Headache Relief

If you are reading this, it probably means that you suffer from frequent headaches. Head pain can be caused by many different things and if you notice them to be happening more and more often, then you should definitely go to see your doctor. They can help you find the reason you are in pain. In the meantime, if you are anything like me then you are fed up of using medicated painkillers to ease the ache.

These are 5 things that I have found to help relieve headaches.

1. Make sure you are well hydrated.

It seems so simple, but a lot of the time, a headache is your body's way of screaming for a drink of water. It is best to drink around 2 liters of water a day. That's about the same size of a family size fizzy/soda bottle. Remember that fruit squashes and fizzy/soda is not really doing anything to hydrate you. However boring it may seem, water is best for your body.

2. Let your hair down.

Another easy one, but one that has proved to be super effective, is taking my hair out of its hair tie. Even if it doesn't feel like it, having your hair bunched up causes added pressure that you just don't need when you are already in pain.

3. Cool Head, Hot Feet

When I have a particularly bad headache or even migraine, I like to fill a bucket with hot (not boiling, don't scald yourself) water and grab whatever bag of frozen food I can find in the freezer. I then sit down, put my feet in the bucket of warm water, and bend down, putting the frozen bag at the base of my skull. This is said to focus the blood flow to the lower half of the body, away from the head and relieving the pressure that you felt. I do this for as long as I can stand the ice on my neck, and by that time my headache has usually subsided.

4. Massage

Sometimes, headaches can be caused by muscle tension. These are called (surprise, surprise) tension headaches. Giving the muscles at the base of your skull, behind your ears, in your neck and your temples a firm (not too firm with the temples) massage can be very soothing. This is also a good way to tell what kind of headache you are suffering from. While a massage can relax you, thus helping a little with the pain, a tension headache will definitely be better affected by massage than any other that I have experienced.

5. Frankincense

This is a fairly new one for me and I won't pretend that this essential oil is cheap, but since I was introduced to it around a year ago, I reach for this before any other painkiller. Frankincense has anti-inflammatory properties, which help to relieve pressure and although I wasn't convinced at first, it really has helped me. When I feel a headache coming on, I put a few drops of the oil in my diffuser with some water and let the scent fill the room. When the pain is bad, I put a drop of the oil on my finger and apply it to the base of my skull and temples. The pain has usually eased off after around 10 minutes.

So, those were five things I do to relieve headaches, without regular painkillers. Remember, I am not a doctor, only a fellow sufferer of head pain, and severe headaches always warrant a trip to the doctors. Until you can do that though, I hope these little tricks can bring you some relief.