Gradually, but surely, I hope to share the lists of remedies that I use personally with my Boholistic Mom followers. Today, I am sharing with you a headache remedy list that will give you some great ideas for tackling situations when you feel your head might explode. Some of these ideas work within the hour, some will are long term fixes and will take time. You are in charge of your health and your wellness. Find out what options there are from this headache remedy list that are not in a medicine bottle and give them a shot!
Headache Remedy List – Natural Relief
- Magnesium
Magnesium helps blood vessels relax and regulates your blood pressure.1 With all of the stress our bodies go through, most people are very deficient in magnesium. Deficiencies in magnesium can cause major headaches, but even if you aren’t deficient, magnesium can be a quick relief to minor headaches. I use –> Ancient Minerals Magnesium Gel.
- Ginger Tea
Ginger tea is also vasodilator like magnesium, meaning it dilates your blood vessels allowing blood to pass through more easily. When you have a pounding headache with lots of pressure, this can be a life saver. In addition, ginger can relieve sinus pressure that can lead to headaches. I love to use fresh ginger, but if you want to keep a bit of ginger tea on hand for emergencies check out –> Traditional Medicinals Organic Ginger Tea.
- Nasal Pressure Points
When I was pregnant with my son, I was instructed by a doctor to massage certain points around my nose to stimulate my sinuses to relieve pressure. However, when I look online for great, solid information to give you, all I get is a lot of acupressure mumbo jumbo. I’m not saying that acupressure doesn’t work, but I do not want to lead you to sites that believe in mysticism. I believe that we do have pressure points and nerve endings that are very useful to relieve pressure, but I do not believe in adding mystical properties to these points. Research sinus pressure points and you can at least find diagrams of where to apply pressure for sinus headache relief.
- Neti Pot
I really love my Neti Pot. When I have a cold, I use it to rinse my sinuses. If I have allergies, I use it to get rid of extra pollen hiding in my nose. When I have a headache, I use it to provide relief to my sinuses to assure that they are not causing the headache. On Amazon, I found this ceramic pot that states specifically that it is lead-free –> Ceramic Neti Pot
- Steam from Water
Steam is wonderful for relaxing the muscles in the head and sinus region. At times, I’ve added herbs to the steam to boost its effectiveness. Be sure to take long, deep breaths and stay a safe distance away from the pot. If it feels painful, you are too close to the steam.
- Cayenne Tincture or Cayenne Pepper in Food
Cayenne Pepper works in two different ways. It dilates your blood vessels allowing blood to flow more freely and it prevents blood clots.2 Some find relief from headaches through adding a little bit of cayenne tincture to a cup full of water with a tablespoon of ACV, honey, and lemon. You can also eat highly spiced foods in order to get a similar effect. Indian curries often contain cayenne pepper as well as turmeric that has anti-inflammatory properties.
- Turmeric
Since I mentioned it in the point above on the headache remedy list, I wanted to emphasize the benefit of anti-inflammatory and anti-spasmodic herbs. Turmeric has both properties. As with cayenne, you can eat turmeric in meals, such as curry, or you can take turmeric pills. This is my go to –> turmeric supplement.
- ACV Compress
With a heat headache or a headache in the frontal area of the head (often called a stress headache), an apple cider vinegar compress can be very soothing. The ACV has many probiotics and it is slightly acidic. While
- Deep Breathing
Deep breathing can help headaches much like sleep can help alleviate some headaches. When we give oxygen to our body and focus on breathing rather than stress, our bodies can naturally relax blood vessels and muscles causing strain. Giving our bodies more oxygen is a great option for natural relief.
- Cod Liver Oil
Cod liver oil is super nutritious and giving our bodies a shot of Vitamin A and D can help to alleviate the symptoms of a headache. In addition, if your headache is being caused by a nutrient deficiency, cod liver oil may over time build back your nutrient stores and stop your headache at its source.
- Hydrate with Natural Salt
When we lack electrolytes and the natural minerals in natural salt, our bodies may respond with headaches. You can add a pinch of sea salt to your filtered water in order to help your body replenish the minerals that are lost through sweat and minerals that are not gained through table salt and other nutrient lacking foods.
- Posture/Chiropractor
Our posture and our spinal condition can be a reason for frequent headaches. Whether through Pilates and building up your muscle strength in order to strengthen your core and naturally align your back or through using chiropractic care to align your spine, you may find serious relief by attending to your spine. I love to do both when both are available! Your spine will thank you!
- Vitamin B
Vitamin B deficiencies cause headaches. Find a great source of bioavailable Vitamin B complex. Since they are water soluble, you can easily boost your Vitamin B safely!
- Detox Bath
Add some magnesium salt, epsom salts, bentonite clay, and/or activated charcoal to your bath water to help daw toxins out of your body and into the water. You will want to have some magnesium type salts to pull the toxins out and you will want the clay or charcoal to bind with the toxins so that they are not reabsorbed. If you immediately get a headache after breathing in a toxin (such as paint, paint thinner, craft supplies, gasoline, etc.) or injecting a toxin (such as a vaccine), this can be a great solution to cleanse your body.
- Herbal Tincture – Feverfew
If you are not pregnant and not TTC, feverfew is an herb that is known for helping headaches. While it does not smell very nice, a little bit of grossness may help a lot of pain!
- Caffeine – blood restrictor
While most often we utilize blood dilators in order to remedy headaches, at times people can feel relief by using a substance that restricts the blood flow. Caffeine may help certain headaches by restricting the flow of blood.
When Nothing Works for Headaches
I have friends who have tried all sorts of natural remedies and still are plagued by headaches. While this can be literally painful, I feel that next steps must be taken past simple changes. Here are a few ideas for dealing with a long term problem with a long term solution:
- Make radical changes to your diet –> You must take out foods from your diet to be sure that none of these are causing your headaches. Common traitor foods are MSG, food dyes, dairy, gluten, sugar, mold (often in older produce), and alcohol.
- Get your hormones checked. All of them. –> When our hormones are out of balance, we will show signs of this through headaches and other symptoms such as weight gain, anger, being cold/hot, etc..
- Detox your environment. –> Toxins in your environment may be leading to your headaches. Detox your home by getting rid of cleaners with toxic chemicals, fabric softeners, candles, plug-ins, scented moisturizers, shampoos with toxic chemicals, hair spray, and more. Cleanse your home to cleanse your head.
- Detox your emotions. –> Our psychological issues can definitely show up manifested in the physical. If you are constantly at odds with someone in your life, you may need to forgive and let go of this pain to heal yourself. They may not deserve your forgiveness, but forgiveness is for you not for them. You are allowing yourself to move past the pain. In addition, toxic friendships can bring on stress, which leads to headaches. Find these areas and find some peace in resolutions.
- Peace with God. –> I believe that God is our healer. If you share this belief, take some time each day to pray to Jesus to ask for His healing and for direction in this problem. He is faithful and you will get answers when you listen.
Also, take a look at my disclaimer page. I’m not a doctor! What a shocker. Always do your own research and go to the doctor when you need to go.
Conclusion of the Headache Remedy List
I hope that my headache remedy list can give you a great starting point in helping you and your family deal with finding solutions without using chemicals that will over time hurt your liver. Often, I start with the natural remedies and on rare occasions when I have no relief, I will use other options. However, I notice that most headaches that are that bad are my own fault! I didn’t listen to my body prior to the headache.
Thank you for your joining me on my blog and I hope that you will take a moment to check out what else this site has to offer 🙂
Brooke Shambley
THE Boholistic Mom
Sources for the Headache Remedy List
- Key minerals to help control blood pressure – Harvard Health
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