The end of the semester is always a confusing time.  Students aren’t completely sure what grades they will be getting in class, teachers haven’t decided which questions to put on the test, and weather hasn’t decided on rain or shine.   During this time, everyone is under stress.  For people many people, the stress induces migraine headaches.

Migraines are severe headaches.  They are usually dominant on one side of the head, but they can also make both sides of the head hurt.  People who suffer from migraines are often plagued with sensory overloads.  Even the tiniest light, like a phone screen, can cause the headache to increase.  The pumping of the ceiling fan can make the sufferer’s head throb.

The slightest whiff of food can send the sufferer into a curled ball of despair.   Migraines don’t only cause the sufferer’s head to hurt until they cannot see straight, but they can also make the person feel nauseous.

Some of the top causes of migraines include stress, change in sleep pattern, change in weather, skipping meals and dehydration.   These should sound familiar to any student.  Finals week is always the most stressful week in the semester.

To finish projects and assignments that they should have been working on for weeks, students pull all-nighters.  Their sleep schedule becomes messed up, and the students become sleep deprived.

The sleep change causes students to feel hungry at odd times, or make them not want to eat at all.  If the student does eat, he’s more like to buy something that’s convenient and quick.  He may fix ramen noodles and drink soda. Caffeine, which students drink plenty of during finals week, can either help alleviate the migraine pain or intensify it.  Students typically have an unhealthy diet and slight dehydration during finals week.

Springtime is the time for crazy weather in general.  In one day, the weather can jump from 40 to 70 degrees, be sunny then rainy, and be windy then threateningly still.

This spring seems especially hectic with storms and tornado threats.  The campus is flooding, and everyone is limited to outfits that go well with rain boots.  Students and faculty are stressed with wading through lakes to get to class on time.

Every time students go to the library, it seems like the tornado sirens go off and they have to go into the secret hallway used for a tornado shelter.

With all of these different factors, it’s no surprise that students will suffer from stress and, consequently, migraines.

Thankfully, migraines can be easy to take care of if they aren't too severe.   Laying down in a dark, cool room separated from most stimuli can help ease the pain.  Putting an ice pack on the forehead and neck also help.  As stated earlier, caffeine can help, but  it  can also act as a trigger and increase the symptoms.

Leafy vegetables, whole wheat, yeast, and fish oil have also been proven to help with migraine headaches.

After the onslaught of a migraine with accompanying nausea, WebMB recommends different medicines such as Almotriptan, Eletriptan, Frovatriptan, Naratriptan, Rizatriptan, Sumatriptan and Zolmitriptan. For frequent and severe migraines, WebMD recommends high blood pressure medication, antidepressants, or anti-seizure medications.