Do you often feel that there is a tight band around your forehead putting excessive pressure and causing pain? If you have sudden episodes of pain in your head, behind your eyes or the neck, then you might be experiencing tension headaches. While tension headaches are not as intense as migraines, these can be bothersome and if not treated can turn chronic. Try the home remedies for how to get rid of a tension headache and get great relief from the trouble.
A tension headache results in mild to moderate pain in the head and feels like someone is tightly holding your forehead.
Following are the signs of tension headaches:
Muscle contractions in the neck or head result in tension headaches. These contractions may be a result of:
Tension headaches can start gradually and may take 30 minutes to subside or last for a couple of days.
Tension headaches are common. Older teens and adults experience them with women being more prone to them. You can always take over the counter medications to subside the pain, but taking in too many drugs isn’t good for your overall health in the long run.
Your body might become accustomed to such medications and may not respond to them causing rebound headaches. Chronic tension headaches occur for more than 15 days of a month, hence taking such drugs is not advisable. Instead, you can opt for natural remedies for how to get rid of a tension headache. These effectively relieve you of the pain without any side-effect.
Your food choices may also trigger a tension headache; hence it is essential to monitor your eating habits. If you are prone to frequent episodes of tension headaches, then switch to a healing diet that helps to relax your muscles and reduce stress. Include the following foods in your diet:
While some foods can help you relax, some foods can trigger a headache. Eliminate such foods from your diet. These include:
Those looking for what to take for a tension headache must try willow bark tea that can significantly reduce the pain. Willow bark has some potent properties that make it a highly effective remedy for tension headache treatment. Know how you can use this amazing herb for getting rid of a tension headache and neck pain.
The bark of willow tree is known to contain healing properties. Thus, sipping the tea made using the bark can help in easing severe headache. Please note that willow bark contains an active ingredient known as salicin which has pain-relieving properties similar to aspirin. Hence, instead of popping up an aspirin now and then, sip willow bark tea that provides you quick relief without any side-effects.
Willow bark might irritate the lining of your stomach. Hence, you must consult your doctor before using the remedy.
Peppermint Essential Oil is popularly used in aromatherapy for its sharp aroma that can treat numerous health conditions. You can use this potent essential oil for easing stress induced tension headache. The sharp scent of the oil boosts your brain and relaxes the stressed muscle causing tension headache.
Peppermint essential oil is one of the best remedies for how to get rid of a tension headache. It promotes blood circulation and prevents muscle contractions that may cause pain. Further, it has a soothing, cooling effect that calms your body and helps it to relax. Thus, it can effectively treat a tension headache and nausea as well.
Peppermint essential oil is highly potent; hence you must dilute it with a carrier oil before applying it topically on your body.
Tension headaches during pregnancy are common. It is normal for the expecting mother to get anxious about the changes happening in her body. As such, many women experience tension headaches during this time. However, if not taken care of, the headaches can become severe and chronic. Some women report for having tension headache for a week which is not good for their health. To get relief from tension headaches, one can try acupressure technique.
Acupressure is one of the best techniques for how to get rid of a tension headache. The depression points near the base of your skull are the tension headache relief pressure points. Pressing them can help alleviate the pain.
Apply light pressure to reduce the pain.
Most of the people today suffer from magnesium deficiency which is known to play a vital role in the functioning of the nervous system and preventing muscle contractions. A lesser amount of magnesium in your body might be one of the primary reasons that you are suffering from tension headache and anxiety. Ease the symptoms by taking in magnesium.
A stressful lifestyle of yours may cause depletion of magnesium, an essential nutrient. Magnesium is known to prevent muscle tension and maintain your serotonin levels. Low serotonin levels in your body are associated with vascular spasms that may result in tension headaches.
Further, magnesium is also known to improve the flow of blood to the brain promoting healthy cognitive functioning. Thus taking in magnesium supplements can help in treating tension headache and dizziness due to reduced blood flow to the brain.
Your intake of magnesium must be within the recommended dosage. People suffering from diarrhea should take it in lesser amounts.
Following are the techniques that may help reduce stress which is the primary cause of tension headaches:
Besides the stress-reducing treatments, introducing the following lifestyle changes can reduce the headache episodes:
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While tension headaches are often mild, in some cases they can be intense too. As such, one may term a severe episodic tension headache as a migraine attack, but it is not so. People with frequent tension headache episodes can have migraines too, but there is much difference between a migraine and a tension headache. Tension headaches usually cause mild pain in the head while migraines are characterized by intense throbbing pain on one side or whole head. Also, tension headaches do not cause visual disturbances, vomiting or nausea that accompany a migraine and are not affected by physical activity.
Tension headaches can be bothersome and affect your routine life. Follow the remedies mentioned above for how to get rid of a tension headache and get quick relief from the symptoms. These remedies are highly effective in subsiding the pain and reducing the headache episodes.