How to relieve a headache without pills: simple life hacks at home

Published: 10/24/2018. Updated: 10/21/2021.

Even a slight headache complicates life, prevents you from concentrating at work and doing household chores, forcing you to take medications and even give up your favorite activities. According to the World Health Organization, 50% of adults face this problem every year, and 30% of them are diagnosed with migraine. What to do if you have a severe headache and don’t have any pills at home? Try using effective folk remedies.

Before reading about how you can quickly cure your headache, make sure that your headache is not caused by a health problem. In addition to overwork, dehydration and lack of sleep, it can be caused by poisoning, cervical osteochondrosis, viral diseases, sinusitis and other pathologies.

By the way, if you have a very bad headache and pills don’t help, sometimes the only thing you can do is learn to cope without analgesics. The reason is that when taking most types of painkillers for more than 10 days for three months in a row, so-called abuse, or drug-induced pain, develops.

Pay special attention to your health and be sure to make an appointment with a specialist to find out what to do when you have a really bad headache if:

• this condition occurs several times a week;
• you have to take medications or increase the dose;
• this condition is accompanied by fever, confusion, nausea or vomiting
• pain has intensified or its location has changed.

These may be symptoms of serious illnesses, so do not ignore a full diagnosis.

Acupressure

This type of treatment is also called acupressure - influencing certain points on the body by pressing with your fingers. If you do it yourself, no special skills are required, but it is advisable to obtain preliminary consultation from a specialist.

What to do for headache pain? First, relax, otherwise you will not get the desired effect. Sit in a comfortable chair, inhale and exhale slowly. Imagine that you are in a calm place, breathing evenly and deeply. The acupressure technique can be used not only at home, but also outdoors or in the office, since you can relieve a headache with your hands in just ten minutes by working on each point. It is necessary to take turns influencing the points that, according to Chinese medicine, can reduce discomfort (or eliminate them altogether).

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• Espí-López GV, Zurriaga-Llorens R, Monzani L, Falla D. The effect of manipulation plus massage therapy versus massage therapy alone in people with tension-type headache. A randomized controlled clinical trial. Eur J Phys Rehabil Med. 2021 Oct;52(5):606-617. Epub 2021 Mar 18. PMID: 26989818.
• Marks DR, Rapoport AM. Practical evaluation and diagnosis of headache. Semin Neurol. 1997;17(4):307-12. doi: 10.1055/s-2008-1040943. PMID: 9474710.
• MacGregor E.A. Contraception and headache. Headache. 2013 Feb;53(2):247-76. doi: 10.1111/head.12035. PMID: 23432442.
• Allais G, Gabellari IC, De Lorenzo C, Mana O, Benedetto C. Oral contraceptives in migraine. Expert Rev Neurother. 2009 Mar;9(3):381-93. doi: 10.1586/14737175.9.3.381. PMID: 19271947.
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Published on the portal health.mail.ru

General massage

Another way to quickly relieve a severe headache without medication is to do a light massage to eliminate cramps and improve blood circulation.

Sit on a sofa or chair and use your fingers to perform light massage spiral movements along your neck for two minutes. After warming up your neck, move on. Massage your head in the same way as when washing your hair for 5-7 minutes. If you feel warmth, then you are acting correctly. If your head hurts without stopping, continue self-massage, smoothly moving to a new area - your temples. Massage them for five minutes in a circular motion, gradually moving towards the back of the head. Finally, gently massage your earlobes for two minutes.

As with a classic massage course, after completing the session you should not get up suddenly and immediately go about your business; rest for about fifteen minutes.

Massage-induced effects

Mechanical and physical effects on the tissues of the head, bioactive points, neck and collar area help reduce pain and in some cases completely get rid of them due to several massage effects:

• Blood flow in tissues is activated during massage. In turn, this helps get rid of accumulated toxins, improves the supply of oxygen molecules to the brain, and reduces blood pressure;
• The spasm is relieved from the vessels, they expand to a normal level;
• Massage has a relaxing and calming effect, which helps to cope with cephalalgia caused by stress, fatigue, and prolonged tension;
• The conduction of nerve impulses improves, which stabilizes the functioning of the NS organs.

With osteochondrosis of the neck, due to destructive-dystrophic changes in the vertebrae, the nerve bundle and blood vessels are clamped. As a result, the brain suffers from hypoxia, which is the main cause of cephalgia and dizziness. In order for your head to stop hurting, you need to remove this clamp and massage does the best job of doing this. It also helps with noise, decreased quality of sleep, and apathy.

A positive result of massage procedures can be considered an improvement in the condition of the scalp and hair. Patients who have completed a full course of massage from specialists note a decrease in the amount of dandruff, strengthening of hair, increased shine and growth.

Aromatherapy

What should you do to make your headache go away if you don’t want to perform a massage? Use a method that was popular in the 18th century and remember the benefits of certain essential oils. For example, mint was used to eliminate a runny nose, while lavender and chamomile relaxed and gave long, restful sleep. How to quickly relieve a headache? Use the following fragrance oils:

• lavender,
• mint,
• eucalyptus,
• linden,
• sandalwood,
• nutmeg,
• rosemary.

No matter how much you want to get rid of pain without pills, remember the safety and side effects. When using essential oils in concentrated form, skin irritation may occur, so before use they must be mixed with neutral oils or cosmetics.

You can choose any of the six main ways to quickly get rid of a headache at home using various pleasant aromas (which will help you best, you need to check experimentally):

• bath.
  When taking a bath, add eight drops of essential oil mixed with a tablespoon of neutral oil;
• diffuser
  (sprays fragrant steam due to the action of ultrasound). To fill a standard 15-meter room with a pleasant relaxing aroma, add three drops of aroma oil to the container;
• oil burner.
  Light it 2-3 times a day;
• warm compress.
  Add a drop of aromatic oil to the water, soak a towel in it and place it on your forehead;
• massage.
  When massaging your face or body, add two drops of essential oil to your regular massage oil;
• inhalation.
  It is enough to breathe in hot steam for five minutes with the addition of three drops of aromatic oils for your well-being to noticeably improve. Keep in mind that this method of treating headaches at home is contraindicated for asthmatics, allergy sufferers and patients with problems with the respiratory system.

Recommendations and contraindications

• Try massaging your scalp twice a week. Each movement must be performed at least two to three times. The whole procedure should take 10-15 minutes.
• Since massage stimulates the sebaceous glands, it is best to do the massage an hour before washing your hair.
• Perform the massage exclusively with clean hands, try not to scratch the skin with your nails or pull out hair.
• For the best effect, you can use special serums to strengthen and nourish the bulbs or oils (argan, almond, burdock).
• Head massage has contraindications, these include: fungal diseases, inflammation and trauma to the skin, severe hair loss, hypertension, vascular diseases.

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Water treatments

A hot shower or bath is another effective option that can quickly relieve headaches for both men and women. Heat helps to dilate blood vessels, relieving spasm and supplying beneficial nutrients to cells that usually lack nutrition when a nerve is pinched in one of the parts of the spine or other pathologies. If there is no time or opportunity for full water procedures, use a heating pad.

When looking for an answer to the question “How can I quickly get rid of a headache at home” on forums, you often find information that a cold compress helps. This method does work in many cases, but be extremely careful, as cold not only brings relief, but also constricts blood vessels. If a headache in an adult or child is associated with a spasm, home treatment without pills should avoid cold compresses and any non-medicinal products that cause constriction of blood vessels.

How to get rid of headaches with cervical osteochondrosis

To relieve headaches, including those with cervical osteochondrosis, analgesics in combination with antispasmodics help well. For severe muscle tension and irritation, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can be used. However, it must be remembered that these drugs do not treat the underlying disease, providing only symptomatic care, and at the same time they have a number of serious side effects. Thus, analgesics and NSAIDs, including those containing diclofenac, suppress bone marrow function, lower immunity, inhibit gastric secretion, irritating its mucous membrane and provoking the development of gastritis, and reduce blood clotting. In addition, it has been proven that systematic or frequent use of diclofenac increases the risk of heart attack by 40%, and NSAIDs in general lead to the formation of gastropathy, gum ulceration, pancreatitis and aphthous stomatitis. Antispasmodics can cause the opposite effect - increase dizziness, headache, and also cause palpitations and more complex arrhythmias.

Recently, Botox injections have been used to relieve spasms. However, botuloxin is a strong poison; in addition to the unpredictable individual reaction of the body, it can cause headaches, muscle weakness up to paresis of some muscle groups, disruption of the gastrointestinal tract and respiratory system. With each repeated use, the effect of the drug decreases.

Neuroprotectors have a prolonged (long-lasting) effect, improving metabolism in brain tissue and thereby relieving pain. However, such drugs must be taken in long courses, but if used uncontrolled, they can cause dizziness, headaches, anxiety, increased blood pressure and arrhythmia.

It is important to remember that in this case, a headache is only a symptom of the disease. In addition to symptomatic care, it is necessary to direct efforts to combat the disease itself - the spine needs to be treated.

Conservative treatment of osteochondrosis, in addition to the use of painkillers and antispasmodics, should include the use of hydroprotectors, vitamin complexes, as well as exercise therapy and physiotherapy.

Electrophoresis is the most commonly used physiotherapy procedure. Its essence is a local increase in temperature and improvement of blood circulation, which relieves muscle spasms, eliminates pain and speeds up the healing process. In general, any thermal procedures relieve muscle spasms and improve blood circulation.

Magnetotherapy involves the use of low-frequency magnetic field inductors aimed at the problem area, which leads to local dilation of blood vessels, improved oxygenation and metabolism, accelerated elimination of toxins and reduced blood viscosity. Thanks to this, magnetic therapy has an anti-inflammatory, analgesic and anti-edematous effect.

Effective assistance in the treatment of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine can be provided by a modern drug - the therapeutic pain-relieving anti-inflammatory patch NANOPLAST forte.

Drink plenty of fluids

Another reason why headaches and pills do not help may be due to dehydration caused by heat, increased sweating during exercise or at high temperatures, and other factors. Drink more clean water (not tea, sweet soda or mineral water), and to be sure of its quality, use only filtered water.

Fresh air

Even healthy people feel uncomfortable in rooms with high concentrations of carbon dioxide. What to do for pain in the head if it is caused by excess carbon dioxide? Ventilate the room regularly to bring in more oxygen.

If you live near a highway or industrial plants, opening the windows is not the best option. Noise, toxic gases and bad odors will enter the room, because of which you will have to look for an additional way to relieve headaches and how to relieve a very severe migraine attack. Install supply ventilation with air purification functions, such as a breather. This equipment supplies fresh, purified air to the room with the windows closed, and in winter it eliminates the risk of drafts due to the possibility of heating the incoming air masses.

Take walks in parks and squares more often to forget for a long time about looking for a remedy for your scalp at home. Clean air and light physical activity can reduce the risk of attacks without taking pills, as they reduce stress levels, calm you down and normalize blood circulation.

Healthy foods

If you have a headache, healthy foods can help, both in the form of infusion or tea, and fresh.

Lemon.

The lemon aroma has a calming effect; you can also drink a glass of clean water with the addition of a tablespoon of lemon juice. What else can you do if you have a headache but no pills? Peel the skin and apply it to your temples and forehead, it will help reduce pain.

Mint.

To eliminate headaches, you can drink a decoction of a tablespoon of dried leaves and 200 ml of boiling water infused for fifteen minutes.

Ginger.

Drink ginger tea (bring water to a boil, add a spoonful of dry ginger and simmer) with tea leaves and honey. This is not only a quick help for headaches, but also an excellent home remedy for colds; it helps strengthen the immune system (if there are no medical contraindications).

Cinnamon.

Drink a couple of sips every hour of the concentrated, cooled solution or prepare a recipe for cinnamon tea with the addition of ginger, black pepper and mint. It is worth adding honey to the drink, as it contains calcium and magnesium, which help improve blood circulation and relieve an attack of acute headaches at home without pills (remember that honey should not be poured with boiling water). Instead of tea, you can prepare a special mixture of three teaspoons of cinnamon and a few drops of water, then apply it to your temples and forehead. Half an hour with such a warm compress is all that is needed for a headache to go away if it is caused by a change in weather or changes in atmospheric pressure.

If you have allergies and stomach problems, you need to carefully use the proposed methods, as they can contribute to the exacerbation of chronic diseases. Cinnamon should not be used during pregnancy or lactation.