Tips to Cope When a Migraine Strikes at Work

Do your migraines interfere with work? If you suffer from migraines, you know that they can strike at any time, including during your work day. The pain caused by migraines makes it hard to focus and function in the office. Advanced Radiology offers patients some tips to cope when migraines come on at work.

Know Your Triggers. One of the best ways you can reduce the chance of developing a migraine at work is to remove triggers from your office space. Since bright lights kick off migraines for some individuals, replacing fluorescent lighting and using an anti-glare screen on your computer or other screens helps to minimize their migraines.

Other people are triggered by certain smells, like perfumes and cigarette smoke. Many companies are moving to entirely non-smoking workplaces and also asking employees to not wear perfumes or colognes to the office because of smell-sensitive coworkers.

 Drink Enough Water. Staying hydrated is important to your total health, and is one way to avoid migraine pain. A good rule of thumb to stay hydrated is take your body weight and divide it in half to get the number of ounces you should consume each day.

Don’t Forget Food. When working, we tend to get busy and sometimes that means we work through lunch. Don’t skip meals and keep snacks at your desk for when you are busy and can’t break away to eat. Also, be mindful of what you are eating and drinking- take out may contain high levels of food preservatives like MSG, which is a known migraine trigger. Skip the artificial sweeteners in your tea or coffee because they are also known to kick off head pain.

Destress. Work can be stressful and stress can lead to migraines. Learn how to relax and cope with work stress at your desk through breathing exercises. Also, get up and walk around to get away from what you’re working on and relax a bit.

Awareness. Be aware of your early migraine symptoms in order to prevent your pain from going full blown. Communicate to your supervisor and coworkers that you are experiencing migraine onset and have a plan of where to go while you work on prevention. Many individuals also keep non-sedating pain relievers at their desk in case a migraine strikes at work.

If you experience chronic migraines and they are interfering with your work or quality of life, call Advanced Radiology at 855.201.1519 for SPG block therapy.