Headache Remedies – Part 5

headache remedies

If you have been suffering from headaches for a long time and you thought that the only treatment available is only via painkillers and analgesics, then you are mistaken. In fact painkillers and analgesics merely curb the pain that the headache causes; they do not deal with the root of the problem. It will be very unfortunate if the frequent dosage of such analgesics cause you to develop addiction and tolerance problems. Here I discuss some headache remedies.

Analgesics should only be taken if the pain is unbearable. Most of them when we have headaches, we only suffer from tension and migraine headaches. Usage of analgesics should thus be minimal. Tension and migraine headaches are not serious enough that require us to be on chronic medication of painkillers.

Most of us suffer headaches due to stress or poor body postures. As the latter has been already accounted for, let us examine stress as a cause of headache at an insightful level. Since stress causes dilations of the blood vessels and cause our muscles to tense up, a treatment that is effective will have to be able to reverse the dilations and reduce our anxiety.

Therefore an effective headache treatment will actually cause our body to experience a physiological as well as a mental/emotional effect on our mind and body. Let’s examine the treatment procedure in 3 stages.

Relaxation

This aspect of headache treatment has honestly been overlooked. Most of us when we have bouts of headaches, we tend to panic a little due to the pain and the tiredness that it causes us. However that is actually very counterproductive as not only it worsens the headache, panic and anxiety will make us instinctively resort to getting hold of the nearest painkillers available. Relaxation towards our temples and neck are very important. Massaging your temples and neck gently and smoothly helps in improving the ratio of blood flow to the forehead. Some people are also able to relax well with massages to the shoulders. The key idea of relaxation is to reduce the body state of mind’s anxiety.

Heating/Cooling

Some people’s headache pains are caused by enlarged blood vessels pressing on surrounding nerves. Applying something cold to the area can help to constrict those vessels, reducing their diameter and lessening the pounding headache. However some people are susceptible towards coldness, causing them to panic. For such people, using a wet tower or ice packs on the headache will worsen the problem. Depending on the individual’s preference and physiological nature, applying something warm to the headache may actually improve the person’s condition. Some people are able to better relax in a warm condition. This method varies from individual to individual.

Napping

Taking a quick nap is very effective for tension and migraine headaches. Sleeping by nature puts the body in a very relaxed physiological and mental state. In addition, the person is less affected by pain when he is asleep compared to when he is awake.

The above 3 methods are able to ease pain to a large extent. More importantly, they help in reducing addiction and tolerance of painkillers. Staying free from painkillers is a very realistic reality.  Keep your heads ready as we share with you more on the different ways to minimize the occurrence of headaches.

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