SolveYourProblem eLearning Series: Headache Relief & Treatment
Help, My Headache Is Killing Me!
Migraine Headaches, Sinus Headaches & Tension Headaches

51.

Quit smoking if you can. Smoking can affect your head in a very bad way. In fact smoking affects the functioning of every part of your body. When you smoke you are actually submitting your body and the various mechanisms that go on to the power of a very strong alkaloid that is nicotine. So if you can quit smoking by all means do. It will help you live a better life and can contribute much towards eliminating your headache.

In fact, if your headache goes away when you start smoking it means that your body has already become dependent on nicotine. In that case your headache may be a withdrawal symptom.

There are many things that are identified with substance abuse. Alcohol is one of them, narcotic drugs are another and tobacco is in no way to be left behind. The problem, or let us say that the similarity among all these substances is that once one gets used to them, breaking away is not easy.

Contrary to popular belief, it is not the fear of deprivation of the pleasantly high feeling that drives the person to use the substance again and again so that it is used, misused and eventually abused. The person returns for his or her daily shot because of certain altered conditions in the body. These substances are indeed very potent and they affect certain specific spots or centers of the brain.

The brain quickly gets used to these alterations and then before we know it, these centers of the brain cannot do without the daily doze of the substance. The brain did not ask for the substance in the first place but we gave them to it. When we experience that pleasantly high feeling we do not bother about the changes that are taking place within.

It is common knowledge that the entire processes carried about in the brain are maintained by a delicate balance of the various chemical slats there. Once we start using substances like the above mentioned tobacco, narcotics and alcohol, the balance of these chemical salts gets altered.

The body as I mentioned earlier is a self adjusting machine and so this new chemical balance is established and it takes no time for the brain cells to get adjusted to the new balance.

Then when the brain cells do not get what is required to maintain the new balance (read that as the daily puffs) things go hay wire. The old balance was disturbed and altered and a new balance was set up.

But this new balance is not the real natural thing. It is something that has to be artificially supported and when that daily, or timely dose of nicotine does not get to the brain, the new balance gets upset.

52.

Coffee is actually bad for you. Just like nicotine, caffeine in coffee is bad for you. If you have the habit of drinking a cup of coffee at a fixed time every day, you will in all likelihood end up with a headache if your body does not get that required dose of coffee.

The point to ponder about is this, why do you have to make your body dependent on external substances when it can function very well without these substances.

53.

Drink plenty of water. Water is the most important substance that your body needs. If you are not drinking enough water, you may suffer from a dehydration headache. For a person to remain healthy he or she must drink at least ten glasses of water a day. If your intake of water is less than this then by all means drink more water.

Water is indeed the elixir of life. The more water you drink, the better you will feel. If you do not drink enough water, the water balance of the body will be completely disrupted. Make no mistake about this. Te major content of all the cells in your body is indeed water. And when your body does not get enough water, it will end up dehydrated. This will invariably result in a headache.

54.

Do not let water get into your ears. This is especially true if you take dips in a pool. In this case, the best thing you can do is cover your hair and ears with a bathing cap. In most pools chemicals are added to the water to keep it clean and disinfected. These chemicals however are not the best thing for your body and hair. So it is always advisable to cover your head with some protective material.

If water does go into your ears try and take it out as soon as you can. Other wise you will develop a ringing sensation in your ears which is next door to a headache. The best way to get rid of the water in your ear is to pour in a little more water and then tilt you head to the side of the ear that has water in it. The result is that all the water will come out of your ear.

55.

Cool your eye muscles with slices of cucumber. This is a wonderful way to relax yourself. If you have had a hard day or have had to be out in the sun for long, the best thing that you can do to soothe yourself is to apply a slice of cucumber to each of your eyes.

This is a 100% natural method of cooling your eyes and you will be surprised at how refreshed you feel when you remove those slices after a couple of minutes.

56.

Eye exercises are good for you. Below you can find tips on how to exercise your eyes.

1. Stare straight ahead of you preferably at a distant object.

2. Close your eyes and let any glimmers of light fade away.

3. Now open your eyes and move your eye balls to the extreme top of your eye sockets and keep them there for a few seconds.

4. Now move them down to the extreme bottom and keep them there for a few seconds.

5. Next, move them to the extreme left.

6. Then bring them to the extreme right.

7. Finally bring them towards your nose.

8. Repeat this exercise three or four times a day.

57.

Apply a soothing face pack. Face packs are a wonderful way of de-stressing yourself. Many grocery stores and beauty supply stores carry them.

58.

You can make your own face pack at home using things that are 100% safe on your skin. One of the best face packs that I have come across that is equally effective for a sinus headache as well as a tension headache is a curd face pack.

What you have to do is chill curd in the refrigerator for a few minutes. If you do not have curd, yogurt will do. Then all you have to do is apply a thin coating of this curd or yogurt on your forehead and on the region around your eyes.

But you must be careful to see that it does not get into your eyes. When you feel that the first coat has dried up apply one more coat. Then lie down with your face up for five to ten minutes.

59.

De-stress yourself. This is particularly true for those who suffer from tension headaches. Below I have included some tips on how to distress your self.

Meditation brings with it peace of mind as we learn to observe our surroundings. We become one with it and it helps us to focus our mental energy on one thing at a time. The human mind is a virtual power house of energy but often this energy goes un-channeled or untapped.

A lot of it is lost on extraneous things. Through the process of meditation we can harness this energy and use it for constructive purposes.

In the initial stages you may find your mind drifting but gradually you will learn to focus more and more. The idea behind meditation is not to cut out all the forces around you but to become one with them.

I have seen people plug their ears with cotton to shut out sounds. But that is not the purpose that we wish to achieve. On the contrary we should focus on the sounds around us.

Be aware of them, listen to them. First listen to the bigger sounds around you like the traffic or machines or even loud music from your neighbor’s apartment.

Then listen to the softer sounds like the drone of the refrigerator, or the A/C. And then bring your attention to the sound of your own breathing. If you can actually hear yourself breathing then you have arrived and this is what you have to keep doing.

Try to focus on the ‘here’ and the ‘now’ and not on the tomorrow or the yesterday. After all we all live in todays and not in yesterdays and tomorrows!

The Mind Settling Procedure:

1. Sit comfortably in silence with your eyes closed for 30 seconds.

2. Perform a brief body massage. (Some meditation traditions recommend that the massage be executed slightly differently for men and women, and I would like to describe these recommendations here. To be frank with you I am not clear as to why these gender-related differences exist, or if the need for the differences is real.)

3. The massage begins by gently pressing the hands against the face, then upward on the top of the head, back down the neck, and towards the heart. (By the way, all massage elements move towards, and finish at the heart.)

4. Then, men continue by gently using the left hand to press and massage, first the right hand, and then up the arm, and back down towards the heart. Again, this is all done with the left hand.

5. Women do the same, but they begin by massaging the left hand and arm (back toward the heart) with the right hand. Then both men and women switch arms and massage the other hand and arm, again, back toward the heart. Then men continue by massaging the right foot and leg, upward toward the heart. This is done by pressing with both hands gently.

6. Then, massage the left foot and leg, again, upward toward the heart. Women do the same, but they begin with the left foot and leg, upward toward the heart, before repeating the process for the right foot and leg. This is best done with the eyes closed. The total time for the massage is about a minute.

7. While sitting comfortably with the back straight, perform a breathing technique that is called "pranayama." Begin with 10 seconds of fast pranayama. This is done using very short, gentle breaths, closing one nostril at a time after each outward and inward breath.

8. Close the nostrils (one at a time) with the thumb and the middle fingers (alternately) of one hand. Men use their right hand to do this while women use their left. The mechanics of the procedure are similar to slow pranayama (see below), except that the breaths are very short and rapid (although still gentle).

9. This is best done with the eyes closed. The procedure should be effortless and easy, and if someone is experiencing any problems like dizziness or hyperventilation, it is being performed incorrectly and its practice should be discontinued until getting personal instructions in this technique.

10. While sitting comfortably with the back straight, perform 9 to 10 minutes of slow pranayama. This is done similarly as with the fast pranayama, but using normal breaths (not short or long ones), closing one nostril at a time after each outward and inward breath. Be sure to complete both the outward and inward breath before switching nostrils. On exhaling, let the breath flow out naturally, not forcing it. The inhaling breath should take about half the time as the exhaling breath.

11. Hold your breath after inhaling for a brief moment (a second or two) while alternatively closing the other nostril with the other finger, and prepare to exhale. The entire procedure should be effortless and gentle. If you feel you need more air, simply take deeper breaths, but do not hyperventilate. You should be breathing normally, just alternating nostrils after exhaling and inhaling. This is best done with the eyes closed.

12. Sit quietly and comfortably for 5 minutes with the eyes closed.

60.

Listen to soft music, preferably without ear phones.

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