Headaches and migraines are common conditions that can take anyone’s peace of mind. What’s so annoying about them is the fact they might occur on a regular daily basis. Thus, making people go through hard times during work, their studies, or at home when they’re trying to relax.
Clinical laboratory doctors have been working to find ways to treat these forms of pain. However, not rarely, remedies have dubious effects, cause side effects, or are simply too expensive to rely on every single day.
Therefore, many people still prefer to opt for non-chemical alternatives and confront headaches in natural ways.
For that reason, this article will present six possible solutions to those who prefer to avoid medication or can’t afford them.
1 – Drink Water
Besides headaches, have you been feeling thirsty, exhausted, or dizzy? Do you feel your mouth and lips dry, and your eyes burn? These are all symptoms of dehydration and indications you should drink more water daily.
Especially because the organs functioning is highly dependent on hydration, particularly the digestive tract, dehydration is one of the most important conditions to keep an eye on.
If any organ is not working properly, the brain will start using lesser amounts of water to function so as not to affect the rest of the body. Then, headaches will trigger off.
Another sign of dehydration is the color of your pee: the darker it is, the more you need to increase your water intake.
When the reason for the headaches is dehydration, as soon as you replenish the necessary amount of fluids in your body, you will feel relief. The pain should be gone within 6 hours. Reduce your salt, sugar, and alcohol intake to keep your body’s hydration at its peak. Also, try to boost your body’s immunity by exercising and increasing the amount of vitamin intake. This way, you won’t catch colds too often and will avoid factors that destroy the body’s hydration.
2- Lavender Oil
Lavender oil is a suggestion aiming at those suffering from migraines.
Migraines are headaches of greater intensity. Usually, those who suffer from it tend to feel migraines with a high frequency and are often dependent on heavy medicines to spend a day in peace.
However, research has confirmed that inhaling water steam with drops of lavender oil drastically relieves the pain. Apply a few in a bowl or mug of boiling water and inhale the steam releasing steam. It is also beneficial to massage the temple region with a few drops of lavender oil while inhaling it.
3- Chiropractic Care
Tension headaches are one of the most common forms of headaches, present in almost 100% of the world’s population at some point in life.
The most common causes are daily stress (work, responsibilities, financial issues, etc.), and back or neck strain (poor posture, long time sitting, repetitive movements, high intensity of force applied without previous muscle preparation). Do any of these situations happen to you? I think so because it’s not only you!
One of the most efficient ways to treat tension headaches is through chiropractic care treatment. By receiving spinal adjustment and muscle preparatory sessions, you’ll make your body 200% resistant to these conditions (stress, joint strain, etc.), besides the fact you’ll feel relaxed after every single consultation.
Chiropractic care is the most widely practiced alternative medicine modality in America, which means it’s completely safe.
4- Try Cold Compresses
The logic behind this form of treatment is the common knowledge “ice” is practically a natural inflammation and muscle pain contender. Surprisingly, but still making sense, it works particularly well against headaches.
Ice is a natural pain reliever that prevents the brain from receiving signals and understanding that something is wrong in the body – exactly like chemical painkillers do. That means your brain won’t make your body ache, alleviating or impeding the pain entirely. However, using ice and cold compresses to relieve symptoms is just a way to deal with symptoms temporarily. You should still try to improve some habits to increase your health condition, as mentioned in other hints throughout this article.
5- Sleep Well
For both headaches and migraines, ice cubes, wet towels submerged in cold water, or even frozen vegetables will make a big difference in relieving the pain.
Getting regular sleep is crucial to maintaining mental and physical health. The most common symptoms that sleep disorders cause are headaches and migraines.
“Sleeping well” stands for a good amount of sleep; not too much, not too little. While sleepless nights won’t let your body have enough rest and thus not having the energy to keep your systems functioning properly, sleeping too much will also hurt.
Especially for those suffering from migraines, keeping the head pressed to the pillow for a long time and spending more than 10 hours without light contact will make migraines even more severe when they show up. Try to sleep between 7 and 9 hours every night without interruptions. Besides, avoid changing the time you go to bed – varying more than 2 hours from a day to another is horrible to your brain – as lack of regularity will cause you to interrupt sleep cycles and have difficulty falling asleep.
6- Ginger Tea
As well as the ice theory to treat inflammation, studies have proven that ginger is capable of treating numerous conditions, such as inflammation, metabolic disorders, and pain – among them, migraines.
Besides that, adding a tea session to your routine will help you stick to tip #1, the most important hint for your overall health condition.
That is why we chose this one to be the last topic. Read it all again, make sure to test each hint and check which ones work best for your body, and DO NEVER spend a day without drinking water.