HEADACHE - HOME REMEDIES
About 70-80% of all headaches are classified as muscle contractions or more commonly 'tension headaches', which are not always caused by emotional tension but can also be caused by muscle strain, poor posture and from too much of eye strain. The pain is usually constant and generalized but often radiates forward from the occipital region and is described as a dull, tight or a band-like sensation around the head. They rarely cause serious long-term problems unlike migraine and cluster headaches.
Migraines and cluster headaches are called 'vascular headaches'. In this type of headache there is initially an intense spasm or constriction of the blood vessels in the brain that reduces the blood flow to the brain resulting in the migraine 'aura' -nausea, dizziness and altered vision – which precedes the attacks of migraine. This is then followed by vasodilatation of the same arteries resulting in an excessive blood flow to the head, causing the throbbing headache.
Seventy percent of the migraine sufferers are females. 'Cluster headaches' are short-lived, lasting less than an hour, unlike migraines. They occur in predictable'clusters', three to eight week periods during which they may strike several times a day.Many food items can trigger off migraines- it is known that chocolate or the food
additive monosodium glutamate (MSG) stimulates an attack. MSG is found not only in Chinese food but also in frozen foods, canned foods and dry soups and many other processed foods as well. Chemicals like nitrites, which are used to preserve meats and smoked fish, can also trigger migraines even if present in small amounts. Foods such as cheddar cheese, pickled herring and red wine contain tyramine, which is a chemical
compound that cause headache. Other foods, which may trigger headaches, are peas and fresh bread.
Avoid exposure to excessive heat, cold or rain. Avoid washing head in cold water. The person should be kept free from emotional factors like anxiety, anger and worry and get more involved in doing yoga and exercises like brisk walking, swimming, aerobics, etc.
Get yourself involved in different hobbies or activities that you like to help you to relax and thus automatically help to decrease the headaches.
HOME REMEDIES
1. Avoid taking fried and spicy food, chocolates, white flour products, rich cakes, pastries, sweets, refined and preserved food items, curd and other sour things. The patient should take a well-balanced diet consisting of seeds, nuts, grains, vegetables and fruits. The diet should be supplemented with milk, yogurt, buttermilk, vegetable oils and honey.
2. Cut an apple into half and sprinkle a pinch of common salt on it and have it the first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, for atleast a week.
3. The juice of ripe grapes is an effective remedy for migraines.
4. For chronic headaches, mix equal quantities of carrot, beetroot and spinach (palak) juices to make one full glass and take it during breakfast for a month.
5. The juice of a lemon should be squeezed in a cup of tea and taken by the patient to get immediate relief. Also lemon crusts when pounded into a fine paste in a mortar and applied as a plaster on the forehead gives relief.
6. Mix juice of one lemon, one tablespoonful of ginger juice and one tablespoonful of honey in half a glass of warm water and this is to be sipped very slowly.
7. The Vitamin Niacin (B3) has proved useful for the treatment of migraine. The sources of this vitamin are beans, beef, broccoli, carrots, chicken, corn flour, dry fruits, eggs, fish, fully sprouted grains, green leafy vegetables, lemon, liver, milk, nuts, peanuts, peas, pork, potatoes, soyabean, sunflower seeds, tomatoes, whole wheat and yeast.
8. Paste of coriander seeds (dhania) is applied on the forehead for a quick relief; failing which; a paste of ginger with water or a paste of cloves (lavang) with water is applied.
9. A mixture of saffron and ghee is applied on the forehead in cases of a headache.
10. A paste of coriander seeds (dhania), ginger, cloves (lavang), cinnamon (tuj) or nutmeg (jaipher) with water is applied over the forehead.
11. In cases of chronic headache, drinking a glass of water mixed with a teaspoonful of honey first thing in the morning is a good remedy.
12. Applying til oil regularly on the scalp helps one get rid of headaches.
13. A mixture of fresh juice of ginger and milk is applied locally over the forehead.
14. A cold vinegar compress when applied to the forehead will give relief in cases of headaches and even fever.
15. A few leaves of the vegetables cabbage should be crushed and then placed in a cloth and bound on the forehead at bedtime. The compress should be renewed when the leaves dry out.
