Nearly all people at some point in their life experience a headache. A headache can range from just a slight dull ache, to a pounding, sinus crushing, temple popping period of intense pain. Fortunately, there are several effective natural headache remedies for a variety of headache types.

Before you start to treat a headache, it is very important to know what type of headache you have.

There are two main types, primary, and secondary.

A primary headache is the most common. These are when the main condition is the headache and related head pain. These include migraine headaches, tension headaches, cluster headaches, dehydration headaches, etc. Usually, a primary headache is not dangerous, but it can be very painful, and make life nearly unbearable. But, the underlying medical condition is just the headache, not something more complicated. So if you treat the headache, you will eliminate the medical problem, so to speak.

Then there are secondary headaches. These are more dangerous because they are a symptom of a (usually) major health problem. They can pose an immediate threat, and cannot be treated with herbal or general OTC medications.  For example, a brain tumor can put pressure on the cranium, and result in extreme headaches. Another source of a secondary headache is a brain hemmorage. A severe hit to the head can cause head trauma, such as water on the brain, or other inflammation that will cause a severe headache. All of these are very serious, and a little aspirin or a little lavender won’t do anything to solve these problems. Only a doctor or medical professional will know how to treat such underlying causes, and eliminate the source of the headache.

So, assuming you have a primary headache, here are a few natural headache remedies that are used to treat them:

Feverfew – This is probably one of the best herbs for eliminating migraines. Feverfew reduces the frequency of migraines, the time they last, and the amount of pain the cause. Best to take feverfew every day if you want the migraine relief. It will not stop a migraine once it starts…it is more a preventative measure.

Peppermint oil – Rubbing a 10% peppermint oil solution gently on the forehead can relieve the pain and intensity of a regular dehydration or tension headache.

Tiger Balm – This is a combination of several essential oils, and it has a similar application and effect as peppermint oil. It is sold over the counter at many health food and supplement stores, or it can be found online. It has also proven effective to relieve headache pain.

Melatonin – It turns out this supplement has some studies that demonstrate it will decrease the amount of monthly migraines a person will have. It needs to be taken every day, but it can be an effective natural migraine remedy.

There are several other   successful herbal headache remedies , but these are some of the most effective for stopping migraines and tension headaches.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 at 9:18 pm and is filed under Nutrition Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.