Migraine Awareness Week is September 24-30, 2023, and Emily Schiltz Fortenberry, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Neurology, shared seven common migraine triggers to keep in mind. 
Emily Fortenberry, M.D.
Migraines affect more than 30 million Americans every year, but every headache is not a migraine. UAB uses the ICHD-3 diagnostic criteria when classifying migraines which requires patients to experience at least one minor and two major criteria that last four or more hours without intervention. Major criteria include symptoms like unilateral location, pulsating quality, moderate to severe pain, and worsening with movement. Minor criteria include symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, photophobia, and phonophobia.
“Any time that you're having headaches that affecting your quality of life, you should definitely seek treatment,” said Fortenberry. “There's a lot of medicines out there and a lot of things we can do.”
Fortenberry recommends lifestyle modification as a leading course of action to combat migraines.
“I tell patients all the time that I can give them all the best medicines, but if they aren’t taking care of themselves, sleeping three hours a night and drinking two pots of coffee a day, the medicines are good but not a miracle,” said Fortenberry. “There are some really important lifestyle things that tend to affect migraines and common triggers of migraines.”
A few examples include:
- Dehyration
- Skipping meals you regularly eat
- Lack of sleep
- Excess of sleep
- Caffeine overuse (limit yourself to 1or 2 8-ounce caffeinated beverages a day)
- Lack of regular exercise (20-30 minutes of aerobic exercise 5 days a week)
- Stress (develop positive coping mechanisms and good support systems)
“Patients with migraines are the only ones who can really take control of these lifestyle changes, and it can make a big difference,” said Fortenberry.