You likely know the feeling well. You’re making your way through a busy day when all of a sudden, a certain throbbing comes on. Within minutes, you’re in the midst of a splitting and painful headache.
Frequent headaches can be disruptive, uncomfortable, and can feel downright impossible to deal with. They are a major concern for anyone hoping to make it through their weekly schedules in one piece. Something must be done.
Luckily, there are many at-home remedies one can try to help relieve themselves from the problem of such medical maladies. Headache relief is possible, one just needs to find the right approach for themselves.
What might that approach be? Read on and we’ll walk you through a few key suggestions.
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Over-the-Counter Medications
If you’re suffering from a more minor headache, typically any type of over-the-counter pain management medication should be helpful to dull the pain at least a little. There are a lot of different options out there.
Often, those medications that contain only one type of drug, such as Advil or Tylenol, tend to be the most effective. Medications that contain caffeine or aspirin tend to be quite effective in combating headaches as well.
Most people tend to have these painkillers already in their own home, making it convenient and accessible.
If you have a more extreme headache that is verging on becoming a migraine, that might require more power than what a simple OTC medication can really provide. However, if you feel a dull poinding just starting to come on, grabbing these pills can help quash it before it becomes too much to handle.
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Prescription Drug Medications
What if your headaches are of the more extreme variety? Frequent migraines might be enough to get a prescription from your doctor. They will likely point you towards medications that can help.
It’s important to talk to your doctor about any and all prescription medications that you choose to take. People respond differently to different medications. While we will outline a few popular prescription drug options here, it’s important not to take anything without ensuring with a medical professional that it is right for you.
Triptans are a variety of prescription drugs that work to stimulate the production of serotonin in the brain. Serotonin, if you’re not aware, is a neurotransmitter that helps to reduce inflammation.
Inflammation in the brain often produces constricted blood vessels, which is the origin of many headaches and migraines. More serotonin means less constriction, and this can mean goodbye to that nasty headache.
Frova, Amerge, Relpax, and Zomig are among some of the more popular triptan medications available to consumers today. Most come in pill form but some can be injected or come in the form of a nasal spray.
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At-Home Remedies
There are many simple things one can do at home to help remedy their terrible headaches. These might not always work, but they are well worth trying before shelling out money on more expensive possible solutions.
Drinking water is always a good idea to start. Dehydration is also often a cause of headaches and providing the body with more water can help to relieve these issues.
Apply hot or cold compresses to the head can also help to lessen the pain of a headache. An ice pack or a cold cloth laid over the head can help dull pain. A low-set heating pad or a hot towel can also be used.
Even stepping into a hot, humid shower can help to lessen some of the pain.
Peppermint oil dabbed onto the temples also has been known to help relieve tension. Eating ginger-based products and smelling soothing, relaxing scents has also been shown to help decrease tension in the body, thus lessening the impact of headaches.
Applying these kinds of products and taking the time to settle and relax can have great results. The more you relax, the more tension leaves the body and a headache can go away.
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Surgery and Therapy
What should you do if serious headaches keep coming on and just never seem to go away? More serious steps might need to be taken to ensure that a less disruptive future is possible.
Sometimes, issues in the brain lead to these headaches. Surgery or therapy, such as neurofeedback therapy, might need to be considered. But what is neurofeedback therapy, exactly?
It’s a form of therapy that involves training the brain to self-regulate better. It takes time, but it can help to reduce the frequency and severity of headaches. It will help to eliminate irregular brainwaves, creating a more relaxed environment in the skull.
It can also help struggling individuals to increase their quality of sleep.
Decompression of the sensory nerves around the periphery of the skull can lead to a decrease in headaches as well. This is often done via surgery, though it is a generally simple surgery.
A person is put under local anesthesia and the entire process is usually done within an hour or two. The surgery tends to help eliminate headaches for a large majority of those who elect to get it.
However, it’s important to get a doctor’s approval before signing up to get a procedure as involved as surgery.
Fighting Against Frequent Headaches
Suffering from frequent headaches can be more than annoying, it can be a total disruption to one’s way of life. If you’re hoping to fight back against this reoccurring issue, the above remedies and suggestions can be incredibly beneficial.
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