmetic-procedures.php">Cosmetic Surgery</a>

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Headaches Do you or someone you know suffer from chronic headaches or Migraines? Usually these people have seen a variety of different doctors, with little if any relief. Their symptoms are being treated, but the cause of the problem still persists. Ever thought about seeing your dentist for a migraine? Well that is just one of the conditions that Neuromuscular dentistry is being used to treat. Neuromuscular dentistry is one of the new technologies available in dentistry today. It is different from regular dentistry in that it focuses on the muscles of the jaw and neck and how they are related to the teeth. Neuromuscular dentistry recognizes that the muscles that move the jaw must be in a comfortable, relaxed position in order to not be in conflict with the teeth and jaw joint i.e. we must have happy muscles. ? Some of the symptoms that occur when we do not have these happy muscles include: Headaches, Loose teeth, Clenching or grinding, root abfractions, Pain or clicking and popping in the jaw joints, Shoulder, neck, and back pain, Numbness in arms and fingers, non-specific Facial pain, problems swallowing , hot or cold sensitive teeth ,Crowded teeth , Receding gums , Ringing or congestion in the ears. A person could experience Migraine headaches and no other symptoms for example, yet be suffering from a neuromuscular dental problem. There are a number of different types of equipment used in Neuromuscular dentistry to help us get a person to a position of Happy Muscles. First, we must find a position at rest that is most comfortable for the patient. . This is position where the muscles are relaxed, regardless of where the teeth line up. A device known as the Myo-monitor is used to help relax the patients muscles. It is a low frequency T.E.N.S. (Transcutaneous Electrical Neural Stimulation)unit. The Myo-monitor stimulates the Trigeminal Nerve and The Facial nerve using a very mild electrical impulse. This TENSing accomplishes 3 things. First, It pumps waste metabolites and lactic acid away from the stressed muscles. Second, it increases the blood flow to the muscle, which increases the oxygen, glucose, and energy to the muscle itself. Finally, it allows the jaw to relax into its ideal position. Tensing usually takes 45- 60 minutes depending on how bad a patients symptom are and how tight their muscles are. Sometimes we will use an EMG machine to measure the level of tightness in the different muscles. Before tensing ,the EMG shows how hyperactivity of the muscles. After TENSing there is much less activity and the muscle are much happier. After TENSing and finding the ideal position of the jaw where the muscles are happy, we make an appliance called an orthotic to keep the muscles in this position. Keeping the muscles in this position is very important because it allows them to remain at their ideal length, which prevents them from going into spasm. Again, we want to get to a state of Happy Muscles. Wearing the orthotic allows the muscles to heal, pain to dissipate and/or disappear and the jaw joint to heal. The orthotic is usually worn for 1-3 months to make sure the bite is correct and that the symptoms disappear. Once the patient has become symptom free, we make a decision about Phase 2 of treatment. The patient may decide to wear the orthotic indefinitely, have orthodontic treatment done to move teeth into the correct position, have the teeth restored or adjust the teeth to their ideal bite. The following three patient cases recently came to me for migraine treatment. Alan is a 68-year-old male with a history of migraine headaches 6-10 times per month for the past 25 years. I had seen every imaginable type of doctor in the country, including the Mayo clinic. Nothing would stop the headaches; just control the pain with drugs. It got to the point where I had to carry narcotics with me everywhere I went. Alan was treated using neuromuscular dentistry and is now virtually headache free. I am so happy with the results of my treatment. I am practically headache free and dont have to take any headache medications anymore. What a relief after all these years. Barbara is a 43-year-old mom of three with a history of headaches and stiff neck for the past 7 years. She had seen numerous physicians, specialists, chiropractors and acupuncturists over the years. Nobody was able to stop the headaches and I havent been able to move my neck completely for 1 and _ years. I had to miss my 10 year olds birthday party because of a migraine. When Barbara came to our office, she had a severe headache and a knot the size of a golf ball in the muscles of her neck. We used the TENS unit on her for 1 hr. I couldnt believe it. My headache had disappeared, the knot in my neck was gone, and I could move my neck from side to side for the first time in a year and a half. Barbara has been virtually pain free for the last 3 months, and is extremely happy with the results of her orthotic use. I cant wait to have my mouth restored. Deaun had occasional migraines until two years ago. I was at a comedy club with my husband and I felt a migraine coming on. We left the club, went home and I went to bed. Ever since then, the migraines have been pretty much all the time for the last two years. Deaun had been to numerous doctors with no resolution. They kept telling me that all they could do was give me pain medication. Then I heard about Dr. Cohen. My husband didnt think anything would work, but I really wanted to try neuromuscular dentistry. I am so glad that I did. My headaches have been reduced to about 1 every 6 weeks, and even my husband, the skeptic, is amazed at the improvement. I am religious about wearing my orthotic and feel great. For more information go to http://www.migrainedentistry.com

About the AuthorPatric Cohen, Beverly hills Californiasmiledr@earthlink.net Dr. Cohen has been practicing cosmetic dentistry in Beverly Hills since 1984. He graduated from Stanford University in 1980 and received his DDS degree at University of Southern California in 1984. Dr. Cohen is a fellow in the Academy of General Dentistry , a member of The American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry and a member of the International Association of Comprehensive Aesthectics.

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