headaches: non-corporate cures

I am a big believer in drinking a glass of water if you have a headache. The number one cause of headaches is actually dehydration - I honestly think that half the reason aspirin is effective is because of the glass of water people take it with, rather than the medicine itself.

Also, well placed massages do wonders. "Eye Sex" (i.e. extended rubbing of the eye sockets) and massaging of the temples are good.

A better thing to do, though, is preventative measures. Food intolerances cause more headaches than anything else, so it's a good idea to keep track of whether there are certain things which trigger headaches. Also, if you *know* that it is eye strain, taking hourly tea breaks/walking about the room helps. As does the occasional focus near/focus far exercise - crucial for people who wear eyeglasses.

Hope some of this helps...

(i am actually pretty good with reading breaks seeing as i have the attention span of a small kitten)

When we were in Bangkok, we used to get loads of young lads selling Tiger Balm from wicker baskets. I didn't know you were supposed to rub it onto a Temple!

Also, if your headache is attributable to tension in the shoulders / back of neck, lying on your bed, on your back with your head hanging over the edge can bring relief.

Unless you want to walk around looking like Gwynneth Paltrow all day.

of course, even maintaining these things sometimes leaves me with headaches, but i think i do an ok job of managing them with watching what i eat and drink. good luck!

Just read that depression can (but not always of course) be cured by popping omega-three. Maybe I should give it a try. :-) A specialist claims that all mental conditions (depression) as well as headaches can be traced to one source: the body. I don't know... Could be.

(i wz hopin for more "st mug's wort" type answers actually = fake science which really works)

mm, i dunno: i do get headaches from both. i don't think it worsens my eyesight, but it probably isn't good for it either.

i guess saying depression comes from the body is one way of goosing that descartes fella!

A specialist in what, though?
I'd be deeply suspicious of that claim - its very reductionist - very few mental conditions can be traced to simply one source.

i know that when i used to ingest caffienated products, eat a lot of junk food, drink alcohol, stress myself out and spend too much time staring at a computer, i had a lot of headaches. for me, the change was strictly dietary and it helped to balance out the other part. i havent had a headache in well over a year.

Is there any chance these are sinus headaches? I have lots of cures for those, although so far I have only really found ways of making my chronic sinus condition (is it chronic sinusitis? I don't see any doctors telling me that) go away. (If I have to forgive everyone I'm angry with, as some holistic approaches suggest, I guess I won't be getting rid of my sinus problems any time soon.)

x-post

Teeny reminds me: my long ago (and admitedly sometimes flakey, though in a charming sort of way) x-girlfriend has been talking up something called "Emotional Freedom Technique" which is based on traditional Chinese medicine in some way. I admit the name sounds pretty bogus. It's supposed to good for more than just emotional problems.

re-upping this in case anyone has good ideas -- i am once again trying to cut down on paracetamol aka acetaminophen in particular >:(

lucozade and dehydrated plantain chips

absolute darkness and silence and a bed

that’s all i got

i tackled this (mild-to-annoying) one with peppermint oil to the temples -- it works for a while but i can feel it coming back

avoiding overuse of pharmaceuticals is good, but as I've aged I've realized not using them enough can also be a problem

it's a bad idea to take any NSAID all the time or in huge dosages, and it's important to be aware of side effects and contraindications, but for most people most of the time their benefits outweigh their risks

for occasional use I like aspirin, and for less frequent use for more severe pain, naproxen sodium (Aleve)

after 125 years as a cheap miracle drug, aspirin gets taken for granted, as if ubiquity has made it less effective; maybe it needs some kind of steampunk rebranding

my dad has taken tylenol three times a day for 6 years :/

weed

Boswellia is supposed to help prevent headaches, according to my migraine doctors. I take 800 mg a day, Swanson brand. I don't know if it's helping but it seems harmless at least.

Sometimes when I feel a migraine starting I can chase it away by doing some form of cardio for a half hour - biking and swimming are the ones that work best for me. The main thing is it needs to be steady, so I can get my heart rate up and keep it up. But it only works if I do it before the migraine has fully set in, otherwise it makes it worse.