Natural Headache Remedies - Exposed

It is estimated that over 80% of men and 95% of women experience one or more headaches per year. And the common route of relief taken is some sort of synthetic, manufactured headache medication. However, many people around the world don't have access to synthetic medications, and those that do are now looking for safer, more natural headache remedies to relieve the pain, symptoms, and even the underlying cause of headaches.

Before you can properly treat any headache however, you need to understand what type of headache you are dealing with.

Here are some of the more common symptoms, and treaments of headaches:

Primary Headaches Are Common

Secondary Headaches - These are very serious headaches where the headache is a SYMPTOM of an underlying illness. This could be a tumor in the head, putting pressure on the skull and brain. It could be water on the brain, or even a throbbing head pain due to a cranial injury. These are very rare, and account for less than 10% of all headaches. This information will not go into diagnosis, treatment, or symptoms of secondary headaches. This requires expert, specialized medical attention well beyond the scope of any article or book. Primary Headaches - These are headaches that are common to most people, and includes migraine, tension, sinus, cluster, and various dehydration headaches. Remember, primary means the PRIMARY ILLNESS is the headache itself. This is the most common catagory of headache, and it is the type of headache and natural remedy we will explore here. Primary Headache Types:

Cluster Headaches - These headaches are similar to migraines in that they are extremely painful and intense. They are so named because within a short period of time, say a day or 3, several painful headaches will be experienced. Then, nothing more for weeks, or even months. Other symptoms of a cluster headache are a watery discharge from the nose sometimes accompanied by itching, and an intense pain focused around one of the eye socket areas.

Cause: Cluster headaches are believed to be caused by the cartoid artery and other blood vessels around they eye becoming inflammed, putting pressure on the nerves around the eye. Cluster headaches are one of many auto-immune disorders. In some cases, cluster headaches will come and go for long longer than a year. If they do, it is now considered a chronic condition and can be tough to treat.

Natural Cluster Headache Remedies:

Capsaicin Cream: A nasal application of capsaicin cream in the nostril on the same side of the face where the headache is coming from. A controlled study of 52 people with cluster headaches found 70% experienced headache relief when the cream was applied to the nostril that corrisponded with the eye at which the pain was focused. When applied to the opposite nostril, no relief was experienced. This may cause some other irritation, as capsaicin is the active compound in red peppers and pepper spray! However, it is often a welcome relief from the pain of a cluster headache.

Dosage: A very small amount, about 2 - 3 drops worth. Over application can cause serious nasal irritation and pain.

Dangers: some people are allergic to capsaicin, and should not take it. Side effects can be pain and watery eyes, like getting chili pepper in your nose

Melatonin: Melatonin is a hormone used by the body to regulate sleep cycles, and is related to the onset of cluster headaches. A double blind study with 20 patients was conducted using 10mg of melatonin. 50% of melatonin recipiants found a reduction in attacks within 3 - 5 days, and continued melatonin use resulted in no further attacks! Once the melatonin was discontinued, cluster headaches returned.

Dosage: One 10mg pill every evening after eating. WARNING: This is a relatively high dosage of melatonin, please consult a medical professional before taking any remedy or hormone.

Side Effects: include headaches, depression, nausea, lowered sex drive, stomach cramps, dizzyness, and disturbing dreams.

Magnesium: Some evidence has shown that cluster headache sufferers have low levels of magnesium in the blood. Taking a vitamin with magnesium or a magnesium based supplement may help this.

Dosage: no more than the daily recommended daily intake, in vitamin, pill, or organic forms (foods high in magnesium, etc)

Side effects: in daily recommended dosage amounts, none... but consult your doctor before taking anything for magnesium deficiancy.

Vigorous exercise: Studies have shown that for some people, vigorous aerobic exercise at the very beginning of a cluster headache onset can greatly decrease or even eliminate all pain and symptoms of an oncoming cluster headache.

Remember, do NOT OVERPAY for natural headache remedies, shop around for the best price. As stated HerbalRemediesThatWork.Com provides just the facts, without any "sales pitch" or "promotional talk". This way you can use this knowledge and shop around. Good Luck! Continued on page 2: Herbal Headache Remedies