When your head aches

RIGA - Headache? You probably think that the reason is tiredness and nervous strain. But no, doctors have a different opinion. In their professional environment headaches are divided into several types, the most common of which are tension headache and migraine.

Tension headache. Perhaps it will be a revelation for you, but in most common cases it is not your head, i.e., not your brain that hurts. The reason for this pain is the long-term strain of muscles, ligaments and tendons of the forehead, neck and upper body. The receptors are stimulated there and pain appears. As a result: two-sided head pain (pain in temples, forehead or back of the head in both sides), which starts as a “heavy head.” The pain increases gradually and may be accompanied by loss of appetite, nausea and monotone headache. Why do the muscles become tense? Apart from stress (which does not play a major role) you should blame yourself for adopting any “forbidden” posture. Avoiding these postures and movements-parasites, you’ll be less likely to suffer from headaches. So, postures and movements:

1) Do not push the chin to your chest - neither when standing nor when lying down and reading a book or watching TV. The chin should not be a fulcrum under any circumstances.
2) Sleep only on a comfortable cushion, neither high nor low, so that the cervical spine stays straight and is not curved.
3) Do not stoop when sitting, do not lean on the arms of the chair. If the shoulders rise high, the muscles of the neck and scalp will strain.
4) Do not sit with your head bowed low while reading and working at the computer for a long time.
5) Continuous and persistent cough may also cause a headache. Use antitussives.
6) Do not knit your brows or frown even if you are excited or angry.

Migraine. Only one half of the head hurts (or both in turns). The pain is pulsating, often it is intense, sometimes it even puts you in bed, increasing like an avalanche, accompanied by nausea, photophobia, and acousticophobia. The pang lasts from 4 hours to 3 days.

The reason is dilated brain vessels that can irritate sensitive receptors. This dilatation is triggered by lack of sleep, physical exercise, hormonal changes, hunger or by eating such food as nuts, chocolate, red wine and other alcohol, citrus fruits, smoked meat. If you are prone to migraine attacks, it is best to consult with your doctor about using some medicines.
In general, headache is the only or the leading symptom of at least 45 different ailments. Often headaches are associated with sensitivity to the weather, fatigue, or poor blood circulation.

Let’s name a few more causes of headache:

• Psychosocial stress, nervous and emotional overload (chronic fear, anger, anxiety, irritability, conflicts, repressed emotions, fatigue): pain is relatively fast and almost always is caused by narrowing of blood vessels.

• Excessive alcohol consumption, smoking, and as an accompanying effect of colds or infectious diseases (influenza, inflammation of the nasal cavities) - dull pain covers the entire head.

• If the pain is in the neck and forehead area - this indicates rheumatism of the spine and neck.

• Among other factors are: high blood pressure, allergies to food, overload of eyes, poisoning, drugs, sound, sensitivity to weather, sunburn, bad or very dry air, etc.
Persistent headache indicates serious disease. In this case you should consult your doctor.

How to get rid of light headaches

Do not turn to pills as the first means of help. There are many folk remedies to relieve headaches. Here are some of them.

• Try to avoid loud sounds, ventilate and darken the room. Humidification of the air in the room or a walk in fresh air can also help.

• Do not use alcohol or nicotine, which aggravate the pain.

• Use cold compresses (or warm, as some people respond to heat better than to cold). Ice packs have proved themselves to good advantage, as well as massage of the sore spot with ice cubes and mustard baths for your feet, which reduce blood pressure in the brain. The compresses from compressed grape or cabbage leaves or chopped caraway seeds (cooked with water into gruel) on painful places, cold compresses of therapeutic mud on the forehead can help. Rings of raw potatoes have a similar effect, they should be put on the forehead and changed frequently.

• Drink herbal teas, which soothe pain and have a calming effect such as high primrose, valerian, linden tea.

• Use essential oils: rub lavender, rosemary or peppermint oil into the temples, forehead, neck, and put a couple of drops on the pillow at night.

• In cases when headache is caused by poisoning, allergies or intolerances to food and medicine, fasting is recommended, as well as bowel movements (enema) and purification through the skin (sauna, full body rubdown with fruit vinegar).

• In cases with mental causes, stress, etc. you should use relaxation techniques (yoga, autogenic training, etc.).

• If the headaches are caused by high blood pressure, a cucumber can help you. Cut it in rings and put on the eyes.

• Propolis can help to get rid of a headache. You should prepare a liqueur, which will help alleviate the most severe attack of headache without delay: dissolve 20 g of propolis in 100 g of alcohol or a glass of vodka. You should pour 40 drops on a piece of bread and immediately eat it. The head will stop aching in a short period of time. This tincture should always be prepared for use.

• An often cause of headaches are the abnormalities in the stomach. In such cases, you should drink a glass of milk at room temperature with a small amount of soda.

• In case of headache or migraine also try to determine which nostril breathes better, and if the pain is felt in the same side of the head, where the open nostril is, close this nostril and breathe like this until the pain is gone.

• When headaches are obsessive you can drink some juice made from raw potato tubers.

• Those who suffer from headaches of any origin, should wear a string of natural yellow amber on the neck all the time.

• Headache will go away or become much weaker, if you lean your forehead against a windowpane, which neutralizes the electrostatic charge, which accumulated on the skin and causes pain.

• If you moisten a piece of wool with vinegar and apply it to the head, the headache will pass.

• To get rid of a headache you can bandage the head with a soft 7-8 cm wide wool strip. It should cover the eyebrows in front, and go under the occiput in the back.

• When a headache is caused by high blood pressure, moderately hot foot or hand baths can be used, as a result of which the blood will pour from the head to the extremities. For people who suffer from low blood pressure, this method is not recommended.

• Cut a small onion in half (across), apply the cut halves to the temples. After 5-10 minutes the headache will disappear. This method is most effective in cases of migraine. No other medicines (analgesics) can remove headache so quickly.

Anyone can get rid of headache on his own, even without using medicinal plants

• 10-15 minutes of strong massage of achilles tendon of the left and right foot (above the heel) from both sides with the thumb and index finger will make the headache go away.

• For 2-3 minutes hit yourself with an empty plastic bottle: on the left and right of the neck, the bumps on the skull at the bottom, the neck zone (the upper part of blades) and the headache will disappear.

• Repeatedly press the point in the middle of the upper jaw between the lower part of the nose and the middle of the upper lip with the right index finger (5-7 times, 30 sec. each)

• Make a massage of the thumbs on the left and right hands. Stretch the thumb, from the nail root (side - top), then the first phalanx of the thumb (side – top), then the top joint (side – top). Massage each finger of the left and right hand for 2-3 minutes. Taking a deep breath and holding it, press the point between the thumb and the index finger of the left hand on top and bottom of the hand with your thumb and index finger of the right hand (point “hegu”), count to 10, breathe out. Perform these exercises 4-5 times with the left, then the right hand, pressing the “hegu” point of the right hand with the thumb and index finger of the left hand.

• Stretch both ears down to the lobe inclusive with the thumbs and index fingers of both hands (duration 30 sec.) 3-4 times. Bend the earlobe in half from bottom to top on the left and right side (both ears). Take a deep breath, hold your breath. Hold the bent earlobes with both arms, count to 5. Release the earlobes, breathe out, do these exercises 5-8 times.
If none of this helps, then take an analgesic, but no more than 1-2 times a week, or else you will get used to it.