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Drink Water for Relief from Headache

by Krishna Bora on Aug 17 2012 12:19 PM
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Studies claim that drinking water regularly can reduce the severity of headaches and migraines. The findings were published in the European Journal of Neurology suggests that dehydration is one of the significant factors in the build-up to attacks that can leave the sufferers incapacitated for days. In a study conducted by the scientists from the University of Maastricht, Netherlands, they observed that drinking around seven glasses of water a day is enough to reduce the pain and improve the conditions among those patients who regularly suffer from headache.

According to the ‘Daily Mail’ report, Dr. Mark Spigt and his team appointed 100 patients who had complained of frequent severe or mild headache. The team guided them on tips to reduce headaches such as reducing stress, improving sleep, avoiding caffeine and to be happy. Half of the patients were asked to drink 1.5 liters of water a day for three months, which excludes their normal liquid intake.

At the end of the study, patients filled a questionnaire named the Migraine-Specific Quality of Life index to express what changes they felt. The results were published in the journal named ‘Family Practice’, which showed that those who drank extra water showed a significant relief from headache.

 The researchers said that they suspect that some patients may benefit from drinking water and it seems reasonable to recommend they try drinking more for a short period of time and see if they experience any kind of improvement.

Dr. Fayyaz Ahmed of the Migraine Trust, said that the benefits of drinking water during headaches and migraine could be due to placebo effect, i.e. no known medical effect of water is known on headaches and migraine. But in the end he added that regular intake of water and adequately hydrating is a healthy option and our body benefits from it in many ways.

Sources: http://psychology.about.com/od/pindex/f/placebo-effect.htm

Source-Medindia


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