Headaches

Also check out: Migraine Blog Migraines (my story), Food Sensitivity, Gluten Grief, Artificial Sweeteners (Aspartame), Thyroid Quiz, Magnesium

There are many different types of headaches and they are common but not normal—our heads are not supposed to hurt. When they do, I don’t believe that is because of a deficiency of pain killing drugs. If headaches are chronic or even frequent, it is obviously smart to make sure there is not some dangerous disease process going on. Most often however, headaches are caused by factors that we can control with diet and lifestyle. It makes sense to get to the root cause of the problem. For example, most chronic sinus headaches are caused by yeast (not bacteria). The story of my personal recovery from almost 2 decade of suffering migraines illustrates the sometimes tortured path in solving the riddle.

News:

Study on alternative methods for migraine
Increasing omega-3 fats and reducing omega-6 helped headaches
Various alternatives used with headaches in children

Notes on various types of headaches:

Stress Headaches. Emotional stress is an obvious cause of headaches and eliminating the offending situation isn’t always practical. However, emotional strains bother us more if we are: lacking in sleep, low in B-vitamins or short on magnesium. One often overlooked physical stressor is having your spine misaligned, so visiting a chiropractor is a good idea. Misaligned teeth or dental work is another solvable problem. Emotional stress is a biggie and solving the problem that is causing the stress is obviously best. (Maybe there is a clue on this Library Stress Page.)

Eye-strain related. You don’t need me to tell you to get away from the computer (I need to) but maybe a reminder to get an eye exam wouldn’t hurt.

From chemicals. Some chemicals in sufficient concentration will give anyone a headache. They are poisons and thank goodness our brains warn us to get away from them. (Many people get headaches from the chemical MSG monosodium glutamate because it excites nerves.) However, if you are more sensitive than other folks, you may have some of the same compounding factors I discuss in the story on my own migraines—for example, a gut not working properly. It seems counter-intuitive to think of our intestines in solving a pain at the other end of our bodies, but the gut affects all parts of the body working. If you just generally feel toxic, you might try the Detox Formula from Lily of the Desert.

Home remedy. Prevention is ever so much more pleasant and efficient than treatment, but if you do get a headache, you might try this approach. I found some symptom relief by putting an ice pack on my forehead and a heat source on the back of my neck. Even a sock filled with dry rice and heated in the microwave works.

Book:
Headache Free: Relieve Migraine, Tension, Cluster, Menstrual and Lyme Headaches by Suzie Cohen, RpH

Links:
National Headache Foundation
Patients Group