NATURE CURE

Headaches and Migraine

Headaches afflict almost everyone at some time or the other. Most

headaches are functional, caused by temporary upsets and are not related
to any organic changes in the brain. A headache is often natures warning
that something is wrong somewhere in the body. The actual pain, however,
arises from irritation to nerve endings in the shoulder, neck and scalp
muscles and also in the smooth muscles encircling the blood vessels which
serve these areas.

There are several types of headaches, with as many ways of treating them.
Taking an aspirin or tranquiliser may provide temporary relief but it does
not remove the cause. Moreover, the frequent use of pain-relievers causes
nervous debility, weakens the heart and brings on other complications.

The common causes of headaches are allergy, emotional reasons,

eyestrain, high blood pressure, hangover, infection, low blood sugar ,
nutritional deficiency, tension, the presence of poisons and toxins in the
body, and migraine. Allergies, an often unsuspected cause of headache,
vary in different individuals. The foods to which some people are allergic
and which can trigger headaches are milk and milk products, chocolates,
chicken liver, alcohol and strong cheese. Sneezing and diarrhoea are
further indications of an allergy .

Intense emotions often cause headaches. Many people who outwardly

appear to have a
pleasant disposition may actually be simmering about a job, or may bear
resentment towards a person or something. This hidden hostility may
manifest itself as headache. It is important, therefore, that negative feelings
should not be bottled up, but should find some safe means of expressions.

Eye-strain is a common cause of headache. IN such cases, an eye

specialist should be
consulted and proper treatment taken. Simple eye exercises such as
moving the eyes up and down and from side to side, palming, rotating the
head, with neck outstretched, forward and backward three times, then
thrice clockwise and thrice anti-clockwise , can relieve eye-strain.

High blood pressure can cause pounding headaches. The headache

usually starts at the back of the head on getting up in the morning. A safe
method of treatment for this is to immerse your legs to calf-level in a tub of
hot water for 15 to 20 minutes. This draws the blood away from the head
and down to the feet, giving relief from the headache.
Many people get a severe headache after consuming alcohol in excess.
Alcohol causes the blood vessels to swell, resulting in a painful headache.
The best treatment for this is to avoid excessive consumption of alcohol. A
hangover headache can be avoided by taking a vitamin B-1 ( thiamine)
tablet with the drink.

Headaches may occur if there is an infection, such as a cold, virus and

fever . Here, it is the infection that should be tackled. Vitamin C therapy is
the best all round method. For a cold, high doses of vitamin C should be
taken at hourly intervals with the appearance of the first symptoms like a
sore throat, runny nose, etc. Vitamin C has worked miracles, and is
considered a natural antibiotic.

Low blood sugar is one of the causes of irritability and headache. Sugar is
not a cure for low blood sugar, though it may raise the blood sugar
temporarily and make one feel better for a while. Low blood sugar is the
result of an abused pancreas which over stimulates the production of
insulin in the body. It can be controlled by eating smaller meals at short
intervals rather than the standard three large meals daily. The intake of
carbohydrates should be cut down to the minimum and coffee should be
eliminated as it over stimulates the pancreas.

A lack of iron, resulting in anaemia, is a common cause of headache. The

headache sometimes appears before the onset of anaemia, due to a
chronic iron deficiency. Brewers yeast is an excellent source of iron and
anaemia can easily be prevented by taking a few teaspoons daily.

Headache can also be brought on due to the deficiency of B vitamins ,

namely pantothenic acid, B-1 (thiamine) , B-12 and B-6 ( pyridoxine) and
can be cured by taking these vitamins.
When taking any of the B-vitamin factors separately, it is absolutely
essential to add the entire B-complex range to ones diet in some form such
as Brewers yeats, liver, wheat germ, etc., otherwise too much of one factor
can throw the other factors into imbalance, resulting in other problems.
Actually, the entire B complex group itself serves as protection against
headaches, including migraine.

Tension headaches are probably the most common of all, and are caused
by emotional conflicts which result in stress. Stress causes the muscles of
the shoulder, neck and scalp to tense unconsciously. Persons who are
irritable, tense and lose their temper quickly usually get this type of
headache. It increases gradually and passes off with the release of tension.
One should try to relieve the stress which produces the headache.
Poisons and toxins admitted into the body through food, beverages and
water, as well as through breathing, polluted air, can cause any number of
disturbances. A headache may be the first warning that a poison has
entered the body. Additives in foods and in many cases, cosmetics, skin
and hair products are also serious offenders in bringing on headaches. IN
addition, there are toxic air contaminants which are too numerous to
mention.

Migraine Headache

Migraine is an ancient and formidable malady. It bothered such

distinguished persons as Caesar and Freud. It has assumed alarming
proportions under modern conditions of living and is now believed to afflict
about 10 per cent of the worlds population.

Migraine can be defined as a paroxysmal affection, accompanied by severe

headache, generally on one side of the head and associated with disorders
of the digestion, the liver and the vision. It usually occurs when a person is
under great mental tension or has suddenly got over that state.

Migraine is also known as "sick headache" because nausea and vomiting

occasionally
accompany the excruciating pain which lasts for as long as three days.
Migraine usually gives warning before it strikes : black spots or a brilliant
zig-zag line appears before the eyes or the patient has blurring of vision or
has part of his vision blanked out. When the headache occurs, the patient
may feel tingling, numbness, or weakness in an arm or leg.

Migraine sufferers have what is known as a "migrainous personality ". They

are compulsive workers and perfectionists, who feel that they have to do
everything right away. When they complete a task, they are suddenly laid
down from a state of temporary tension to a feeling of utmost relief. Then
comes the migraine. It is a purely physiological process. The head and
neck muscles, reacting to continuous stress, become overworked. The
tightened muscles squeeze the arteries and reduce blood flow. When a
person relaxes suddenly, the constricted muscles expand, stretching the
walls of the blood-vessel. With every heart beat, the blood being pushed
through this vessels expands them further and causes incredible pain.
When a headache strikes, one should stay on ones feet in the daytime and
do simple chores which do not require too much concentration or walk,
move around and get some fresh air.

The best remedy to prevent headaches is to build up physical resistance

through proper
nutrition, exercise and constructive thinking. As a first step, the patient
should undertake a short fast. During the fast, citrus fruit juices, diluted with
water may be taken six times daily. By taking the load of digestion, the
patient will at once save nervous energy which can be utilised for more
important purposes. The blood and lymph will also be relieved of a great
burden. After a short fast, the diet should be fixed in such a way as to put
the least possible strain on the digestion.

Breakfast should consist of fruits, both fresh and dried. Lunch should
consist largely of protein foods. Starchy foods such as whole wheat bread,
cereals, rice or potatoes should be taken at dinner along with raw salads.
Spices, tomatoes, sour buttermilk and oily foodstuffs should be avoided.
Drinking a glass of water ( warm water in winter and cool water in summer)
mixed with a teaspoonful of honey the first thing in the morning, is also a
good remedy.

Water Treatment
There are certain water applications which help relieve headaches.
Copious drinking of water can help , as do the cleansing enema with water
temperature at 98.6 o F, the hot foot bath, a cold throat pack, frequent
applications of towels wrung out from very hot water to the back of the
neck, a cold compress at 40 o to 60o F applied to the head and face or an
alternate spinal compress. Hot fomentations over the abdominal region just
before retiring relieve headaches due to stomach and liver upsets.

Yogic kriyas like jalneti and kunjal, pranayamas like anuloma-viloma, shitali
and sitkari and asanas such as uttanapadasana, sarvangasana,
paschimottanasana, halasana and shavasana are useful in the treatment of
headaches.