What to do against a headache? 12 home remedies and tips

Exercise relieves headaches

If you have an acute headache, it helps to walk a few steps in the fresh air. Take a little walk or go jogging. This refreshes and ensures that the head is supplied with sufficient oxygen. It also reduces stress. If you have a migraine, however, it is better not to exercise, as this usually makes the symptoms worse.

Exercise also helps prevent headaches caused by tension in the neck and back.

• While standing, turn your head to the right as far as possible, then to the left as far as possible.
• Slowly tilt your head toward your right shoulder, then your left shoulder. The gaze remains directed to the front.

Bathing relaxes the muscles.

Tense muscles in the back and neck can trigger headaches. In addition to stretching exercises, a warm bath can help relieve cramps and headaches. A water temperature of 38 degrees is ideal. Bath additives such as rosemary ensure the muscles are even better supplied with blood.

If you don’t have a bathtub, showering can also help against headaches. If tension is behind the symptoms, it is best to increase the temperature in the shower from tolerably cool to warm. In this way, tension is released more quickly.

If you don’t have time for a full bath or a shower, you can relax your muscles with a hair dryer massage. To do this, set the hair dryer to “warm” and let the airflow circle the back of your head, neck and shoulders for a few minutes.

Coffee takes away the pain.

Coffee increases blood flow to the brain, which can help relieve headaches. If the coffee alone doesn’t help, you can add a squeeze of lemon. This mixture should not only drive away tension headaches but also alleviate migraine attacks. Treatment with coffee works particularly well for people who generally drink little or no coffee. If you don’t like coffee, green or black tea can also bring a similar effect.

Good to know: If you regularly drink coffee or other caffeinated beverages and suddenly stop drinking them, this can cause withdrawal symptoms in the form of headaches. Overdosing on large amounts of caffeine can also cause headaches.

Cold rag for headaches

A cold washcloth is the classic home remedy for headaches. Thanks to its cooling effect, it improves blood circulation and thus has a soothing effect: place the washcloth on your forehead and rest for a few minutes. Alternatively, you can hold your head under cold water for a moment or jump straight into the shower.

Proper nutrition prevents headaches.

Even if scientific studies have not been able to establish a clear connection between a specific fluid intake and the prevention of headaches, there is no harm in drinking between two and three litres of water every day.

To prevent headaches, you should not only drink enough but also eat enough. Otherwise, the blood sugar level drops and headaches can occur. Therefore, eat regularly – preferably whole grain products, as these keep the blood sugar level stable over a longer period. They are also rich in magnesium, which relaxes muscles and calms nerves.

You should avoid sweet and fatty foods if you suffer from frequent headaches. Certain foods, such as red wine, cheese or bananas, are also suspected of promoting migraine attacks. Whether – and if so, which – foods can cause headaches varies from person to person. In general, it is advisable to avoid alcohol if you tend to get headaches, as this leads to a loss of fluid and minerals in the body, which can promote headaches.

Gentle pressure massage: Relieve headaches with acupressure

If you have a headache, try acupressure, a gentle pressure massage: place your fingers on the pain points on your temples or forehead. The relevant points are located on the temple about a finger’s breadth next to the eyebrow and on the forehead in the middle above the eyebrows. Pain points can also be found behind the ears and in the middle of the bridge of the nose.

Massaging the pressure point between the eyes can also help relieve the pain. Maintain pressure and friction for at least 30 seconds. You can then repeat the small massage as often as you like.

Relaxation is important

If you find yourself getting a headache, stop working for a moment. Take a break and do some relaxation or breathing exercises. Autogenic training and progressive muscle relaxation, according to Jacobsen, are well-suited. A short nap can work wonders if you have more time. A power nap of no more than 20 minutes is well suited.

Peppermint relieves pain

When it comes to headaches, it doesn’t always have to be pills. Try some peppermint oil first. Apply the popular home remedy to the pain points on the temple or forehead and let it work there. The oil relaxes the muscles and activates the cold sensors. The headache usually subsides quickly. Due to possible allergic reactions, you should first test the peppermint oil on an inconspicuous skin area.

 

Tea for headaches

Tea can also help with mild headaches. Due to their high caffeine content, green and black tea and guarana tea, for example, are recommended, but woodruff tea is also suitable. The reason for this is the coumarin it contains, which has a vasodilating and antispasmodic effect. Again, when consumed in large amounts, coumarin can have the exact opposite effect, causing headaches, drowsiness, and (in prolonged overdoses) liver damage.

A fixed daily rhythm prevents headaches.

A fixed daily rhythm helps to avoid strong fluctuations in blood sugar levels and neuronal overload. If you stick to fixed eating and sleeping times, you can also do something about headaches. If possible, stick to your usual rhythm even at the weekend – even if getting up early is difficult.

Pills for severe pain

Feel free to take a headache pill if you suffer from severe headaches. Effective drugs include acetylsalicylic acid or paracetamol. Don’t resort to such remedies immediately at the first hum – but don’t wait until the pain becomes unbearable.

It would help if you didn’t take headache pills too often. Anyone who takes painkillers more than ten days a month and for more than three consecutive days runs the risk of triggering painkiller-related headaches and thus making the symptoms worse.

Seek medical advice for frequent complaints.

If you have frequent headaches or the pain is particularly severe, seek medical advice. Depending on the type of headache (e.g. migraine, tension or cluster headache ), the treatment of the symptoms can also differ.

In addition to an appointment in the family doctor’s practice, visiting an ophthalmologist and a dentist’s practice may also be helpful. Headaches can also be triggered by poor eyesight and improper stress in the jaw.