If you are one of those wise and cautious people who prefer softer and safer, but no less effective folk remedies for headaches to pills, then our new article is for you. NameWoman warns: to find the most optimal one, your...
If you are one of those wise and cautious people who prefer softer and safer, but no less effective folk remedies for headaches to pills, then our new article is for you. To find the most optimal, your own “natural” method of treatment, you may have to test several different remedies in practice.
If severe headaches are a common problem for you, then any treatment should begin by identifying the root cause. Our article “Why do you often get headaches?” will help you with this.
In the current material, we will only note the curious “water theory” about the causes of frequent headaches. It identifies heat stress and dehydration as the main problem. The reasons are:
- small amount of water consumed,
- large amounts of alcohol consumed,
- excessively warm bed (thick and hot blanket out of season),
- high ambient temperature,
- low air humidity.
Folk remedies for headaches
— Chamomile tea is an excellent antispasmodic with a wide spectrum. Traditional medicine recommends it to relieve headaches, as well as discomfort in the stomach and intestines, in severe conditions before menstruation. In addition, chamomile tea activates the functions of the immune system, which makes it an extremely valuable remedy for treating colds at home.
— One of the best folk remedies for severe headaches is lemon balm. Pour 3 tablespoons of dry herb with a glass of boiling water. Cover with a saucer and let sit for about half an hour. Strain and drink 2 tablespoons every 2 hours. We also recommend adding lemon balm to regular tea and soothing medicinal mixtures. This wonderful herb relieves headaches accompanied by tinnitus and helps cope with insomnia.
— Another savior for those suffering from headaches is valerian. Pour a tablespoon of finely ground valerian root with a glass of boiling water and boil for a quarter of an hour over low heat. Let the broth sit for 10 minutes and then strain. Take this folk remedy one tablespoon 3 times a day.
— Medicinal mixtures work better than tablets and, although it is also advisable to alternate them for greater effectiveness, they are practically not addictive. Here is an excellent composition for obtaining a natural analgesic: take peppermint, fireweed and oregano in equal amounts. Pour half a tablespoon of the resulting medicinal mixture into a glass of boiling water. Let it brew under the lid, strain after half an hour. You can drink.
— A folk remedy for headaches is dill seeds. Take one and a half cups of boiling water for a tablespoon of seeds. Let it sit for half an hour, strain, and drink little by little throughout the day.
— Pour hot water over the thoroughly washed onion peel (you can cook it for a couple of minutes) and let the product sit for about an hour. Drink half a glass. If headaches become more frequent, you should drink half a glass of onion peel infusion twice a day for three to four days.
In an old medical book from 1890, the following procedure is recommended as an effective folk remedy for treating headaches. Prepare a glass of hot tea and warm a metal spoon in it. Apply the spoon to the wing of the nose on the side where the headache hurts (if it hurts on both sides, then manipulations should also be done on both sides). Once the spoon has cooled, warm it again in tea and apply it to your nose again. Next, warm the cooling spoon and apply it again. Then a hot teaspoon is applied to the earlobe on the side where it hurts. Warm your fingers in a hot glass of tea. After the pain subsides, you can drink the tea.
— You can relieve a headache using folk remedies using a compress. Dampen a natural cloth with cold water and vinegar (a teaspoon of natural apple cider vinegar per liter of water) or salt (also a teaspoon per liter of water). Wet a cloth in cold water, wring it out and place it on your forehead and temples. Apply to your head for 5-10 minutes.
- Compresses made from raw, crushed cabbage leaves (simply applied or tied to the head) and lotions made from raw potatoes at the temples and forehead also help. Potatoes can be grated and placed in a gauze bag, or you can simply use freshly cut potato slices.
An interesting procedure for relieving headaches: tapping the bridge of the nose with the large phalanx of the thumb. This needs to be done for quite a long time - at least 5, and preferably 10-20 minutes.
— If your head not only hurts, but is dizzy, and you feel very tired, then you need to drink a decoction of hawthorn fruits. Pour 20 grams of berries into a glass of boiling water, simmer over low heat for 10 minutes, cool to a comfortable temperature, and drink on an empty stomach.
— A folk remedy for severe headaches is cinnamon. Pour 1 gram of ground cinnamon into a glass of hot water. After half an hour, add a little sugar and drink a small sip. You can moisten a napkin in a similar infusion and then apply it to your temples or forehead.
when a headache is a warning sign
Sometimes a headache is a symptom of some disease, in which case neither home remedies nor painkillers will help. You should see a doctor about headaches in the following cases:
- ● pain occurs more often than 2-3 times a month, and cannot be explained by loose nerves, colds, menstruation (in women) or other understandable factors;
- ● pain is practically not relieved by anything, even with the most powerful painkillers;
- ● the occurrence of headaches is accompanied by an increase in body temperature, nausea or impaired coordination of movements.
If you have a headache after experiencing nervous stress or for some unknown reason, there are several simple ways to quickly return your health to normal.
Aromatherapy in the treatment of headaches with folk remedies
— Add aroma lamps to the water or moisten a clean handkerchief, which you then hang on the radiator with a mixture of the following essential oils: pine, mint and lemon. It is enough to take just two drops.
— Add a spoonful of milk to a bath with warm (not hot!) water, in which 2 drops of nutmeg essential oil and 4 drops each of ylang-ylang and lavender oils have been previously mixed. If you have a headache, you only need to take a bath for 10 minutes. Another option for the aroma composition: 2 drops of orange oil, 4 drops each of geranium and mint oil.
What not to do when you have a headache
- ● Be patient
. There will be no benefit from this, and besides, pain always signals problems in the functioning of the body, which it is advisable to eliminate as soon as possible. - ● Drink alcohol
. Alcohol in some cases can relieve headaches (for example, with vascular spasms), and sometimes it can seriously aggravate the condition (for example, with pain of stomach origin). - ● Swallow handfuls of tablets
. The interval between taking painkillers (citramon, aspirin, nimesil, etc.) should be at least 30 minutes, or even better, 1-2 hours. If you start swallowing everything at once, without pausing, then in addition to your head, your stomach will ache. - ● Cold douches
. If you pour ice water over your head, the feeling of extreme cold actually temporarily overcomes the feeling of pain, but in the future, the vascular spasm caused by the cold shock will only lead to a further deterioration of the condition.
In general, if we talk about headaches, the best remedy for them is a healthy lifestyle. Proper nutrition, good sleep, sufficient physical activity, absence of nervous shock - you just need to follow these well-known recommendations to completely forget about headaches and generally feeling unwell!
How to relieve headaches with special gymnastics
Slowly, perform the following three exercises in turn:
1. Tilt your head forward and then back 3-5 times.
2. Tilt the head to the right and left shoulder 3-5 times. Fix the intermediate, level position of your head for a second or two.
3. Try to relax your neck and rotate your head in a circular motion, first in one direction and then in the other direction. Repeat three times.
Repeat the whole complex once or twice. If necessary, contact him again after 15 minutes.
Folk remedies for headaches with high blood pressure
— A product with a double effect. And the headache will go away, and the eyes will rest, and the skin around the eyes will receive a pleasant caring procedure. So, just take two slices of fresh cucumber and place it on your eyes for 10-15 minutes.
— For headaches associated with hypertension, foot and hand hot baths are recommended. For legs, try using a folk remedy such as mustard. The water temperature should be 38-40 degrees, stir 2 tablespoons of mustard in it and keep your feet in the bath for 10 minutes. Quickly rinse your feet, dry with a towel and put on warm socks.
How to quickly overcome headaches
- 1. Sleep
. Most often, this method turns out to be the most effective to relieve headaches. 1-2 hours of sleep will allow you to return to normal and stop the torment. - 2. Relaxation
. This means real targeted relaxation with consistent relaxation of all the muscles of the body, and not just sitting with your eyes closed. 15-20 minutes of complete muscle relaxation is usually enough for the pain to subside.
- 3. Push-ups
. A slightly unusual, but very effective method is to do a good push-up on the floor. In this case, your hands need to be positioned so that muscle tension falls on the areas where pain is felt. If the cause of headaches is blood stagnation in the neck or muscle spasm, then push-ups will easily relieve it. Other strength exercises, such as dumbbells, are also fine. - 4. Eye exercises
. 5-10 minutes of doing any eye exercises (usually “drawing” imaginary geometric shapes with your eyes) helps relieve pain if it is concentrated in the frontal part of the head. - 5. Lemon
. To relieve headaches, apply the inside of a lemon peel to your temples and forehead. - 6. Beets
. Fresh circles are also applied to the forehead and temples, but, unlike lemon, beets can leave marks on the skin. - 7. Cabbage leaf
. An old, proven remedy for headaches is to mash a cabbage leaf so that it releases the juice, then apply the leaf to your temples and forehead, and lubricate the inside of your wrists and the area behind the ears with the juice. - 8. Herbal teas
. A cup of hot tea made from chamomile or calendula will help relieve pain caused by minor indigestion. A cup of lemon balm tea will help relieve pain caused by nervous stress.
- 9. Milk with honey
. If the headaches are caused by a mild exacerbation of chronic gastritis, then a glass of hot milk with a dissolved teaspoon of honey will almost certainly help. - 10. Vinegar compress
. 1 teaspoon of table vinegar per 0.5 liter of cool water, soak a towel in the resulting solution and apply to the forehead and temples. - 11. Cinnamon
. Add 1 gram of cinnamon to 100 ml of hot water (not boiling water), cover, let it brew for 30 minutes, then strain and slowly drink in small sips. The remedy will help faster if you drink it on an empty stomach. - 12. Strong coffee
. This method can help if the pain is due to a situational decrease in blood pressure. Coffee should only be natural, because instant coffee does not have the desired effect. - 13. Water
. If the pain arises from dehydration, then you just need to restore the water balance in the body. To do this, drink a liter of water in small sips over 1 hour. You cannot immediately drink large volumes of liquid - in this case, 70-80% of the water will be excreted in the urine, and the therapeutic effect will not be achieved. - 14. Self-massage
. Depending on the location of the pain, you need to rub your temples in a circular motion or rub the back of your head or forehead with your palm until a feeling of intense warmth appears in the massage area. - 15. Towel
. Another old but working trick is to tightly bandage your head with a towel and wear it for about 1-3 hours.
And one more little tip
: supporters of alternative medicine claim that even the most persistent headaches go away if you lean your forehead against an aspen tree, which supposedly has the property of absorbing negative energy. It is not known whether this will help, but if there is nothing else at hand, then you can try - it definitely won’t make it worse.
