Everybody gets headaches. Some get them more often, and some people get them everyday. The standard way to get rid of one is to go to the medicine cabinet, take some aspirin or other medicine and be done with it, hopefully. However, there are many ways to apply a natural remedy for headaches, and many important reasons for doing so.
Perhaps the best natural remedy for headaches is the most complex one – proper diet, proper exercise and proper rest. While not a quick fix by any means, many people have found that by eating well, exercising regularly and resting and sleeping enough, their chronic headaches either go away entirely or are greatly reduced. Of course, this doesn’t help at 1 in the morning when your head won’t stop pounding, but it’s a good thing to keep in mind the next morning.
As for the others, they range in effectiveness from person to person. Not every natural remedy for headaches will work with every person every time. Some people who get frequent headaches may need to choose several that work. Regardless, here’s a list:
• Water – often people get too busy and do not drink enough water during the day, resulting in dehydration, which can cause a headache. Solution? When you feel a headache coming on, drink a lot of water. How much? Some people recommend half a gallon or more. Adding a cup of coffee at the end of the water marathon can help, too.
• Coffee – the caffeine in coffee can restrict the blood vessels in the head, which can lessen the pain of a headache. The same can be done with cola or tea. Drinking too much caffeine of course can cause a headache. Coffee can also improve the efficacy of some headache medicines.
• Rest – just taking a break for awhile or maybe taking a nap can help with a headache. Not always possible in the workplace, but if you can find the time and the space, it can work quite well.
• Massage, acupressure, reflexology – Using your fingertips massage the scalp and temples in a circular motion. Press at the base of the skull with one hand and pinch/press on the bridge of the nose with the other. Press on the top of the skull with your fingertips. Have someone rub your neck and shoulders. Rub the fleshy area between your thumb and forefinger, find the sore spot, and massage it until your headache goes away. These are just some of the methods that can be used to reduce or cancel a headache by using massage, acupressure or reflexology. (Also try Yoga for helping with a headache).
• Oil – peppermint oil applied to the places where it hurts (temples, forehead, neck) is said to relieve the headache. Rosemary, lavender, and chamomile are said to also work in this manner.
• Heat or cold – hot foot baths, hot towels applied to the neck, a cold towel on the throat or face and forehead, heating pad on the neck, a hot bath. All these have been suggested as beneficial to a headache.
• Herbs and foodstuff – ginger, rosemary tea, mint tea, apple cider vinegar with honey in water, sandalwood paste or lemon crust paste or clove paste applied to the forehead. There are a wide range of suggestions about herbs and foodstuffs curing headaches. Some are anecdotal; some are backed up by studies. Try one, try them all. Find one that works and stick to it.
Finding a natural remedy for headaches can be a trial and error process. Hopefully this article has provided you with a starting point, or several. Good luck.
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