Get Rid of Your Frequent Headaches

What a Headache!

If you are among the more than 45 million American’s who suffer from frequent or chronic headaches, you know how that special kind of pain can make you woozy, zap your energy, ruin your concentration, and generally leave you feeling exhausted and depressed. Medical science has identified over 100 different types of headaches, but most of us never seek medical help for our headaches. Because headaches are neither fatal nor contagious, most of us figure they’re minor. However, headaches are one of the main causes for missed work. Add lost productivity to the cost for medical treatments (including over-the-counter remedies) and Americans spend over $50 billion a year on these “minor” headaches.

By: Jo Ann LeQuang

The Numbers Game

Finding a fix for your headaches without taking drugs is a numbers game. There are many things that can help headache sufferers. You may find that doing one of them reduces your headache pain or the chances you’ll get a headache by about 20%. Don’t be an extremist and figure if you can’t get 100% relief, you don’t want any relief. So do the thing that brings you 20% relief. But then keep looking. Maybe something else will bring you 10% relief. Doing those two things together now cuts your headache pain or risk of getting a headache by 30%. Keep working it that way. Very few headache sufferers find that one “magical” thing that cures their headache. It’s a numbers game.

21 Things That May Help

What causes your headaches? If you already know or have a pretty good idea, you have a leg up. But if you don’t know or you’d like to figure it out more precisely, keep a headache diary. When a headache strikes, note what you were doing (consider the day before as well as the day of the headache), weather or environmental conditions, foods you ate in the past 24 hours, alcohol consumption over the past 24 hours, sleep schedule, medications (even over-the-counter drugs), and other notable events, such as whether you were taking an exam or going for a job interview.

Here are things that can help—some may help you a lot, some may help a little, and some may not work at all. Be open-minded and give them a fair try. Sometimes relief comes from a most unexpected lifestyle change.

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3. If you get relief from an over-the-counter headache remedy, use it as directed and do not over-use it—but use it. Suffering through a headache can cause the pain to worsen over time; it’s better to break the cycle if you can. If you do opt to take a headache pill, take it before the pain gets very bad. It takes much more medication to treat a severe headache than it does to treat a mild or moderate one!

4. While there is a time and place for headache medicine, if you need to take it often you should see a doctor. Some headache medications actually cause headaches by creating a “rebound effect.” This means that when you stop taking the medication, your headache comes back. If you buy the big bottles of headache pills and never leave home without them, you may fall prey to the rebound headache. This is a case where a headache specialist should intervene.

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17. This may sound bizarre, but find a very aromatic mentholated muscle rub (BenGay® with the scent works great) and carefully apply a tiny amount to the part of your head that hurts. This works best on headaches that attack your face, such as under the eyes. Be very careful not to get this stuff in your eyes (you have enough trouble without having your eyes burn). The aroma of the cream will cause your eyes to water and shut. Be sure you can lay down for a while and rest.

18. This is an old wives’ tale but it has worked for some old wives. If you feel a pressure headache coming on (where the inside of your head feels bigger than the outside of your head), peel some onions. This will cause your eyes to water and your nose to run—and it relieves the pressure.