Headaches
Headaches afflict almost
everyone at some time or the other. Most headaches are functional, caused by
temporary upsets and are not related to any organic changes in the brain. A headache
is often nature’s warning that something is wrong somewhere in the body. The
actual pain, however, arises from irritation to nerve endings in the shoulder,
neck and scalp muscles and also in the smooth muscles encircling the blood
vessels which serve these areas. There are several types of headaches, with as
many ways of treating them. Taking an aspirin or tranquiliser may provide
temporary relief but it does not remove the cause. Moreover, the frequent use
of pain-relievers causes nervous debility, weakens the heart and brings on
other complications.
The common causes of headaches are allergy,
emotional reasons, eyestrain, high blood pressure, hangover, infection, low
blood sugar, nutritional deficiency, tension, the presence of poisons and
toxins in the body, and migraine. Allergies, an often unsuspected cause of headache,
vary in different individuals. The foods to which some people are allergic and
which can trigger headaches are milk and milk products, chocolates, chicken
liver, alcohol and strong cheese. Sneezing and diarrhea are further indications
of an allergy. Intense emotions often cause headaches. Many people who
outwardly appear to have a pleasant disposition may actually be simmering about
a job, or may bear resentment towards a person or something. This hidden
hostility may manifest itself as headache. It is important, therefore, that
negative feelings should not be bottled up, but should find some safe means of expressions.
Eye-strain is a common cause of
headache. In such cases, an eye specialist should be consulted and proper
treatment taken. Simple eye exercises such as moving the eyes up and down and
from side to side, palming, rotating the head, with neck outstretched, forward
and backward three times, then thrice clockwise and thrice anti-clockwise , can
relieve eye-strain. High blood pressure can cause pounding headaches. The
headache usually starts at the back of the head on getting up in the morning. A
safe method of treatment for this is to immerse your legs to calf-level in a
tub of hot water for 15 to 20 minutes. This draws the blood away from the head
and down to the feet, giving relief from the headache.
Many people get a severe headache after consuming alcohol in excess. Alcohol causes
the blood vessels to swell, resulting in a painful headache. The best treatment
for this is to avoid excessive consumption of alcohol. A hangover headache can
be avoided by taking a vitamin B-1 (thiamine) tablet with the drink. Headaches
may occur if there is an infection, such as a cold, virus and fever. Here, it
is the infection that should be tackled. Vitamin C therapy is the best all
round method. For a cold, high doses of vitamin C should be taken at hourly
intervals with the appearance of the first symptoms like a sore throat, runny
nose, etc. Vitamin C has worked miracles, and is considered a natural antibiotic.
Low blood sugar is one of the causes
of irritability and headache. Sugar is not a cure for low blood sugar, though
it may raise the blood sugar temporarily and make one feel better for a while.
Low blood sugar is the result of an abused pancreas which over stimulates the
production of insulin in the body. It can be controlled by eating smaller meals
at short intervals rather than the standard three large meals daily. The intake
of carbohydrates should be cut down to the minimum and coffee should be
eliminated as it over stimulates the pancreas. A lack of iron, resulting in anemia,
is a common cause of headache. The headache sometimes appears before the onset
of anemia, due to a chronic iron deficiency. Brewer’s yeast is an excellent
source of iron and anemia can easily be prevented by taking a few teaspoons
daily.
Headache can also be brought
on due to the deficiency of B vitamins , namely pantothenic acid, B-1
(thiamine) , B-12 and B-6 (pyridoxine) and can be cured by taking these vitamins.
When taking any of the B-vitamin factors separately, it is absolutely essential
to add the entire B-complex range to one’s diet in some form such as Brewer’s
yeats, liver, wheat germ, etc., otherwise too much of one factor can throw the
other factors into imbalance, resulting in other problems. Actually, the entire
B complex group itself serves as protection against headaches, including
migraine.
Tension
headaches
are probably the most common of all, and are caused by emotional conflicts which
result in stress. Stress causes the muscles of the shoulder, neck and scalp to
tense unconsciously. Persons who are irritable, tense and lose their temper
quickly usually get this type of headache. It increases gradually and passes
off with the release of tension. One should try to relieve the stress which
produces the headache. Poisons and toxins admitted into the body through food,
beverages and water, as well as through breathing, polluted air, can cause any
number of disturbances. A headache may be the first warning that a poison has
entered the body. Additives in foods and in many cases, cosmetics, skin and
hair products are also serious offenders in bringing on headaches. In addition,
there are toxic air contaminants which are too numerous to mention.
Hydrotherapy
There are certain water applications
which help relieve headaches. Copious drinking of water can help, as do the
cleansing enema with water temperature at 98.6°F, the hot foot bath, a cold
throat pack, frequent applications of towels wrung out from very hot water to
the back of the neck, a cold compress at 40° to 60°F applied to the head and
face or an alternate spinal compress. Hot fomentations over the abdominal
region just before retiring relieve headaches due to stomach and liver upsets.
Yogic kriyas like jalneti and kunjal,
pranayamas like anuloma-viloma, shitali and sitkari and asanas such as
uttanapadasana, sarvangasana, paschimottanasana, halasana and shavasana are
useful in the treatment of headaches.
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