If you suffer from headaches and migraines, you already know that you’d try just about anything to make the throbbing pain go away. That’s why Dr. Nandi has put together a list of home remedies for headaches and migraines, allowing you a variety of different options instead of just reaching for the pill bottle. When you can handle your headaches naturally, you become your own health hero.
Remedies For Headaches
- Lavender oil: Used either topically or inhaled, lavender oil can quiet a headache and allow you to go about your day.
- Basil oil: Basil does more than spice up your salad, it’s also a muscle relaxant and helps ease a tension headache.
- Flaxseed: Filled with omega-3 fatty acids, flaxseed helps reduce overall frequency of chronic headaches.
- Almonds: Throwing back a handful of almonds as soon as you feel a headache coming on can be as effective as over-the-counter medications. But beware, almonds are trigger foods for some people who get migraines.
- Buckwheat: Rich in antioxidants, buckwheat can be used to reduce the amount of headaches you get.
- Yoga: Yoga can help reduce the pain associated with headaches by stretching the muscles, relaxing the body, and focusing the mind away from the pain.
- Breathing exercises: When you’re in pain from a headache, chances are your breathing becomes shallow. By taking a few minutes and focusing on deep breaths, your brain gets more oxygen and headache pain diminishes.
- Exercise outside: While you don’t have to run a half-marathon with a headache, getting moving outside can reduce the symptoms. Between the fresh air and endorphins, you’ll be feeling better in no time.
- Grab a glass of water: Too many headaches are caused by dehydration, so simply drinking a glass of water may help. Be sure to consume at least 8 glasses a day and reduce consumption of drinks that dehydrate you, like coffee, soda, and alcohol.
- Put a pencil between your teeth: If you suffer from tension headaches, hold a pencil between your teeth (but don’t bite it). This forces you to relax the muscles of your lower jaw, helping relieve tension.
Remedies For Migraines
- Learn your triggers: Many migraines are caused by specific triggers, which could be related to food, lights, or certain sounds.
- Track the calendar: Sometimes migraines are associated with hormonal changes, so track your headaches on a calendar and see if they occur at certain times.
- Change your diet: Certain foods can trigger migraine headaches, including dairy, chocolate, peanut butter, meats containing nitrates, and MSG.
- Eat every three hours: Severe headaches can be caused by fluctuations in blood sugar. Keep yours balanced by eating a light protein every three hours.
- Sleep: If you’re sleep deprived or experience a lot of sleep disruptions, you’re more at risk for developing a migraine.
- Ice: Use ice on the specific spot of your migraine to help reduce inflammation.
- Vitamin B12: An increase in vitamin B12 has shown to help reduce the symptoms and frequency of migraine headaches.
- Massage: Rub the area where your head hurts to help reduce the tension that arises there. While this works for regular headaches, it can work for migraines too.
- Ginger: Use fresh ginger to make tea or chew on the raw root as soon as signs of a migraine appear.
- Butterbur: This herb can be used to prevent migraines by improving the blood circulation to the brain.
- Chamomile: Used in a tea form, chamomile can reduce the severity of a migraine.
- Feverfew: Another herbal remedy, use feverfew as a tea or chew on the fresh leaves to reduce migraine symptoms.
- Apple cider vinegar: Mix one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with one tablespoon of honey, and add it to a glass of water to help dissipate a migraine headache.
- Cayenne pepper: Use a half to one teaspoon ground cayenne pepper with a cup of water to help eliminate a migraine. If it’s too hot to get down, mix in a little lemon or honey.
- Peppermint: Use as either a tea or topically by massaging it onto your temples to find migraine relief.
- Apple: Eating an apple, or even smelling a fresh green apple, can help make a migraine headache go away.
- Coffee: Because of its high levels of caffeine, coffee restricts blood vessels, helping to reduce the severity of migraines.
Partha’s Rx – facts about headaches and migraines
- Migraines are a severe headache, often on one side of the head, that are associated with a sensitivity to light or sound and nausea
- 17 million Americans have had a migraine headache in the last three months
- Changing life habits, such as what you eat and how much you sleep, can reduce the frequency of both headaches and migraines
- Some people get an aura before a migraine, where they have visual or perceptional changes
- Headaches, and particularly migraines, have a hereditary link
