The Migraine Kit

The first kit I ever assembled for myself was the Migraine Kit. I've suffered from them as well as tension headaches for over a decade. I was always caught unprepared when they hit. When I was working in an office, I would often find myself frantically searching my bag for painkillers, tiger balm, my calming oil or something to massage my neck and eyebrows. I would usually find one of the multiple treatment options I had, and more often times than not it wasn't the right treatment option. Over the years, I've assembled a kit which contains different pain management solutions (no painkillers but a cute pill case).

This kit is purposely larger and more expensive than the other ones, as I've prioritized high quality items. No migraine should be treated with sub-par items.

Here are my tips and tricks on how I use each of the Migraine Kit items:

The pill holder: the most useful one of all to me, as I'm lucky to have found a specific

medicine that works 99% of the time within the first hour. Migraines for me are usually associated with nausea, so I make sure I have pills for that too. Think about whatever pills you would need to deal with all migraine-related symptoms, and have at least two pills of each.

Calming cooling oil: peppermint and xxxx oil from XXX brand. I massage my temple, neck, eyebrows, forehead, scalp, jawline, cheeks/nose and whatever zone feels very tight, painful and warm. The cooling effect of the oil really helps my pain "relax". I find that the fresh peppermint scent also helps calm the striking pain I may feel.

Gua Sha: I usually use it along with the calming oil, and massage each zone that I oiled with the different sides of the tool. It helps with pain management.

Cooling pads: The second most efficient pain management technique for me. Cold is usually what seems to help ease the tension I feel. At home, I use cold packs (several in the freezer at all times) but when traveling (i.e. long plane rides), these have been very helpful and greatly appreciated. The pads have stayed cold within the insulated pack, so when placed on the skin, the cold relief is instant. The material is not sticky, yet in kind of sticks on the skin in a very comfortable way. Pro tip: when traveling, I prioritize comfort. To not look ridiculous with a pad on my forehead while out in public, I now always travel wearing a hoodie -> an easy way to hide the pad from view. The hood, when up, also provides the extra support needed to keep the pad from falling off. A third benefit is the built-in light-barrier.

Heating eye masks: As mentioned earlier, cold is usually what I need during a migraine. That being said, sometimes with less painful headaches heat support seems to be the better option. The eyemask really does start heating up within the first 30 seconds of putting it on, and stays warm for a least 30 minutes afterwards. It feels like a nice warm blanket for your eyes. The material is soft (not itchy), there is no particular smell to it, and the light-barrier is helpful. I find these to help with relaxation and ease headache pain.

Eye mask: If you just need a light barrier, these simple ones do the trick.

Ear plugs: If you are extra sensitive to noise or in a loud environment, these earplugs are comfortable, reusable and do the job.

Lavender shower steamers: showers are often part of the pain management strategy for me. Sometimes, at the start of a migraine, a cold shower helps mitigate pain levels and the cold provides instant relief. Most times, I'm in too much pain to consider a shower during the migraine, but once it has passed a warm shower really helps calm the body down, after intense tension felt all throughout the body during the migraine. The lavender scent helps with body . I have tried many lavender shower steamers from different brands, and these ones smell the strongest to me. Note: these are not bath bombs. I would not try bathing in them.

If you have questions or comments, or even ideas of other helpful items I could add / modify for this kit, please reach out in the comments, on Instagram (add link)or via the contact form here.

Please keep in mind the following statements are only my opinions on what has worked for me over the years. This note is in no way medical advice.