Identifying Your Headache and Relieving the Pain Naturally

Migraine Headache Without Aura

Symptoms: Severe throbbing pain on one side of the head, often accompanied by dizziness, nausea, vomiting. Light and sound sensitivity are also common.

Causes: Heredity, heavy smoking, emotional stress, change in weather. Birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy drugs. Hunger.

Migraine Headache With Aura

Symptoms: Same as a migraine without aura except that some warning signs develop. Warning signs may include numbness in limbs, mild hallucinations, and some visual disturbances.

Causes: Same as migraine without aura.

Menstrual Headache

Migraine-like pain that occurs before, after or during the menstrual cycle or mid-cycle during ovulation.

Causes: Change in estrogen levels

Tension Headache

Symptoms: A strong yet dull and non throbbing pain associated with a tightness in the neck and or scalp. The severity of the pain is constant.

Causes: Work related or emotional stress, unrecognized depression.

Trauma Headache

Symptoms: Generalized pain that can mimic a migraine. Trauma headaches usually happen daily and are quite often resistant to pain treatments.

Causes: Pain can often occur even after a seemingly insignificant trauma.

Natural Ways to Relieve Headache Pain

Heat Therapy

Place a hot water bottle or heating pad to the back of the head and neck for 30 minutes. Heat is an ideal way of getting sluggish blood to flow more quickly. By increasing blood flow through the blood vessels in the head and scalp, you replenish oxygen and flush away pain producing toxins in the muscles. This method is best used for tension type headaches.

Acupuncture

A system where the skin is penetrate at specific points by extremely sharp needles. Although some may question the effectiveness of acupuncture, some studies show that up to 80% of chronic headache sufferers experienced a vast improvement after acupuncture treatment, despite having tried conventional pain relief methods with no success.

Cold Therapy

Unlike tension headaches, vascular headaches produce a surplus of blood flowing through the vessels in the head and scalp and should be treated with cold therapy instead of heat. By applying ice to the painful areas, you actually slow down blood flow and the associated pain.

Massage Therapy

Massage therapy is another excellent way to get blood flowing. You can do this yourself. Slowly massage your forehead, scalp, neck and shoulders in a circular motion with your fingertips.

Solitude

Because light, noise and even movement can all aggravate any kind of headache, solitude is perhaps your best option for pain relief. After darkening your bedroom completely, remove your clothing, lay down and just relax.

Everyday Things That Can Trigger Headaches

• Caffeine Beverages
• Foods that contain M.S.G. (Monosodium Glutamate)
• Nitrates in foods
• Foods that contain Amines (biological substances that are produced by the body, but are also found in some foods)