When headaches or migraines hit, long-term responses can also be on the other side of the moon. We need immediate help, and if we don’t want to take drugs or take a lot of medicine, bodily methods can help alleviate these unwanted symptoms.
Like breathing, one of the things that goes head-on during a headache is our internal thermostat. The head feels very hot, as more and more blood flows through the expanding blood vessels into our brains. A change in body temperature helps.
There are two ways to approach this, depending on where you are, when a problem arises and what resources are available to you at that time: 1) heat the rest of your body, or 2) cool the affected part.
Get into hot water
Headaches are usually associated with increased blood supply to the brain. Warming up the rest of your body helps alleviate the pressure on your brain, creating a need for attention from more distant parts of your body, like your hands and feet. There is nothing better than a hot bath. If you can swim in a darkened room, so much the better (a shower can also help, but not so much.)
- If you have it, put some aromatic oil in hot bath water to encourage you to breathe deeply and relax. Use eucalyptus, marjoram, lavender, Albas oil or even some Vicks Vapo Rub; some protective neroli or geranium oils. I think this corresponds to personal preferences.
- No access to the bath? Try to sit your hands in two pools with water - one is as hot as you can stand it without scaling, one as cold. Use a little fragrant oil in water, as mentioned above, and cover the pools and head with a large towel. Stay where you are.
- You can also try putting your feet in a pool of hot water - again, as hot as you can stand.
Whether in the bathroom or using the pools, take a deep breath before a slow count of ten, being sure to breathe as fully as you breathe. When you exhale, notice where your body is holding tension — and release it. Try to “send” the pain through your arms or legs into the water.
If you stay on this path for ten or two minutes, you will be surprised how much it helps. Applying a drop of your preferred essential oil on your temples or under your nose will provide a plus.
Or maybe,
Conversely, cooling the head and neck with ice — stored in an emergency freezer — also helps.
- Use gel bags rather than hard ice bags — you can wrap them around the affected area more effectively. Ice cubes or crushed ice, fixed in a plastic bag, make an inexpensive option.
- A bag of frozen peas will do in a pinch, or if you are away from home.
- Everything should be applied to the part of the head and neck that hurts for at least fifteen minutes. Rest as much as possible from noise and bright light. Make sure your skin is protected from direct contact with the surface of the ice. In all cases, take a deep breath.
Last words
Our brain is 70 percent water, so they say. Natural air conditioning system requires constant replenishment. Anyway, we forget about it - it is easily dehydrated.
- Exercise, hot weather, diet, drinking alcohol, tea or coffee - all this increases dehydration. At certain times of the day, for example, in the morning or in the evening, just drinking a glass of water can prevent a headache.
- If you are boxing or traveling, take extra care to drink enough water to keep your body fluid balance “in the zone.” None of us wants to lose our precious leisure time to headaches or migraines - the sky knows that we are not enough! If the headache strikes when you go out, the wisest way may be to stop and rest with a bottle of water, preferably away from the sun / heat / noise.
But remember: headache is not your enemy - it is a feedback from your body that something is wrong. The more you learn about the causes of headaches, the less vulnerable you will get them. Think about it - because prevention is always much better than cure.
© 2011 Alexandra Brunel, all rights reserved.
