Home remedies for headaches can be a gentle alternative if your head is throbbing again. How to get rid of headaches without medication!
Headache: a common evil
It stings, hammers or squeezes: Around 54 million Germans suffer from headaches from time to time or even permanently. The causes are as varied as the types of headache: there are around 200 different variants, from tension headaches to migraines. Because of the many possible triggers, migraines and headaches that are very severe or unusually long should always be clarified by a doctor. Mild to moderate complaints that occur again and again for known and comparatively harmless reasons such as after a stressful working day, You can also treat headaches with home remedies.
Home Remedies For Headaches: What Really Works
Depending on where the pain is in the head and what triggers are present, the following home remedies can help against headaches:
- Drinking water: Sounds simple and it is! Mild headaches are often caused by dehydration. So the first thing you should do is always drink a large glass of water and check whether the pain has subsided after about 15 minutes.
- Warmth: Heat can help especially with tension headaches, as it relaxes the muscles. To do this, for example, you put a cherry stone pillow in the neck or stick a warming plaster on. The often recommended full-body baths are not a good idea: This can cause blood pressure to drop, which can exacerbate tension headaches. There is nothing wrong with warm foot baths or alternating showers.
- Cold: In the case of a throbbing in the temple, as it often occurs after long, strenuous work at the PC, however, cold has proven its worth. For example, a cool washcloth on your forehead relieves headaches – it is best to lie down briefly and concentrate on breathing.
- Peppermint: As early as the 1990s, a study showed that the use of peppermint oil can help with headaches as well as typical pain relievers. Diluted mint oil is best – pharmacies often have products that contain ten percent peppermint. For the best effect against headaches, simply apply the oil generously to the forehead and temples every 15 minutes – there is often a significant improvement after a quarter of an hour.
- Ginger: You don't have a problem with sharpness? Then chew on a piece of ginger if you have a headache. The tuber contains various pain relieving and relaxing ingredients that can help with a pounding skull.
- Cinnamon: A porridge made from cinnamon and some water should also help with headaches because of its relaxing ingredients. To do this, a teaspoon of ground cinnamon is mixed with a little water, the pulp is spread on a cloth and this is placed on the forehead for 15 minutes.
- Vanilla: Vanilla contains the essential oil eugenol, which has a pain relieving effect and dilates blood vessels – this makes it a good home remedy for headaches. Either some natural vanilla oil is used for this in fragrance lamps and thus inhaled via the room air (only suitable if there are no babies or small children in the house). Alternatively, you can mix a teaspoon of natural vanilla extract in a glass of water and drink it slowly.
- Herbal tea: There are more plants that can help with headaches. These include, for example, rose petals, lavender, willow bark, lemon balm or meadowsweet – most of which are available dried in the pharmacy. As a rule, the dried plants are poured with boiling water and strained after ten minutes. Then the tea has to be drunk in small sips.
- Caffeine: Many headache patients swear by a strong cup of coffee for their symptoms. The caffeine it contains inhibits the so-called prostaglandins – messenger substances that, among other things, are involved in releasing pain.
- Move: Even if one would like to crawl into bed with a headache, a short walk in the fresh air can work wonders, especially with tension headaches, because it improves blood circulation.
Would you like more tips? In addition, a healthy diet consisting of lots of fiber (e.g. in whole grains), fruit, vegetables, fish, a few dairy products and lean meat can ensure that there are no headaches in the first place.
When should I see a doctor with my headache?
As I said, not all headaches can be treated with home remedies. They are a case for the doctor in the following cases:
- There are other symptoms such as fever, chills, dizziness, joint pain, visual disturbances, memory or concentration disorders.
- There is a suspicion that the pain is caused by poor eyesight or incorrect loading of the jaw.
- The headaches are getting worse and more common.
Warning, emergency!
In these cases, the emergency doctor should be called immediately:
- The complaints are caused by falls, blows to the head or the like.
- In addition, a stiff neck and / or fever occurs. This can indicate meningitis.
- It comes to the "thunderbolt headache": This occurs very suddenly and extremely strongly and is often accompanied by sensitivity to light, nausea and / or vomiting. There may be a cerebral hemorrhage, which can be extremely dangerous.