HEADACHE
from The Hazelbrook PS Newsletter
The Taber’s Medical Dictionary defines a headache as “ a diffuse pain in different portions of the head & not confined to any nerve distribution area. May be acute or chronic.”
Headache can effect any part of the head & the character of the pain may vary from a dull ache to unbearable. It may be intermittently intense, throbbing, a pressure pain that feels as if the head will burst or a penetrating pain driving through the head.
Some causes of headaches are due to disease of the sinus, teeth, eye, ear, nose, throat; acute infections or trauma to the head. Chronic headaches may be caused by a variety of conditions including physical, emotional, psychosomatic, fevers; metabolic conditions, bad posture, hyperventilation ( full blown or chronic such as in asthma ) or exposure to toxic chemicals.
One of the most common causes of headache is dehydration. Always make several glasses of water the first treatment for headache. If other symptoms such as fever are present, professional advice may be needed. If not, there are some wonderfully effective natural remedies.
1) Drink a third of a teaspoon of Celtic sea salt in a glass of warm water (very effective).
2) A few drops of lavender oil applied to the brow.
3) Gentle massage of the shoulders & neck.
4) Sit quietly & breathe as gently as you can though the nose only.
5) Lie flat on your back with a firmly rolled towel under your neck at the base of the head. Again, keep the breathing as gentle as possible & nasal ( always ).
6) Sometimes a really good sleep or a change of diet is all that is needed.