What Causes Headaches and How To Treat Them With Homemade Remedies?

I am one of the lucky ones in that I do not usually experience headaches, but when I do ... lookout, because it is normally a blinder-of-one and as I have been experiencing a 'real beauty' over the last day or two, I thought that I would investigate the reasons as to why we get headaches in the first place and what causes them so keep reading, as this Hub Article is a brief summation of what I found out.

What actually is a headache and what causes them?

The answer to this question might as well be anything and everything because a headache can start for any number of reasons because it is neither a sickness or a disease but it is a symptom that manifests to make us aware that there is some disorder somewhere in some part of the body or nervous system.

The pain that you experience during a headache comes from certain structures in the skull. It is the not the brain substance itself but the coverings of the brain and the large veins and arteries in the brain that drain the surface of the brain that are sensitive to pain. When any of these 'hurt', you will find that a headache will develop.

Also, when your sinuses, teeth, ears and muscles surrounding them hurt, the pain may spread to the brain area and produce a headache. If the muscles that are over the neck and near the head are contracted, this can also produce headaches.

You may have heard different people giving different reasons about their individual headache problems. For example, some people get a headache when they have not eaten for a long time and are hungry or if they have not drunk enough water or if they have not had their 'morning coffee, or they are suffering from the effects of being hung-over or staying out for too long in the hot sun.

What is really happening in each and every one of the abovementioned reasons is that the arteries in the skull are being dilated (or enlarged) and this produces a headache in practically anybody. It is known as a Vascular Headache.

Another example is to suppose that somebody suddenly had a vigorous jolt or twisted his/her head and then began to complain of a headache. There is nothing special about such cases as what has happened was that certain pain-sensitive structures in the brain were pulled or tightened in the process and pain resulted.

Tension Headaches manifests as a dull pain across the forehead, with no throbbing or sharp stabs. A person may be undergoing great emotional tension and this will cause muscles to contract or tighten over the back, lower part of the head and neck resulting in a tension headache of sorts.

Migraine Headaches are a special kind of headache and quite different to the ones I have previously mentioned.

Migraine headaches are recurrent head pain that is usually accompanied with nausea and disturbance of vision. This type of headache needs professional assistance to investigate what exactly is causing the pain. They can be a result of accumulated tension and nervousness and a cold ice-pack on the forehead can help to alleviate some of the pressure/pain until medical advice is sought.

All severe, persistent or unusual headaches or ones that result from a head injury, need professional attention.

Use the following remedies only when you know why you have a headache and do not have the need to pop a chemical-based pain killer.

Herbal First Aid For Headaches -

1. Mix together in a small glass bottle some Almond Oil with 3-5 drops of Lavender Essential Oil and shake before dabbing onto fingertips and rubbing onto your forehead/temple. You could substitute Olive Oil instead of Almond Oil.
2. Mix together in a small glass bottle some Almond Oil with 3-5 drops of Chamomile Essential Oil and shake before dabbing onto fingertips and rubbing onto your forehead/temple. If you cannot find Chamomile Essential Oil try making yourself a cup of Chamomile Tea and take some time out to drink it.
3. Make yourself a therapeutic Foot Bath that will help ease your Headache pain. Choose a bowl big enough to put both of your feet inside it. In the bowl place a handful of Basil, Lavender, Rosemary and Marjoram leaves or you could make up your own herbal infusion/decoction beforehand and pour this already-made up mixture into the bowl. Pour in some hot water (as hot as you can stand it) and immerse the feet in the water for at least 15 minutes. You can always top up the foot bath water with more hot water if it cools down quicker than anticipated.
4. Sometimes just taking the lid of an essential oil bottle and having a sniff will help to clear up a headache. Essential oils that may be beneficial include Lavender, Peppermint, Chamomile, Citrus - Lemon Verbena, Lemon and/or Orange oils. These same oils can be put onto your pulse points located on your wrists and behind your earlobes to help take the sting away from your headache pain.
5. I like a herbal tea blend of 1 teabag of Peppermint Tea and 1 teabag of Chamomile Tea mixed together with boiling water and left to steep for a couple of minutes before drinking. Put the used teabags into another cup and add additional hot water and let it steep to be drunk at a later time either cold or warmed-up by adding some more hot water (which will also dilute it).
6. Placing a Lavender-filled Heat-pack bag (warmed up in the microwave) or a Lavender/Wheat-filled Cold-pack bag (taken from the freezer) on your forehead whilst lying down and resting will also do wonders and not a chemical-based pain-killer in sight!

I truly appreciate the time that you have spent reading my Hub Article and I hope that you have found it to be beneficial.

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UrsulaRose

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