Help with headaches

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Table of contents

How to prevent headaches

How to treat headaches

Help with headaches

How to prevent headaches

Proper lifestyle can help prevent headaches before they start

Get better sleep

Make sure to have regular sleep schedule every day, even on weekends.
Make the bedroom a screen-free zone for at least one hour before bedtime (this means charging devices overnight in another room!).
Make sure to get between 8-11 hours of sleep every night.
Melatonin is a supplement that can be taken before bedtime to help with sleep.

Preschool-age: 1 to 2 milligrams
School-age: 2 to 3 milligrams
Adolescents: 5 milligrams

Keep a balanced diet

Start your day with a high protein breakfast (yogurt, cheese, and milk are good options) within one hour of waking up — this prevents sudden drops in blood sugar.

Keep your blood sugar levels stable by eating 3 meals a day with 1-3 snacks in between.
Include protein, carbohydrates, and vegetables or fruit at each meal.
Drink plenty of water throughout the day and avoid sugary, or caffeinated beverages like Kool-Aid®, coffee, tea, pre-workout, and energy drinks.

Stay active

Ensure you have at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day.

Learn to manage stress

Try participating in relaxation exercises like yoga or a mindfulness practice — you can find some suggested apps for mobile devices on our Headaches resource page.

Take supplements

Magnesium

Dose:

9 mg/kg/day of elemental magnesium divided into three daily doses
Start at a low dose and slowly increase

Available in:

Capsules (e.g., magnesium glycinate containing 165 mg magnesium) — may be sprinkled on food
Tablets (e.g., magnesium oxide containing 242 mg magnesium)

Side effects:

Diarrhea at higher doses — if persistent reduce the dose

Coenzyme Q10

Dose:

1 to 3 mg/kg/day once a day

Available in:

Capsules (30 mg, 60 mg) — may be sprinkled on food
Soft gels (50 mg, 100 mg, 150 mg)

Side effects:

Upset stomach - take with food

Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)

Dose:

50-400 mg once a day

Available in:

Tablets (50 mg, 100 mg)

Side effects:

Bright yellow or orange urine - not harmful

How to treat headaches

Medications work best if given at first signs of a headache. Pain medications should not be given on more than 15 days per month to avoid medication overuse headaches.

Let your healthcare provider know if you need to take your medications 3+ times per week or if this plan isn’t working.

Ibuprophen (Advil®, Motrin®, etc.)

Dose:

10 mg/kg/dose (max 800 mg/dose) — may repeat the dose in 6 hours.

Total per day:

40 mg/kg/day (max 3200 mg/day)

Available in:

Tablets, chewable tablets, soft gels, and liquid

Side effects:

Upset stomach — take with food

Acetaminophen (Tylenol®)

Dose:

15 mg/kg/dose (max 1000 mg/dose) — may repeat the dose in 4 hours.

Total per day:

75 mg/kg/day (max 4000 mg/day)

Available in:

Tablets, chewable tablets, and liquid

Side effects:

Upset stomach — take with food

Keep a headache diary

A headache diary will help identify triggers and which treatments are helping you. Please bring your headache diary to your appointments. You can find suggested headache diary apps below:

Websites

American Migraine Foundation
Canadian Headache Society
Sick Kids Hospital (Toronto)
National Headache Foundation

Mindmasters 2

Apps

Headache diary

MigraineBuddy - App Store, Google Play

ecoHeadache - App Store, Google Play

Relaxation, chronic pain

Smiling Mind - App store, Google Play