Is there a connection between migraines and smoking?
The correct answer is “probably”. There is currently no scientific study data specifically addressing this issue. Studies of chronic headaches and smoking in general (not all chronic headaches are migraines) are available, but their application specifically to migraines is limited.
A study of smoking and patients with chronic cluster headaches yielded some telling results. Smoking patients who decreased their smoking by less than a half of a pack daily reduced their headache frequency by an amazing 50%. This study just asked patients to cut down n their smoking, not to eliminate it. Imagine the results that might have been achieved if the smokers quit entirely!
In another study, 53% of migraine patients who eliminated smoking in conjunction with the elimination of personally identified food triggers experienced a complete elimination of migraines. By contrast, only 13% of non-smoking patients who eliminated their food triggers became migraine-free.
Many migraineurs (people who suffer from migraine headaches) are sensitive to strong smells, like perfume, food odors, and, yes, tobacco smoke. Others are specifically sensitive only to the scent of tobacco smoke. Still others are allergic to cigarette, cigar, and pipe smoke.
All of these people report having smoking or secondhand smoke trigger a migraine. Sometimes the smoke is the only trigger, sometimes it’s part of a combination of triggers. Experts and sufferers agree there must be a link between smoking and migraines somewhere, the symptoms and results are no coincidence.
Many of the commonly known effects of smoking are particularly detrimental to those prone to headaches and head pain specifically. These side effects include elevated blood pressure, inflammation or irritation of the sinus cavities and nasal passages, and higher risk of stroke. Health officials all agree on one thing, smoking is contraindicated for everyone in every situation and migraine sufferers are no exception.
June 4th, 2009 | Posted in Effects of Smoking | No Comments
It’s funny, but most people won’t admit that they are addicted to smoking. But acceptance of this addiction can help most to quit smoking sooner rather than later. You see there are three main components to the addiction of smoking and the first one of these is habit.
We humans are very habitual beings and once we do something over and over again it becomes a habit and habits are very difficult to break. A habit will usually have a strong physical and psychological component and these are the other two components that make up the addiction to smoking.
You might say that you can give up smoking but have you tried? And if you have tried, did it work or are you still smoking?
The reason that these questions need to be asked is because most people who have tried to quit will assume that they are a failure if they succumbed to the smoking habit once again.
People who have never smoked usually can’t understand why someone who wants to stop hasn’t done so and continues to spend considerable amounts of money on something that they no longer enjoy and would actually like to stop.
Blaming yourself for the ‘failure’ won’t help the situation, and mostly cause people to give up trying where the real problem lies in the cigarettes and not the person, their strength or willpower.
The real reason is that nicotine is so addictive and even those people with incredible willpower often struggle to stop.
You need to be ready to stop smoking and you need to believe that you want to stop…. and can stop.
You need to look for alternative methods for getting the same ‘fix’ that the cigarettes have been giving you. You also need to understand that smoking is a habit and only by addressing the habit and the emotions and situations that trigger the habit will you be able to finally quit.
It’s not you that is stopping you from quitting, it’s what the nicotine has done to you that has made it so difficult. Don’t blame yourself for the challenges you’ve had in quitting. Instead focus your attention on the habits that have been created and when these are addressed you will be one more step closer to quitting smoking for good.
Learn more about breaking the habit and how to stop smoking permanently.
December 19th, 2007 | Posted in How To Quit | No Comments
Without good support, stopping to smoke is more challenging. A good plan is almost always needed when you plan for a nicotine-free life. Breaking this unhealthy habit isn’t an easy task but it is not impossible either. The truth is that with stop smoking support, millions of smokers have kicked the habit and now live a normal and healthy life. Many smokers simply neglect the risks involved and don’t ask for quit smoking support, and they are often the victims of heart difficulties or lung cancer. This happens because smokers aren’t aware of the dangers they run if they continue smoking. Statistics confirm that half of the people that smoke may die from a smoking-related illness. Smoking harms all body organs and it simply reduces one’s health and well being. Look for quit smoking support that may save your life!
Quit smoking support plans have a higher chance of success because the person will try to prepare for the upcoming challenges they will face. Many are still wondering now why it is so hard to quit smoking. The answer has been given by specialists many times before: smoking is both a physical and a mental addiction that can be solved with professional quit smoking support. Beyond the physical problems, a stop smoking program will help a smoker face the psychological and the physical cravings. A quit smoking support solution will first identify the mental causes that trigger the need to smoke. Nicotine is the substance that causes unpleasant symptoms when trying to quit. Its withdrawal from the system is at the root of related stop smoking side effects. Many health associations providing quit smoking support and instructions have concluded that nicotine is as dangerous as heroin and cocaine in terms of addiction.
When smoking, nicotine reaches the brain within seconds and triggers several body changes like a small release of adrenaline and dopamine. Many quit smoking programs will teach you how to deal with nicotine abstinence, there are many solutions. The dopamine gives you the sensation of relaxation and satisfaction but it last only for two or three minutes when you will need another cigarette in order to relax again. To increase your success with a stop smoking program, look for suggestions on the internet including quit-smoking-expert.com where you’ll additional advice and quit smoking support solutions. Smoking is easy to do, but harder to treat, that’s why effective quit smoking support information is needed to help achieve your purpose and quit smoking.
November 13th, 2007 | Posted in How To Quit | No Comments
Most smokers who would like to quit fail because of the stop smoking side effects. Eliminating nicotine from your body is difficult and the battle can be more difficult than you think. Most quit smoking side effects are related to the blood sugar levels. Symptoms like dizziness, inability to concentrate or headaches can usually appear in the first three or four days after quitting. The side effects are also called withdrawal symptoms and their intensity varies with each individual. All statistics show that those that quit smoking live longer and healthier lives than any smoker, and this alone should be a strong reason for anyone to quit. The battle with quit smoking side effects is tough particularly during the first days after quitting, you may feel confused, irritable, anxious or depressed. The cause for these side effects from quit smoking is the reduced level of nicotine in the blood.
Some recommend the use of nicotine gums, nicotine inhalers or nicotine patches since they release a small quantity of nicotine in the blood reducing the side effects. Smokers who already suffer from anxiety or depression can hardly quit as they use cigarettes as a relief from their conditions. In these cases psychological treatment is a must. Quit smoking side effects will be very hard to deal with for people with a stressful life, as nicotine has a relaxing effect on the human body. So in order to avoid severe quit smoking side effects the person should ask for professional help and attend ex-smoker discussions. Other stop smoking side effects which may show up include weight gain and insomnia.
Some specialists say that gaining between 5 and 10 pounds of weight after you quit smoking is one of the normal side effects of stopping to smoke. The weight problem is caused by the low levels of sugar in your blood. After smoking the nicotine passes into the blood in a matter of seconds releasing sugar reserves from the body. Sugar is vital to the brains normal functioning. Sugar passes from food to the blood in about 20 minutes, causing the hunger to increase because of the delay. This quit smoking side effect is that you will feel the need to eat because your brain is asking for sugar. The problem that people don’t understand is that no matter how much you eat the body will still need 20 minutes to pass the sugar to the brain, so theoretically it won’t be a big difference between eating one snack or ten snacks.
October 25th, 2007 | Posted in How To Quit | No Comments
Each year, at least 438,000 deaths are associated with smoking. Will you be one of those statistics?
It’s not too late. Research shows that the benefits of stopping smoking are greatest the earlier you quit, the benefits nonetheless come quickly after you quit the habit, no matter when.
Will you also be part of the $167 Billion dollars spent on health-care each year related to smoking? The two largest costs to the health-care and insurance industries are now smoking and obesity. The effects of smoking are causing dozens of related diseases and chronic health problems. These health issues unfortunately are increasing the costs to the entire industry and anyone with health insurance, causing an unfair burden.
If you had to pay for all the related health-care costs out of your pocket, would you continue smoking?
If you knew that your smoking was causing insurance and health-care costs for everyone increase, would you continue smoking?
It’s never too late to quit. It not only will change your life and turn your health around, but help your fellow Americans as well.
October 3rd, 2007 | Posted in Effects of Smoking | No Comments
Have you ever noticed when they have those programs on television where they try to make ordinary people off the street look years younger that they always seem to choose people who have been smokers for a long period of time?
There is a very good reason for this and that is because cigarette smoking is one of the biggest causes of skin deterioration.
Not only does smoking affect your skin condition but being around smokers and breathing their secondhand smoke will also affect your own skin condition.
Cigarette smoke contains a high concentration of a compound that destroys the DNA of skin cells and in doing so reduces the ability for those skin cells to renew themselves.
The problems for the smoker are considerable. It is quite easy to spot a smoker from the fine lines that have formed prematurely around the mouth as a result of the action of sucking on cigarettes. There are generally lines around the eyes from trying to look through the smoke haze of regular smoking. The nicotine in the cigarettes slows blood circulation and this in turn causes other skin problems including higher rates of skin cancer and an inability to heal if there is ever any damage caused to the skin.
Smokers will usually have thinner dryer skin and an inability to utilize antioxidants that are required for maintaining a healthy skin.
The skin will rapidly begin to look lifeless and will lose its tone with increased smoking. Smokers have skin that is considerably thinner than non-smokers due to the deterioration of collagen and elastin which is also responsible for the skin sagging.
To stop the aging process and reclaim your skin, stop smoking as soon as possible. You only have one life, how do you want to be remembered?
September 27th, 2007 | Posted in Effects of Smoking | No Comments
The laser treatment to quit smoking is one of the latest treatments to help you stop smoking. It uses a cold laser that is focused on several points on your body and is closely related to acupuncture but it is a lot safer and with better results. The laser treatment to quit smoking has been successfully used all over the world, and in countries like England, Europe and Canada it has a 20 year history. One of the best parts about this treatment is that it doesn’t hurt at all, you will feel relaxed and comfortable. Many patients that accept laser treatment to quit smoking also think about the gaining weight problem. When nicotine leaves your body several changes occur that may cause extra weight gain. This side effect appears rarely and can be avoided easily with a proper diet.
Health insurances doesn’t cover laser treatment to quit smoking so make your budget plans before choosing this option. Results can’t been assured by because two factors are included in the laser treatment to quit smoking: the physical and psychological one. The physical problem can be eliminated 100% but you may still feel like smoking. A laser treatment to quit smoking won’t change your diet to keep you from putting on weight, you will simply guided towards a change according to your life style and eating habits. Theoretically there are no side effects to laser treatment to quit smoking but there are some people that can’t use it. The laser treatment to quit smoking is not recommended in cases of epilepsy, blood disorders, pregnancy, cancer or during chemotherapy or radiation therapy. If you are not sure of what stop smoking treatment to use take a look on the Internet, try this site for a good start: www.quit-smoking-expert.com
Laser treatment to quit smoking needs no previous preparations, but it is advisable to drink several glasses of water or natural juice and have minerals and vitamins tablets to help your body recover. Supplements are needed because nicotine draws vitamins from the body when eliminated, this isn’t a rule but it can prevent health problems. Laser treatment to quit smoking has a very good success rate and, on average, more than 64% succeed in getting rid of the addiction. One of the most important factors that influence success or failure is personal determination in winning this battle against smoking. Laser treatment to quit smoking might not be enough if you don’t change your life style, therefore try avoiding any events that might cause a relapse. If you decide to use a laser treatment to quit smoking and you will notice a positive change in all the aspects of your life.
September 21st, 2007 | Posted in How To Quit | No Comments
The problem with most smokers is that they wish to recover quickly from the nicotine damage, well I’m afraid there are very few ‘easy’ ways to quit smoking. Easy ways to quit smoking exist but they are ‘quick fixes’ as they say and you will need a lot of determination and courage to succeed. The truth is that nowadays we need fast solutions to critical problems. Where can one look for easy ways to quit smoking? The most common answer would be on the Internet. High levels of stress are one of the biggest problems when you try to use easy ways to quit smoking and we must admit that usually our lives have a crazy rhythm. This is why I can’t say that one single easy way to quit smoking really exists though theoretically there are alternatives. The cold turkey method is very disputed as some people have cured themselves using this technique while many others weren’t able to get any relief.
I consider that the cold turkey is one easy way to quit smoking though it hasn’t been confirmed yet to be highly effective. This is the theoretical easy way to quit smoking and it stands valid for those who smoke upwards of twenty cigarettes a day. It also applies to someone that is highly-motivated by some external extreme factor. Once you feel your life at risk, you take the cold turkey method as one easy way to quit smoking. Therefore one such easy way to quit smoking will work but their effectiveness depends on lots of individual independent factors that may vary from case to case.
It is normal to learn from the beginning that the easy way to quit smoking requires sacrifice and determination too. If you have a powerfully motivating factor like an illness caused by tobacco then your chances of success increase significantly. If you opt for one of the so called easy ways to quit smoking like acupuncture or ‘over the counter’ treatments you considerably reduce the amount of the withdrawal symptoms. If you haven’t decided yet which of the easy ways to quit smoking to try maybe surfing the web is a good idea and I would recommend visiting www.quit-smoking-expert.com to learn tips for a healthier lifestyle. Keep in mind, however, that nothing works wonders and that easy ways to quit smoking also depend a lot on you.
September 17th, 2007 | Posted in How To Quit | No Comments
Commercials and advertising campaigns aimed at smokers who want to quit promise stop smoking in one hour. Nevertheless, since we know how strenuous the effort to quit is, one has to wonder how effective that could be. Can one really stop smoking in one hour? The hypnosis experts say it is possible for one to stop smoking in one hour during a procedure where your subconscious is freed from the nicotine addiction. Most alternative therapy practitioners use the “stop smoking in one- hour” kind of promotion to attract customers and prove that their methods really work. Moreover, they claim that one has almost zero chances of relapsing, since the smoking rejection is implemented at the deepest level of our mind. Plus, when you stop smoking in one hour, you don’t run the risk of withdrawal symptoms.
If you search the web for stop smoking in one hour tips, you’ll find plenty of testimonials of people who have improved their lives in sixty minutes. You don’t have to take everything you read there for granted, feel free to go directly to clinics that use alternative therapies and specific programs meant to help you stop smoking in one hour. It may sound unbelievable, but there are cases of heavy smokers who used to have like a packet or more a day, completely recovered without the side effects of nicotine substitutes or the unpleasant craving symptoms. Therefore, for a smoker who wants to be rid of a bad habit in no time, the stop smoking in one hour offer is quite an attractive alternative.
There are all sorts of materials meant to assist you in the attempt to stop smoking in one hour. There are hypno-therapeutic sessions recoded on videos or DVD together with detailed instructions, which can be ordered online and used in the privacy of your home. Most of the stop smoking in one hour guides play on relaxation techniques and slight forms of hypnosis, however, not everyone is pleased about being hypnotized by watching a video. Therefore, for anyone who’d rather have a stop smoking in one hour live session, it is good to find a professional therapist and check for his or her credentials before undergoing any procedure. You can even make several appointments and check on the various methods alternative therapies involved, as well as learning about the costs.
September 15th, 2007 | Posted in How To Quit | No Comments
Have you ever noticed when they have those programs on television where they try to make ordinary people off the street look years younger and they always seem to choose people who have been long time smokers?
There is a very good reason for this… cigarette smoking is one of the biggest causes of skin deterioration.
Not only does smoking affect your skin condition but just being around smokers and having to breathe their secondhand smoke will also negatively affect your own skin condition.
Cigarette smoke contains a high concentration of a compound that destroys the DNA of skin cells and in doing so reduces the ability for those skin cells to renew themselves.
The problems for the smoker are considerable.
It is quite easy to spot a smoker from the fine lines that have formed prematurely around the mouth as a result of the action of regularly sucking on cigarettes. There are also generally lines around the eyes from trying to look through the smoke haze while smoking.
Nicotine found in cigarettes slows blood circulation and this in turn causes other skin problems including higher rates of skin cancer and an inability to heal if there is ever any damage caused to the skin.
Smokers will usually have thinner dryer skin and an inability to utilize antioxidants that are required for maintaining healthy skin.
Smokers have skin that is considerably thinner than non-smokers due to the deterioration of collagen and elastin and this is also responsible for the skin sagging.
The skin will rapidly begin to look lifeless and will lose its tone and elasticity with increased smoking.
Not much else will cause more damage faster than smoking and will ensure that you look old well beyond your years. To stop the accelerated rate of aging that smoking causes… it’s never too late, stop smoking now!
August 23rd, 2007 | Posted in Effects of Smoking | No Comments